One of the few things nature seems to be fair in its distribution is ‘time’. We all have access to the same 24 hours in a day to get things done. So, if you ever feel like you don’t have enough hours in the day to maximize your productivity, then you should try adding a few more hours by taking advantage of the most mundane part of your day. One of such mundane hours of your day is the time you spent commuting to and fro your workplace.
In a typical city like Manila, people spent an average of 2 hours on daily basis commuting to and fro their workplace. This suggests that you can have close to 10 extra hours in a week to be more productive. So, why not make use of your seemingly mundane commute hours to increase your productivity.
If you need ideas on how to go about being productive with your commute hours, then read on as we share with you the 5 easy commute optimization strategies:
1. Plan your day ahead
While commuting to the office in the morning, you can plan your day ahead by setting daily goals. Get yourself organized by assigning ‘who to what’ and ‘time to activities.’ Planning your daily routine ahead while commuting to work will help you to make more productive use of your time at work.
2. Meditate to get fresh ideas
If you want to be more productive at whatever job you do, you need to spend some time meditating. This will help you to generate more ideas and be able to come up with better ways of doing things to make you more productive at work as well as at home. Instead of just sitting in a bus or train (it is also applicable even if you’re the one behind the wheel driving yourself) and allows your mind to wander aimlessly, you can deliberately convert your commuting hours to your personal meditation time. This is easy. Just make sure you’re in control of your mind. No doubt, this habit can transform you and make you more productive.
3. Listen to podcasts, webinars, or audiobooks
It doesn’t matter whether you ride in a public bus or drive yourself to work, you can make better use of your commute time by listening to podcasts, webinars or audiobooks that can help you to hone your skills or get more productive ideas. There are many life changing audiobooks out there with great tips on how to be more productive.
4. Make necessary calls and attend to emails
You can save a sizable amount of office hours by calling customers, suppliers, as well as coworkers to get important details before getting to the office. You can also check and respond to work related emails using your smartphone or tablet while commuting to the office. Getting all the necessary information you need before reaching the office gives you ample time to get more work done during the regular office hours.
5. Bring your tablet or laptop to the public transportation
If there are certain aspects of your job that can be done remotely, then it will be more productive to start it right from the bus or train. This will help you to get a head start with your daily tasks, and make more productive use of your time at work.
Some of the above-listed productivity ideas may not work for your type of job or personality, but meditation will surely do. We all need to devote a part of our time to meditation so we can come up with a better way of doing things.
Find these tips useful? We have more career advice, workplace tips, and job search tips on our blog. Don’t forget to check them out!
