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Do you commute to work or school for more than 30 minutes daily?
Have you recorded your daily commute time; home to work and work to home?
If either way it exceeds 15 minutes then you must realize that you are gifted and if it is a 2 hour commute daily then certainly a treasure lays in front of you, the treasure of time.
Are you aware of it already and seeking for ways to hunt it? Well, by the end of this post you will definitely be aware of more and more ways to utilize the daily commute time.
I assume you might be thinking at this moment that you never get to sit in the train or bus you use to reach work or school daily because of all the rush during peak hours.
You stand by the seats grabbing the pivoted handles dangling from the roof of the bus or the train for your entire travel to work and bear a lot of trouble in reaching school or work.
Well, I must tell you that a few years back I would go through the same situation like you.
I would travel the entire 40 minutes (one way) journey standing in the local trains of Chennai counting the number of stations passing by.
(Don’t do this, this activity might question your existence in the world … :D :D)
After a few weeks I found it difficult to spend my time in train, counting the stations would no more interest me.
So, I took to buying newspaper every morning and reading it.
Initially, it was difficult for me as I had to read the Newspaper standing in the train everyday but somehow I managed.
And, what I realized after a few days, I was not getting bored because I replaced ‘counting the stations’ activity with ‘reading Newspaper‘.
Reading Newspaper kept me updated with the current affairs and by chance I made the daily commute time (at least one way) productive.
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What the Census report says?
According to the latest census report, around 4 million people in India use buses daily as a mode of transport from home to their place of work for a distance of 11-20 kms.
More than 2 million people in India use train to commute for a distance of no less than 21 kms and some 1 million people use water transport to get to work and school.
Percentages of Different Modes of travel to place of work used by Indian People
I presume if you are reading this post then you must be using some mode of transportation either private or public to get to school or work.
Can you answer this question how many people you see, who share the same means of transport as you, are engaged in doing something productive?
Do exclude chatting or talking on phone.
1. 5 out of 100
2. or 10 out of 100
3. or at maximum 30 out of 100.
If you see any number more than this then you are sitting among some brilliant people who are destined to do something big in their life.
Don’t leave their company!
If 70% of all of us start doing something productive everyday, then imagine, where will the productivity level climb to; these many people will then start contributing to their own individual success and indirectly to the success of the nation.
The collective talent and skill set of the nation will get a sky-rocketed boost.
So, let’s get started with the ways to make the daily commute time productive–
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#1 Read Books
Learn the importance of books and read books to utilize your long commute to work
Long commute to work sucks! I know.
The finest solution to make your long 1 or 2 hours commute better is to read books.
It will become increasingly better when you dedicate this time to reading books.
This may solve a lot of problems like -
1. You are very much familiar with the importance of books and you have always wanted to read them but couldn’t take out the time from your busy schedule.
2. You are seeking to build a reading habit but have not been so successful till now somehow.
Therefore, go to your favorite book store today or login to an online second hand books store and buy a good book today.
The next time you board the daily bus or train, take around 4-5 minutes to settle and then open your book and start reading.
While reading, you will not only build command over the language but improve grammar, vocabulary and other aspects of it too. Also, the growth of your mind cannot be ignored.
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#2 Be updated with the current affairs
Increase your daily productivity by staying updated with the current affairs
Use your daily commute time to stay updated with the current affairs by reading a newspaper or a magazine.
If the average commuting distance is 15 miles then you would take around 1.5 -2 hours penetrating the peak hours traffic which is enough for you to read the Main page, World section and the sports section of the newspaper.
Set a target to read at least 5-6 articles and try finishing them.
Reading newspaper will also improve your grip over the language and will keep
you informed and updated.
You will appear informed which will certainly push your stature up in the social gatherings and discussions.
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#3 Let Puzzles make you intelligent
According to a scientific research, puzzles help connecting the information stored over a period of time in your memory.
It tries to bridge the gap among the information pieces scattered around in the brain helping you to form logic.
You can find uncountable puzzles if you Google the keyword ‘puzzle’ on internet.
Or, simply use the newspaper to solve the daily or weekly crossword.
So find a good puzzle to solve a night before you commute.
Read the problem and start thinking about the solution.
