City commute times vary, but if the average one-way commute in the United States is now close to 27 minutes, according to the Census Bureau.
Whether you’re riding bus or train, driving in a car or walking to work that leaves a lot of time to get things done.
From side hustles to getting ahead on your work, your commute time leaves a lot of opportunities to use your time wisely.
Here are four things you can do to put a little more personal productivity in your life while on commute.
Catch up on our to-do list
There’s no better time to sort out your life than when you have some downtime. You can plan ahead, review what you got done, and work toward getting some clarity during your morning commute. Public transportation riders have many smartphone app options to help them. If you drive, you can always use voice memos.
(Finally) Get ahead at work
Let’s face it. There’s never enough time in a day to get all your work done. But riding the train or the bus can be the perfect time to read and think.
You can outline reports, meeting agendas or presentations. Or you can use 15 minutes to read all the stuff about your industry you’ve been putting off.
Look for a new job
Not happy at your job? Want a job with a better salary? Since scanning job opportunities at work probably won’t fly with your boss, you can always do it during your commute. If you do it in transit, it’s more time you can spend on yourself when you get home.
Work on your side hustle
Want to make more money? Another way is the increasingly-popular side hustle. Side hustles range from selling stuff on eBay or Craigslist, selling services on Fiverr, and even taking surveys. The commute is a great time to put in some undistracted time on making your side hustle a lucrative endeavor.
Relax
You can also use your commuting time to meditate. Have you ever tried it? There are many apps for guided meditation, and you just need to find a place to sit and follow the instructions. You’ll get to work more calm and relaxed.
Learn something new
Learning a new language can be fun and you don’t have to take classes or spend money for that. You find great apps and podcasts that can be helpful to improve a new language, or understand better that foreign movie on Netflix.
Save money with commuter benefits
Even if you just prefer browsing social media, working on your crossword puzzle during the commute, you can save money while you do those things.
Commuter benefits allow commuters to save up to 40 percent on commuting costs. If your company offers commuter benefits, you can save up to $265 per month tax-free to pay for public transit, rideshares (UberPool, Lyft Shared) and qualified parking.
How much you could save with commuter benefits
And if you’re an employer, there are significant savings for you too. Employers can save $41 per month for each employee who enrolls in commuter benefits. If you have 50 employees enrolled for a year,that means more than $24,000 in savings on payroll taxes. And more enrolled employees means more savings. A company with 75 employees could mean $36,000 in savings, for example.
Want to learn more about commuter benefits? Read this blog post [How Pre-Tax Commuter Benefits Work] or download the 101 Guide below:
