No More Hamster Wheel

Stop Spinning. Start Living.

  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Stop Spinning
  • Contact

5 Ways to Be Productive While Driving

June 23, 2014 by Camilla

Most of us spend quite a bit of time in our car going places like work, running errands, going to various activities and the list goes on. But what do you do with all that time you spend in the car?

The time we spend in our car can be utilized to catch up on things we don’t have time to do or would like to do more of. Drive time can become our own little sanctuary, if we are just a bit more intentional about it.

What if you don’t spend extensive time in the car? Doesn’t matter. It all adds up. My commute to the office is 8 minutes. That becomes 16 minutes each day. During a regular work week, that’s 80 minutes. And that is just my commute time. An hour and twenty minutes each week!

What do I do with that time? I do things I wouldn’t have time to do otherwise.

5 ways productive while driving

1. Listen to podcasts. It’s a great way to expand your knowledge. There are thousands of different podcasts covering every subject you can think of that you can download for free. If you have an iPhone there is a free Podcast App you can download. From there you can subscribe for free to any podcast. For Android users PocketCast seems to be the most popular.

Here are the current podcasts that I listen to on a weekly basis that may be worth for you to check out:

48 Days by Dan Miller
This Is Your Life by Michael Hyatt
The Tim Ferriss Show by Tim Ferriss
Live Your List by Ryan Eller & Jerod Murr
The Portfolio Life by Jeff Goins
Life and Business by Chris LoCurto
Entrepreneur on Fire by John Lee Dumas
Beyond the to List by Erik Fisher
Smart Passive Income by Pat Flynn
Online Marketing Made Easy by Amy Porterfield
Right Where You Are by Tammy Helfrich
Ray Edwards Podcast by Ray Edwards
EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey
Learn French by Podcast
Travel by Rick Stevens
 

I actually manage to listen to all of these podcasts in a week thanks to the little podcast app on my phone. Podcasts are a great way to expand your knowledge and also get inspired in areas of your interest.

2. Listen to audio books. I can’t tell you how often I hear people say: “I miss reading books but I don’t have time to read!” Well, there’s an app for that. It’s called Audible. I recently listened to my first audio book from them and really liked it. Audiobooks are a great way to “read” more books.

Audible is a free app but you have to pay for the audio books. However, did you know that most libraries allow you to not only borrow e-books for free but also audiobooks? Yes. Check with your local library. I haven’t tested this service yet but OverDrive allows you to borrow audio books from your local library without ever leaving your home. Free is always nice.

3. Learn a new language. Why not learn a new language (or dust one off that you learned in school) while you are driving? I’m trying to dust off my rusty French by listening to a podcast but there are several audio classes to choose from on Amazon that you can purchase with a study guide.

4. Write a book, a letter, a blog post, a journal. But wait, how can I write while I drive? Today’s audio recorders are incredible and many allow you to speak hands free while driving. Then connect the recorder to your computer and voila it convert the audio to text. Prices vary but the Philips DVT1500/00 2 GB Digital Voice Tracer is a good recorder for the price. There are many different brands and options (some work on PC only, some on Mac only) so do the research before you purchase one. You can also download an app on your iPhone or iPad called the Dragon Dictation that converts your voice into text. If you have an Android I’ve been told Evernote has a way to turn audio files into text files.

5. Call a friend. In today’s technology driven world of texting, tweeting and facebooking it’s nice to hear a real voice once in a while. When was the last time you actually talked to a friend or family member over the phone?

I hope I have given you a few ideas for how you can grow as a person and learn new things while spending time in your car. Just remember, safety first. No fumbling around with the phone switching podcasts while driving.

How could you spend your time in the car more productively? Share in the comments.

 

Filed Under: Personal Growth, Productivity, Time Management

Comments

  1. Vaeltaja says

    June 23, 2014 at 8:14 AM

    My productivity solutions for driving
    1. Wear a seatbelt
    2. Turn off your phone
    3. Focus on the task at hand. Driving.
    I am strong believer that driving is already a multi-tasking event. There is no need for added distractions.

    • Vaeltaja says

      June 23, 2014 at 8:17 AM

      But in all fairness, I loved all of the information about the podcasts and voice recorder. 🙂

      • Camilla says

        June 23, 2014 at 6:21 PM

        Thanks! I like your suggestion of quiet time in the car too. Sometimes it’s nice to just have pure silence. Especially good if you’re driving in a busy city with plenty of distractions.

        • Matt McWilliams says

          June 26, 2014 at 12:55 PM

          Sometimes it is. But I couldn’t do that for a 7 hour trip 🙂
          Matt McWilliams recently posted…How to Tune out Negative VoicesMy Profile

          • Camilla says

            June 27, 2014 at 6:46 PM

            Yeah, a 7 hour trip with no podcast, audio book, music or other would be one long drive. 🙂

  2. Shelly Tiffin says

    June 24, 2014 at 3:18 PM

    These are great suggestions. I often use the time to pray. My husband is really good about catching up with people on his drive home. I still haven’t gotten into the podcast thing. I’d like to though.
    Shelly Tiffin recently posted…Why Are You Holding My Hand So Tight?: How I Should Have Answered My Husband.My Profile

    • Camilla says

      June 25, 2014 at 6:15 AM

      Thank you. The podcast app changed my life. I used to listen to podcasts years ago on my computer but it was hard to keep up so eventually I stopped. Now I listen to them on my phone five minutes here, ten minutes here and it all adds up. It’s addicting though. You start with one, quickly add another and then you want to absorb more knowledge so you start listening to a lot of them. Try it out.

  3. Tammy Fuller says

    June 29, 2014 at 7:39 PM

    Thank you for the podcast list! I listen to podcasts and audiobooks on my 35 mile commute to and from work. I listen to several of the podcasts you mentioned but I also found several that I’m going to try this week. And your learn to speak french one inspired me to tackle an item on my bucket list – learn to speak Swahili. Who knew there was a free Swahili podcast? BOOM! My morning just got more productive.
    Tammy Fuller recently posted…Quick Fix for Weight Loss?My Profile

    • Camilla says

      June 30, 2014 at 7:27 PM

      Awesome! So glad I could provide you with a few new podcasts plus get one thing off your bucket list! Swahili – love that! Let me know how it goes 🙂

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Buy my books on Amazon

Amazon ads

Recent Posts

  • What if You Could Pay Off Your Home in 5-7 Years?
  • Why You Can’t Have It All, If You Want It All
  • Changing Your Life Requires a Mindset Shift
  • Top 10 Books of All Time
  • People Who Achieve Their Goals Do These 6 Things

Categories

Archives

IMG_8310

Hello! My name is Camilla. I'm the founder of the Live Your Legacy framework and the Paycheck to Paycheck Method. Around here we love teaching high achievers like you how to achieve your goals so you can excel and live your legacy!

Tweets by @camillakragius

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Disclosures & Policies
© Copyright 2012-2022 No More Hamster Wheel, LLC · All Rights Reserved · Site Design by Lena Elizer Designs