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Those living in New York City commute an average of 48 minutes to get to work. The national average is 33 minutes. I have a pretty long commute to and from work which clocks in at about an average of an hour and 15 minutes though it can be longer depending on traffic. In my first two jobs, I was fortunate to work close to where I live and my commute took about 20 minutes. My 20 minute commute went by quickly and it didn’t bother me that I didn’t do anything productive. However, now that I spend so much time commuting, I feel like that time is wasted if I don’t try to do something besides commuting. I mentioned in a previous that I practiced my best man’s speech while driving. It was perfect because nobody thought I was weird repeating the speech over and over again.

Here are a few things that you can do to be productive during your commute:

Read a book:

I always see people reading a kindle, a book, newspaper or magazine while commuting to work. It is a great way to pass the time and to entertain yourself. Of course, if you are driving, reading is not an option, but you can get audio books. I tried listening to an audio book, but prefer reading rather than being read to. I did listen to a “Learn Spanish” audio book which was pretty helpful in improving my Spanish skills.

Listen to a Podcast:

There are plenty of free podcasts that appeal to your interests. Podcasts range in so many topics and categories that you are bound to find something you are interested in hearing or learning about. If you love personal finance topics, Joe from has some pretty interesting that you can check out.

Sleep:

Once again, this is something you can’t be doing while driving. However, I wish I could because I was pretty tired on Monday (yes, I’m a sleep deprived father of a 3 month old). When I was taking the subway to work, I would take short naps and feel rejuvenated. Even if I didn’t have a seat, I could close my eyes to get some rest. For you NYC subway riders who are scared that you might miss your stop, download this which will alert you when you’ve arrived at your destination.

Relax:

Sometimes, it is productive to just relax and decompress. Sure it is easier said than done whether you are driving and stuck in traffic or in a crowded train with fellow commuters who don’t practice basic hygiene. But you can listen to music and zone out or block out the stressful commute and have time for your own thoughts.

Bond with family:

If you commute with a spouse or child, you can use that time to bond. I used to drop my wife to work on my way to work. I’m not a morning person and I just like to be alone in my own thoughts. But she found that odd, and I’d make an effort to talk about stuff that we hadn’t gotten to chat about during our hectic lives. Now she takes the subway to work. I do drive baby LRC to my parents’ house a few days a week and sometimes I talk to him, though he is only 3 months so he doesn’t really respond to me. Plus, he usually falls asleep pretty quickly on the car ride which is a good thing.

Organize Your Thoughts:

I often find that I think of something important while alone in my own thoughts; this usually happens in the shower or while driving. You can make a to-do list, brainstorm idea for your blog (if you blog), or just organize your thoughts for any purpose. Of course if you are driving, you can’t really write it down, so check out the app for iPhone or for Android which are voice recognition apps.

How long is your commute? What do you usually do?