How to Pack in Relaxation, Learning, or Getting Things Done on Your Trip to Work to Free Up Time for Later  

According to Citi’s ThankYou Premier commuter index, Americans are spending an average of 45 minutes on their daily trips to work, with commuters in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles spending anywhere from 55 to 73 minutes door-to-door.  With all that time, we may sip our coffee and wait for our work day to begin, or ponder what we might make for dinner as we travel home, but what if we could quit chalking up those “unfocused” minutes as a loss?  What if we could suddenly add a full sixty minutes (or more) of productivity to each day by leveraging both the morning and evening commute?

Productivity is relative, so the first thing to consider is: if you had an extra hour minutes a day to do whatever you wanted, what would you do?  And as many of your goals may be traditionally productive (pay bills, exercise, build a website), just as many others may be priorities that have been nudged down the list when necessities rise above (catching up with friends and family, researching vacations spots, reading for pleasure).

Now of course, not every priority will match up with every commute, but here’s the good part: as you examine your day and your to-do list, you may find that by leveraging your commute you free up non-commute time for another priority.

Just as you might do when you are in yoga class, start by setting your intention for each commute.  You might choose to set the same intention for every commute until you reach a goal, or you might make each commute an opportunity to make that individual morning or afternoon complete and productive for your day.

Here are 17 ways you can tap into your commute to accomplish your long-term or short-term goal, no matter what kind of commute you have.  Remember, for each commute, set just one intention at a time, and don’t allow other distraction!

Intention 1: I Wish I Had More Time to Get Things Checked Off of My To-Do List!

If you use public transportation:

• • • Pay Bills Online: You know you have to pay them every month, and it doesn’t take long, but sitting still and concentrating on the various credit cards, student loans and utilities that aren’t on automatic bill-pay can be a pain.  Late fees are a bigger pain, so get them done in one commute, while you have changing vistas outside the window to make the process easier!
    • Search for recipes, meal plan, and create grocery lists: We all have to eat, and those of us with long commutes are even more likely to just grab take out (or worse, drive-thru) after a long day.  Avoid the costs and calories by making plans!
    • Catch up on work or personal email: It piles up!  Work requests, special-occasion RSVPs, old sorority-sisters catching up… choose one focus group per commute and reply, reply, reply, before your stomach sinks with guilt as you get a call or text that starts: “Did you get my email?”
    • Shop online for upcoming birthday (and other occasion) gifts: It’s far better to give than receive, we know that, but when it’s so last minute that even Amazon Prime won’t help you, you’ll wish you had taken a moment to glance at your Pinterest gift board and shop online last week instead of googling “birthday gifts for women from Trader Joe’s” before you rush out to meet a group for a birthday dinner.

If you drive:

• • • Mentally meal plan: Use a memory device to dream up what sounds good for each day of the week:  I do Macaroni Monday (anything with pasta really), Tortilla Tuesday, Rice Bowl Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday (soups), Fish Friday, Sandwich Saturday, and Slow Cooker Sunday).  By the time you get home, you’ll have some solid ideas to throw down on that cute menu chalkboard you haven’t been using.
    • Make that phone call:  Whether it’s the needy in-law who says you never call, or your sister who complains you haven’t had time to help her make decisions on her upcoming wedding, make that phone call you have been putting off (and maybe even dreading) because you know it will be lengthy.  Bonus:  a call during a commute makes even the fakest sounding “breaking up” or “going through the tunnel” seem possibly credible!

Intention 2: If Only I Had Time to Work on Myself.. and Not Just For My Career

If you use public transportation:

• • • Get Healthy: Whether you are trying to lose weight, tone up, or just be healthy, you may not be able to actually exercise during your commute — or maybe you can? Get on or off one stop early and walk? Ride a bike to your normal bus or train station instead of driving? You can also make healthy meal plans, log your food so far for the day in an app (I use MyFitnessPal), add exercise routines to a Pinterest board, and even throw in some affirmations and positive visualizations for your healthy future.
    • Get Smart: Maybe you are already taking classes toward another degree or certification.  Maybe you are taking a course through extension for your own development. Maybe you are just taking the time to read some of those highly praised books like the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People or Lean In.   Read, do flash cards, or complete assignments all on your commute.  Put those earbuds in and use that time to concentrate without glancing at your phone or your fellow commuters.  It’s only 45… or 72 minutes.  See what you can complete, like it’s a race.
    • Get Creative: Browse sites for inspiration for home decor, style guides for new wardrobe ensembles, or DIY magazines for instructions for weekend project.   Draw, knit, write, do anything creative without distraction.   As long as it’s not something that will bother other commuters (i.e. keep your crochet projects to lap-sized!), use this as your time to focus only on your creative side. You might be desperately in need of that balance after spending a work day using your analytical side.

