How to Make Your Train Journey More Productive

How often do you find yourself on the way to work playing silly games on your phone or just staring at the ceiling wishing you were back in bed? Many of us find commuting rather monotonous and dull, but there’s no reason why it has to be this way. Why not think of it as free time where you could be doing something that’ll benefit you, either to get your brain into gear for the upcoming challenges of the workplace, or even to get ahead. Here are a few ways to make train journeys a productive part of your day…

Get planning

You have a busy day ahead, and your brain’s in a muddle as you can’t work out which jobs you should prioritise, and how you’re going to fit everything in. This is where your train commute could be invaluable. You can organise your day (and your mind) so that you have a plan. It needn’t take long – you can just jot it down in note form – but it’ll give you more confidence, as you can get cracking as soon as you arrive, rather than trying to sort everything out when you get there, amid meetings, phone calls and emails.

Get your brain shipshape

This needn’t be work-related, but just some kind of challenge to keep yourself sharp for when you’re hit with whatever work hits you with. There are numerous apps that help to train your brain with puzzles to solve. Alternatively, you might want to have a go at an online course and actually learn a new skill or area of expertise. This could broaden your horizons and could benefit your future prospects in the process.

Start a new project

You might like your job (you might not), but you’ve always fancied dabbling in something a little bit different. Perhaps your commute is the only point in your day when you actually have a chance to devote a little time to it. And you never know, it might just take off and you can tell people this enterprise started on the Piccadilly Line!

Get reading (or listening)

There must be books you’ve always wanted to read or podcasts you’ve always wanted to hear. Your train commute gives you the perfect chance to close your eyes and relax, if only for a few minutes. And in case you’re thinking ‘what’s productive about that?’ Relaxation is often the key to keeping your mind fresh and helping you to concentrate when the pressure’s on. Every so often we need to switch off completely, and it might just make us more productive in the long run.

Think of your commute as a bit of ‘you time’ and as such it can be anything that you think will help you in work or in life. And that’s got to beat staring at the floor for an hour a day!