For many of us the day-by-day commute is a necessary immorality ; not all that pleasurable but ineluctable if we desire to keep our problem . While it might not be your favorite part of the day , there are spate of ways you may make the most of your clock time gravel in dealings or wedged between fellow passenger on the tube .
Get to know the area
If you’re able to , take different routes to work out each forenoon and try out a variety of coffee berry bars , sandwich shops and parks to see which accommodate you well . Stick to the same way of getting from A to B , and you never know what might be just around the corner , or how much meter you could save by taking the path less travelled on your way into the office .
If you add some factor of variety in every day , it wo n’t take you long to vastly improve your noesis of the part of the man in which you live and work . It ’s not just to fulfil your own curiosity , either . The next time there are roadworks or six column inch of snow and you need an alternative route , you ’ll be far more clued up about the option useable to you . You might even discover new bars and restaurants that you’re able to check out when you ’re not trying to get to or from work .
Catch up on your reading (part I)
There just are n’t enough hours in the day to catch up on a whole internet ’s worth of quality recitation material in the space of 24 hours . If you discover yourself missing out on the content created by your favored site , then the journey to and from work can be the perfect time to fix this . sign up up to a read - it - afterwards service such asInstapaperorPocketand you may make unnecessary article during the solar day or evening to shop through on the bus topology or subway system gear .
The best understand - it - late apps ( such as the two we just cite ) let in livelihood for offline reading and the ability to partake interesting articles on your social networks of choice . Even if you lose signal going underground you could still beguile up on the latest news and sight from Gizmodo , then tweet about something outstanding you ’ve just read .
Speaking of societal medium , resist the temptation to pass your commutation time refreshing Facebook and Twitter every two seconds ; everyone else is stuck on the train too , so you ’re not missing out on much . Instead , answer to those messages from family and friends that you never get rotund to , and give your social roach some love . The same goes for emails : save the work - associate 1 for the office and or else employ your journeying meter to hand out to someone you have n’t get wind from for a while . You ’ll belike arrive at work in a much adept mood .
Catch up on your reading (part II)
Withe - reading apps widely availableacross the giving mobile political platform , you do n’t require to take your e - reader equipment on your commute ( though by all means , if your bag is big enough ) . These apps will sync your reading position with your Kindle or Kobo so you could piece up where you leave off when you get back home . Even if you only get through a few paragraph on the bus , it can make a big difference in the amount of reading you get through if you do it every day .
Then there are audio books of course , great for both the railway car and public transport , and an even well option now thatAmazon has integrated Audibleinto its iOS and Android apps — that have in mind you could switch between read a novel and listen to it with a tap on the covert , and there ’s no risk of you losing your place either . Listen to a book in the car , then get back to read it once you get in the door .
Not that there ’s anything wrong with near former - fashioned paperback book either . You ’d be surprised at the difference of opinion that an 60 minutes or half an hr a day make in the number of novel , plays or poems you may delight . When you ’ve end reading something you fuck , you could always lead it on to a fellow commuter train so he or she can bask it too . Setting up a book - sharing nightclub for your subway baby buggy might be going a bit too far , but it ’s an option .
Improve your brainpower
Sure , you could drop half an time of day on the subway playing Candy Crush Saga , but what have you gained at the end of it ? Improved thumb - heart coordination perhaps , and an better high-pitched sexual conquest , but you could do better . There are plenty of apps out there designed to help further your brain , though we ca n’t vouch for the effectiveness of all of them , what we do bonk is that exert your brain and retentiveness keeps them in good wellness .
TryClockwork Brain , Luminosity Mobile , Fit Brains TrainerorCoach Memory , just some of the many store - examination and brain - exercising apps usable on Android and iOS . Spend a few moment on one of these apps each twenty-four hours and give your intellect a workout even if your consistency is stuck in one cramped position . There are also plenty of lateral - cerebration puzzler , crossword apps , and cagy games to get the grey cells hum by the time you set about body of work .
Podcasts are probably deserving a mention here too , though no doubt many of you already make use of them on the way in and out of workplace . Try mix up your regular dose of entertaining podcasts with some educational ones that take exception the way you think too . Whether you want to learn more about the belated natural event in tech or skirmish up onthe history of Rome , chances are there ’s a podcast out there to tally .
Learn a language or skill
We ’ve cite apps that can improve your brainpower and retention , but also deserving a feel are apps that learn you something new . Language encyclopedism is the obvious one here , because you’re able to be listening to spoken dialogue while cycling into work or pink your way through reading comprehension exercises on the bus ride home . There ’s plenty of choice when it comes to apps of course , fromBabbelto Rosetta Stone , so check which apps fit your demand , devices and budget .
Outside of language there are a variety of other skills you could be learning during your commute , though the like of juggle and archery are probably off the order of business . Anything that can be learned by take heed is deserving investigating , though if your style of transportation , signal strength , and data plan allows you could mark off out any number of educational videos on first aid , DIY , public speaking or cooking ( though you wo n’t be able to practice yourself until you get home ) . If your travelling plans leave you to open up up a laptop , then you could learn tocode appsordesign websites .
Another option is to get creative while you ’re on your way to and from work . You could blog about your andiron or your daily commuteon your phone , start writing that novelyou’ve always wanted to get around to or createa unequalled art projectusing whatever you have to reach . This is easier on public transport where you do n’t have to keep your eye on the road , but even if you ’re driving you may dictate some words for a rule book or web log post using your representative and a suitable companion app .
Support a cause
If you ’re going to have your nose in an app while you ’re rally the bus , train or subway pushchair into work then you might as well make it a worthwhile one . You could help researchersmonitor the spread head of noise pollutionorimprove techniques for beating cancer , for lesson , while Google’sOne Today applets you discover a unlike non - profit organization every twenty-four hour period ( and support them financially if you wish to).Insteadis another skilful choice , showing you how you’re able to change your day-to-day substance abuse to improve the life of someone else in a unlike part of the world .
We ’ve leave out some of the more obvious approximation , such as listening to medicine , ameliorate your Dots high scotch , and lazily browsing around YouTube , but you’re able to always light back on these should you need to . If all else flunk , you could try talking to the person travelling next to you — who have a go at it , you might make a connexion that change your life . If you have any strange and fat ways of making the most of your daily commute , we ’d love to hear about them below .
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