The reason I am telling you to read the problem a night before is because the next day, during travel to work, you will be compelled to open it again because of the engagement your brain has already established with it the night before.
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#4 Observe
Be observant and surely you will make your daily commute time entertaining
I would recommend this as a very special activity and you must consider doing this once a week at least and twice a week at most.
So, what is observation I am referring to?
It is looking with an attentive mind anything you find along your way to work place or college.
It can be the pivoted grab handles dangling from the roof of the bus you are travelling in, or the shape of the trees passing by or the advertising hoardings on the side of the roads.
A question would come to your mind about what is the outcome of observing such things.
Well, it helps in rewiring your brain and developing wisdom.
According to the internet, rewiring your brain doesn’t depend only on positive thinking and working hard, it also depends on boosting creativity.
Observing advertising boards is definitely going to boost your creativity.
Creativity enhances when the mind is free that is why don’t limit your observation to just one thing; observe random things with an open mind and make your commute productive.
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#5 Start maintaining a Journal
Write what you have in your mind in a journal during your travel to work
Gone are the days when one would complain about not able to write in the moving bus or train.
Today, with the evolution of technology, it has become tremendously easy to write your thoughts in a phone or a laptop or a tablet.
So, if you already have a habit of maintaining journal, you can utilize your daily commute time effectively by writing your thoughts in one of millions of journal app available.
In case you don’t write a journal or a diary then it is the time to begin.
Now, you may be wondering what I should write in it.
A healthy tip is to write all the petty things that bother you and see the magic!
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#6 Plan your Meal
Let your commuting miles make you a chef
Bored with all the same food you have been eating for long?
Why not use this 30 -40 minutes of the daily commute time to explore new recipes for dinner.
This will probably develop your interest towards cooking which is considered as one of the healthiest hobby to have in the world.
But, if you are already a chef then you may become a source of momentarily happiness for your family by cooking new recipes every weekend.
#7 Listen to an Audio Book
As per the latest census report, over 157,000 people board trains in Delhi and approx 2.3 million people take trains in Mumbai to reach their place of work.
The data signals a big rush during peak hours which means that it might become difficult to open the newspaper or a book during the commute.
Graph depicting people who take trains to reach place of work in Mumbai & Pune
What to do in such a situation?
Well, obviously, doesn’t matter how crowded the train or the bus is you will always see co-commuters enjoying music in their headphones.
I will recommend you to replace music with hearing something informative like the last night’s debate on your favorite news channel or self-improvement lessons by your favorite spiritual author.
Listening to self-improvement lessons during your trip to work will not only prepare you for the day but also will introduce a new zeal inside you every day.
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#8 Learn a new language
Remember those German classes which you always wanted to attend but couldn’t because of the shortage of time.
Your commute gives you an opportunity to learn a new foreign language and get an edge over others.
Utilize your daily travel time to learn a new language and get an edge over others
Suppose you travel to work for 22 working days a month which calculates to 264 days a year and your commute time on average is 35 minutes a day then in total you get around 9240 minutes a year to learn a new language.
Understanding and speaking a foreign language will not only help you rewire your brain but will make you stand distinguished in social gatherings and discussions.
#9 Set your Goals
Last but not the least; use the time to travel to work twice a month to set your goals and gauge your progress on them.
One of the best ways to be productive in life is to set goals and measure your progress
God forbid but by any chance, you haven’t set your goal of life yet then the daily commute gives you an opportunity to think it through.
Analyze how much effort you are making to achieve your goals and how much more is needed.
Travel can best be used for retrospection when you are sitting by the window and a cool breeze just ruffles your hair.
Do not overlook the efforts of nature to help you.
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Wrap Up
With the evolution of technology, it has become easier to keep yourself engaged in a moving train, bus, or a van.
The difference lies only in how you are using the technology, whether you spent time chatting in your phone with a friend or reading a book. The choice is yours.
All the methods described in this post are equally important from the point of view of development of both mind and attitude.
Your overall focus should be to educate yourself in every way possible to increase your productivity level and make your travel to work highly entertaining.
So will you start following the activities described here?
Which activity you liked the most?
Would you share any other healthy tip with us to make daily your commute better?
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