5 ways to Increase your Productivity during Traveling

Let LIVE

Nuren

Sep 25 2008 |15:52

If you do any of the following things:

1. Spend at least a total of 30 minutes or more in driving to your work place everyday
2. Travel frequently to your client’s place by flight
3. Work on short projects that last only a couple of weeks
4. Just enjoy long drives in your car

Read on…

This article is mainly for my friends who do a lot of traveling in year. Of course, this article should help anyone who wants to be productive during their traveling time and make the most of it.

Assumptions and requirements:

You have a valid driving license and do not have any record of accidents in the last 3 years. If you drive alone on temporary-instruction-permit (TIP), leave this pageJ.

Guidelines: Pay attention to the traffic and outside world.

1. You tell me! I got two ears to listen

One of the most important qualities of highly productive people is that they are continuously willing to learn.

What are your hobbies of interest? Psychology? Humor? Speaking? Whatever it is, there are always educational audios available on those topics.

Do some research on people who are experts in your field of interest. Listen what they say. Experience coupled with education is the best teacher. There is a popular saying that goes ‘a fool learns from his own mistakes where as a wise person learns from others’ mistakes’. Experience or advice from an expert can save you lot of hard work, time and money.

This is a statement from one of the Brian Tracy’s (a popular self-help author) newsletters, “The average driver, according to the American Automobile Association, drives 12,000 to 25,000 miles each year, spending 500 to 1000 hours that you spend each year in your car. That is the equivalent of 12 1/2 to 25 forty-hour weeks. This is the same as two full university semesters spent behind the wheel of your car each year.”

So get good audio books. Play them in your car or Ipod. Turn these hours of pondering into learning time.

I bought one FM transmitter recently and it is one of the best investments for music in my car. I always used to worry about how to keep the CDs safe from any scratches or I worry about storage space for more CDs if I keep burning new ones. Now with this FM transmitter, I can just plug in my IPod, tune it and lose myself in my learning world.

2. First things first

This tip is particularly useful when you are doing a long drive. Traveling helps you sit and relax. It’s easy to get lost in your dreamy world while traveling. It’s a relaxing experience. Not many people will disturb us during traveling. We can switch off our cell phone or answer our friends to call us later. It’s one of those calm moments where you will know yourself better just sitting peacefully where the entire outer world is moving past behind you.

This gives us ample time to organize our thoughts and plan well for the next week at office. So, let your mind wander and relax a little bit and use it to plan your work effectively. If you are flying, take out your notepad or a piece of paper and organize your thoughts in writing. If driving, put your favorite inspiring music on and get your activities planned!

3. Now I got two eyes!
So, getting bored looking around when your flight is delayed? What is your favorite hobby to explore your creativity? Photoshop? Flash? There is a popular old saying that goes ‘Yard by yard, it's hard. Inch by inch, everything is a cinch’.

It means, let’s say movie-making is your latent ambition. The thought of movie-making may seem like you would not be able to do it yourself. But if you just take action and complete it step by step whenever you find an hour or two, in course of time, you will be attaining your goal.

I really like animations and graphics. I download some good tutorial videos from web and play them in my laptop whenever I am flying or waiting for a flight. Surprisingly, I learn quite a bit in these times. I even finished reading some good books and gained lot of knowledge just in these waiting times!
Hint: If you don’t like others to snoop on your laptop, there is a laptop privacy screen available at many computer stores for a small price.

4. It’s time to waste your friends’ time
We get so busy in our day to day life that we often forget to keep in touch with our old friends. So, next time when your flight gets delayed, don’t keep looking around. Instead plug in your ear phones or blue tooth and get connected with your good old school buddies or close friends.

Same thing applies when you are on long drive. I do this especially when I think I am feeling tired or little-sleepy over a long drive. This is the best time to eat away your friend’s time!

Not only it helps me to reconnect with my old friends, it also refreshes me up for an extended drive.

5. Click it!

Photography is one of the hobbies that you can indulge while traveling. This will be very useful when I do long drives, especially on the country side. I stop my car at rest areas or just park it on the shoulder area to take a quick break. Then I capture all the beauty in a minute and get back on wheels.

Here are some pictures I took while traveling:

More tips and tricks for a hassle-free and enjoyable driving:

a. Keep your phone charger at handy when you are travelling in car. This will be useful if you are engaged in long conversations with your friends.

b. Ear phones or blue tooth is must. No one-hand driving! (In some states, talking on phone is not allowed while driving).

c. Carry some snacks with you. For example, I carry protein bars, peanuts, a water bottle and paper napkins. When you get stuck in long traffic and you are hungry, then you will thank me.

d. When you are doing long drives, do not drive after 10:30 PM in the night. This is for safety purposes. (Particularly when there is a good chance of snow that night).

e. Traveling time is good to make more friends really quick and also to leave a positive trail in someone’s lives.

Nuren
	Nuren likes writing, teaching, people, nature and many kinds of creative work such as photography, design, studying articles related to astronomy and science. He is positive, dedicated, open-minded and always looking for a way to learn something new. One of Nuren's favorite quotes is "How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different are the saints" (by C. S. Lewis). Read More >>

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