Most of us hate commuting — whether it’s 20 minutes on a bus or an hour or two on a train. We are often irritated, tired and bored. But instead of thinking about your train/bus ride as time being wasted, think of all the ways you can take advantage of that time.
Catch-up time
Whether you are a student or an employee, there are always things to review, edit, correct… you name it. Since there are never enough hours in the 24 for all the work that needs to be done, start including your commute time in your schedule. Think about this hour as an hour in the day for work and catch up on your reading and reviewing. This will make your commute seem shorter and it will leave you less stressed throughout the day.
Fill your agenda up
Planning your week ahead of time proves very useful on the long run. Writing something down helps you to stop thinking and stressing about it because once it’s down, you don’t need to keep reminding yourself about it. Take the time spent on your bus/train to think about your week and write down all that needs to be done. Whether day by day or week by week, rather than planning at work or at home when you want to do nothing but watch some shows, fill up your agenda while you’re on the go.
Phone calls
None of us are prompt at returning missed phone calls or text messages. And we are constantly doing something or another that gets in the way of getting in touch with a friend or scheduling a dentist appointment. While seated and resting with nothing else in hand, use your train/bus ride to catch up on all the phone calls and messages that need attending to. Got a smart phone? Even better — get to all the piling-up emails, too.
“You” time
Spending some “you” time will make you feel much better throughout the day and will help you be productive when you’re at work. If you want to start a new book, start reading on the train/bus. If you love crosswords or crocheting, there’s no harm in doing either while on the go. Take that time to do what you want to do and have no other time for.
more on time management and productivity
How to be more efficient when you work from home
7 Time suckers to stop immediately
Find a hidden hour each day
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