If you drive:

• • • Get Smart: Download one of those classic development books on Audible or buy the book on cd.  Always wanted to learn a language? Have no fear of others overhearing your awful accent as you “Repetez-vous, s’il vous plait” all the way home.
    • Get Vocal: Always wanted to be the woman who surprises everyone by busting out an impressive karaoke song at the office work party or a birthday outing? Now’s your chance to practice your top 3 songs to perfection so you’ll always have one to nonchalantly choose off of any karaoke list.  Practice your public speaking, your elevator pitch, introducing others, asking for a promotion during your performance review… whatever you want to roll off of your tongue sounding like you poised and in control.  (Channel Bridget Jones “Isn’t it terrible about Chechnya…?” if you must!)

Intention 3: I Just Never Have any Time to Relax – and I Need Some!

If you use public transportation:

• • • Meditate: I can’t say this has ever been my forte, but I do find that the commute is a great time to practice, even for those of us who may have been told by yoga teachers, “You don’t seem very present today – is everything alright?”   I am still learning what it means to “be present”, but apparently, the constant internal spinning of “Did I send that email before I left? Oh God, that isn’t my phone buzzing in the back of the room, is it? It probably is. I bet it’s my husband.  Did he remember to pack our son’s lunch?” is not it.   Close your eyes (trust me, you are not the weirdest person on the subway), try to hold yourself back from actually uttering “ommmm”, but do concentrate on your breathing, clear your mind, set your intention and let your day settle into a focused mode of consciousness.  Leave those spinning thoughts behind so that when you arrive, you can organize them peacefully.
    • Lose Yourself: Read, read, read.  Read what you love. It doesn’t have to be something that is for work, or development, or for any “purpose” at all.  Read chick-lit, biographies, romance, mysteries, magazines, whatever it is that drags you down into it and makes time (and pages) fly by. Consider it guilt-free time to “become someone else”; someone who doesn’t have priorities or work emails or dinner to make.  Bonus points if you can find a book that you love that also inspires you.  Find a novel about a woman who becomes a chef if you want to cook more, or about a woman who opens a business and her funny mishaps along the way, if that’s a dream you have been considering pursuing. The point is, relax and let the inspiration seep in without pressure.
    • Social Media Binge: Social media can suck up your whole day. But it has benefits. Whether it’s catching up on your growing niece and nephew’s pictures, taking mental notes on your favorite celebrities’ outfits, or idolizing the latest Fixer-Upper pics, it is probably something you enjoy and keeps you connected or inspired.  Why not take the commute time for a social media binge?  After that, you can mindfully put the phone down when you arrive home and focus on your partner or kids without your mind wandering to what you missed in your networks all day.

If you drive:

• • • Sirius and Chill: New music, throw-back hits, talk-radio, or any combination.  It’s what the commute was originally about.  There is nothing wrong with tuning in and tuning out for the length of one commute (or every commute) if that is what rejuvenates you.  Sing along or sit in silence.  This is your time to listen.  As above, if you’d rather grab an audio book and sacrifice yourself to story-time, do it mindfully and enjoy.  Tonight, you might be the one reading aloud as you tuck kids in, so there is no shame in allowing yourself the same pleasure.
    • Connect: It might take some planning with time zones and commutes and drop off schedules, but make the phone dates (hands-free, of course) that you can.  These calls are different from the obligatory ones mentioned before. Instead, take the time to connect, share, vent, and listen — whether it’s your sister, your mom, or any of your best friends from high school, college, or your last three jobs, if you want to keep them in your inner circle, make the effort to really communicate.  I guarantee you will feel better by the time you reach your destination.
    • Watch the World Go By: While many of us have commutes that are filled with bumper-to-bumper cars, smoggy freeways and concrete buildings, plenty of us have commutes that have only lost their beauty because of their frequency. So from time to time, take one commute to become present to your surroundings, the area you choose to live and work in, and the reason why.  Whether it’s the quaint farmhouses and grazing cows you pass, or the interesting architecture and the fast-paced people hurrying to their destinations, take note and let that impression sink in.  Maybe, like me, you live in a city where many people dream of vacationing. Don’t let the traffic on the Golden Gate bridge make you forget the millions of visitors and paintings it inspires.  Stop to consider the diversity on the subway, and what it means to be surrounded by the rich cultures that make up New York City.    This is the place you choose to spend your day, and there must be beauty in it.

So, as you add those final touches of mascara in the morning, grab your coffee, and get ready to go, set your intention.  What will it be today?  What does your life need more of at this moment?  Creativity? Relaxation?  Connection? Development?  Whatever it is, you have the power, and the gift of time, to concentrate on exactly that.