Researchers did a study and found that the ideal time to work should be 16 minutes. Any less and we don’t feel like leaving home for work or we misjudge the time and run late.
On average people around the world spend 40 Minutes travelling to work and another 40 minutes back home. Most of us in Mumbai spend more than an hour each way. All these hours begin to add up. By the end of the month you have spent more than a full day just travelling to and from work.
One study I found quite fascinating comes out of sweden, they defined a long commute as one longer than 45 minutes. They discovered that couples with a long commute had higher divorce rates. Another study identified that couples who travel to work in the same direction tend to be more satisfied with the relationship. Probably born from sharing a burden or sharing something in common.
Weird marital facts aside, the commute to work is a big hit on our individual lives and productivity.
A commute to work decreases your chances of exercising or cooking a meal at home. It lowers the time spent bonding with family. And can reduce our time spent sleeping.
However, the journey to work is like a necessary evil. There is nothing we can do about it. It is two hours of the day that are non-negotiable.
Our goal is to make the best of what we got. We can turn these wasted hours into something productive.
I often have to travel close to 3 hours in a day shuttling between client meetings. I use this time to expand my knowledge and mind. I listen to podcasts along the way or an audio book. I call this time my University on wheels.
Moving away from complaining and wasting time listening to the radio or music. The University on wheels is a way to learn new skills. Grapple with interesting ideas and thought processes.
I love the saying “ a mind once expanded by a larger idea never returns to it’s original size”.
My love for podcasts started with this simple idea. Which is why I wanted to create The Habit coach podcast for you. Each fun fact or habit discussed is opening the mind to new possibilities.
The first podcast series I listed to was called “a history of the world in a 100 objects” over 5 years ago. Then I started listening to Optimize by Brian Johnson, The Model health show. After which there was no turning back.
Audiobooks are another fantastic way of getting new knowledge and information. I am currently listening to an audio book called Homo Deus, by the author of the very famous book Sapiens. You can buy these audio books for the price off a normal paperback book.
So your habit is to download a podcast app or an audio book app. You can start with the IVM podcast app. Subscribe to a few shows that interest you and begin listening to them on your way to and from work.
Remember to always tune into your University on Wheels.
