How to Make a Commute Less Boring

 There is nothing worse than sitting on a long commute when you're not the driver, but you're on public transport. Getting on a train and having to travel across the city in the morning when all you want to do is still be in bed, it's horrible. But we are watching companies demand that people go back to the office after working remotely for a few years. So a lot of people are trying to figure out what they could be doing on their commute to make it less boring.

The way that you start your morning can make or break your day. The last thing that you want is to roll up into work feeling angry because you've been squashed on the commute by other commuters. A calm and peaceful ride to work is the only way that you're going to start your day well. So what we've done is put together a list of how you can make your commute less boring and more relaxing.

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1. Don't think of it as a boring commute. First and foremost, you need to reframe it. You are on your way to work, yes. Or you are on your way home from work, yes, but that's still your time. Whether you want to engage in healthy activities such as diving into your book of sudoku and start puzzling your brain, or you want to re-watch a TV series that you've been trying to get into after work, use the time while you commute to do that. As long as you have a decent Internet connection you should be able to stream, but if you don't then it's definitely the puzzle books that will be the answer.

2. Come off your phone. Contrary to our previous point, a good way to start your day well is to not sit and stare at your phone for the full commute. If you're going to be going to work and you work with computers, start looking around instead. Look out the window and take note of your surroundings and people watch on the train. You'll feel so much better in yourself when you're not staring at a screen from the moment you get onto a train to the moment you get back off of the train this evening.

3. Read a book. If you don't get much quiet time to sit and read, but your commute is over an hour long on a public train, then get to the train early, get yourself a seat, and read. Jumping into the world with somebody else is often preferable. It also makes your commute a lot less boring because you're busy reading. Just don't forget about your stop.

Work through your To Do List. If you should be journaling, or you should be using your time to write a shopping list, or you should be looking to brush up on your meeting notes for the day. The commute is a great time to do that. Maximizing your time is important, and while nobody likes to sit for 40 minutes or longer on a public train or bus, you can still use that time to feel more productive. You'll be able to come into the office feeling like you've at least started your day well, because it's already begun before you've arrived.