How to Plan Commute Time Productively?

Introduction

Most times, it is the travel time to work itself that feels more difficult than the work itself. This happens when we fail to plan the commute time.?

As Friedrich Nietzsche says, “When one has much to put into them, a day has a hundred pockets.”

Let’s not All’s well that ends well confuse you to drop the healthy habits that you can adapt for a rather productive day. As per many theories built on successful people, it was noticed that these people start their routine with a clear picture of the end. A lot of individuals prefer reading books during their commute time and are even advise to do so.

However, considering that waking up early is not an easy task for the working generation as most have mismatched sleep cycles, we are here to provide you with better ways in which you can use your commute time.

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What will be covered in this blog?

More than half of the young generation use public transport and considerably spend more travel time to work. However, we do not want to exclude the shorter time spans during the daily commute. After all building habits start with shorter bits.?

Therefore, we will be touching up the below-mentioned points to provide a detailed guide on how to plan commute time.

1. Ideas to plan your travel time to work effectively
2. Time-based planning and ways to increase efficiency
3. Planner per the transportation mode you are using

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Productive Ideas to Plan Commute Time

Take a look at all the things to do when you are bored during your commute or looking for ways to increase efficiency.

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• Organizing your tasks and thoughts mentally

Planning your work day ahead of it plays a crucial role in staying organized. When you know the tasks you have to perform for the day, you can plan a schedule for that. And what’s better than to use your daily commute time for that? This doesn’t need any additional effort, you can just go through the tasks to take a mental note or maybe put it down in your working notes on your mobile phone. It is said that great ideas can occur anytime especially when you least expect them. Maybe your commute time can become the door to them too.

BONUS: It doesn’t really have to be completely work-related, maybe you can plan ahead for the coming days or weekend too.

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• Tune in to your favorite tunes, stories, or documentaries

Music is everywhere, stories are everywhere, and reality is everywhere too. However, having less time to yourself while maintaining a work-life balance can drift you apart from these. Your travel time to work can be your savior in this case. Listening to music, audiobooks, or podcasts can turn out to be effectively productive as they can help you relax.

BONUS: For some, this can work as an assistant alarm as well who do not wake up even after opening their eyes.

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• Establishing a balance between personal and professional mailbox

Are you someone who finds it hard to keep track of your personal and professional emails at the same time? Maybe while you plan commute time, you can provide a 5-10 minute time to clear out the pending emails. This again helps you in planning the tasks for the day or responding to urgent emails. Once become a habit, there is no way you will miss out on them again.

BONUS: If emails are not a concern, what about using this daily commute time to connect with your friends who are also on their way to work? It keeps you connected while you do not doze off, a win-win situation if we must say.

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• Observe your surrounding

As mentioned earlier, ideas can pop out anytime, anywhere; but sometimes no matter what you do, there are none. If you go through history, all the creatives and artists were inspired by their surroundings, from the ordinaries. You can also use your metro travel time as your muse. Observe people, what they do, how they do it. You can even just look at the sky outside the window. It could be a highly productive time for individuals in the marketing or branding sector especially.

BONUS: Sometimes, you can even get the idea of which book you must read next.?

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• Something new, something due

If you have a larger chunk of time such as 2 hours of commute or so, you can even plan on learning a new skill. It could be anything from learning a new language or improving your focus on the current ones. Maybe go through the video lessons on YouTube to improve your current knowledge about the skills you already have.

BONUS: Your travel time to work could also be your chance to take up the one thing you have been leaving for later.?

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• Stay up to date with industry news or just… Brainstorm maybe

Keeping up with the news and updates is another of the tasks that remain untouched. In the morning, it is chaos, and in the evening, the brain is almost on the verge of exploding and all it needs is rest. Use your commute time to check out the important news updates in the industry or your surroundings. And because the mind hasn’t done much work early in the day, you can brainstorm some better ideas too.

BONUS: You can even check out if there’s a new movie coming up starring your favorites.

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• Take it easy…

During shorter commute times or when you feel not-at-all productive, you can just review the things you have done on the previous day. Review your yesterday’s tasks and try to locate points where you could have done better.

BONUS: Just relax for some time. It is already a fast-running world and every morning doesn’t have to be necessarily productive. There is an entire day left to catch up, right?

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Not How, but When?

Now, it is quite clear that there are so many ways in which we can plan commute time. But not all things might be suitable for everyone. Some commute via the metro, others by buses, cabs, or scooters and bikes. In fact, the time difference is also a considerable factor in planning ways to increase efficiency during the daily commute.

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Transportation-based Planning for Daily Commutes

For individuals using personal transportation, such as cars, scooters, or bikes, below could be the suitable options:

• Preparing a mental checklist
• Listening to music, audiobooks, or podcasts
• Observing surroundings
• Brainstorming new ideas
• Just relaxing and focusing on the road

NOTE: The most important thing is to ensure safety during this. Being productive doesn’t have to become risky or rash on the road.

For individuals using autos, cabs, buses, or metro, all the points mentioned in the idea list can be used. All you need to do is plan out the daily commute time as per the time.?

Time-based Planning for Daily Commutes

If the time is less than half an hour, using simple ways to increase efficiency is better. These could include:

• Organizing tasks mentally or in mobile notes
• Listening to the rhythms and words you want to
• Improving your knowledge in terms of news updates and all
• Clearing out the texts received via emails or other platforms

NOTE: If the time is as little as 15 minutes, you may just relax or listen to music. Maybe even read a book.

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Bring it on!!

Now, we have done our work. It’s your turn to choose what’s best for you. If you believe in Lao Tzu saying, “Great acts are made up of small deeds.”, this is your sign to start today!

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Hope this blog helps you even if you are just looking for things to do when you are bored during normal days.

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Written by – Priyanka Rampal

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