I regularly teach a study skills course to new college students. One of the topics that we always cover is time management. We usually do an exercise in which we calculate how much time we spend during the week on different activities.
Many students are surprised at how much time they spend on certain things in their lives. Some find that they study much less than they thought or sleep or work more than they were aware of. Some are simply shocked to find out how much time they spend watching television in a week.
For me, it was a rude awakening when I realized that I spend something like ten hours a week just commuting back and forth to work. That’s about an hour each way, five days a week.
When I put that in perspective, it’s more than a full work day that is lost to me. Sure, I can spend some of that time thinking and planning my day or week, but for the most part that time is wasted.
This is another opportunity cost of working outside the home. For those who are able to telecommute or otherwise work out of their home or even nearby, this isn’t a factor. They are able to make much more efficient use of their time. For those of us who do have to spend time traveling to get to work, we are investing a significant amount of time and effort every day just to get there.
What do we do on this commute? Most people probably listen to the radio. The morning FM shows are typically full of unintelligent, adolescent banter with each program competing for the prize of most crude and banal. How entertaining are the constant dirty jokes and interviews with strippers? Don’t you get tired of all the cleverly worded and thinly veiled references to sex and deviancy designed to just barely escape the notice of the FCC?
If you’re not listening to that brainless chatter, is it the news? How enlightened are we after hearing the latest tally of shootings, apartment fires, drug busts and car crashes? Does anybody profit from absorbing this information? Or how about the ridiculously detailed weather forecasts? Does it matter to anyone what the wind speed is or whether a cold front is due to come in? Just tell me if it’s going to rain!
What could we do with the time that is essentially wasted this way? Read more, write more, work more, relax more? More of something other than wasting time? Though this isn’t a call for everyone to run right out and quit his or her job, it’s definitely food for thought.
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The time wasted on commuting is, however, a great argument for good mass transit… which unfortunately Cincinnati doesn’t really have. I know my editor in New York commutes into the city every day, and she spends the commuting time readings manuscripts.
If someone else is driving, then you can get something productive done.
It would be great if we had a better public transportation system in our area. The light rail idea would totally change the culture around here after a while.
I’d also love to be able to reclaim that wasted time and be unchained from having to deal with a car every day.
Very pretty design! Keep up the good work. Thanks.
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Before I had an in-car MP3 player, I used to listen to public radio. In Canada we have CBC Radio and it does a wonderful job of news reporting, interesting diverse programming, and best of all no-ads.
I used to listen to our local public radio, but, unfortunately, it does have plenty of advertising. It’s hard to find anything advertising-free in the US without having to pay for it. Thanks for the comment.
i don’t really commute (going to work in the morning and getting back home in the afternoon) but i do spend a lot of time on the roads. what happens to me is that i often get ideas for posts and articles. sometimes is hard to remember verything when i have the chance to write it all down, however, the seed is there.
cosmin
I know what you mean, cosmin. I try to carry a notepad with me to write stuff down so I don’t forget. Yes, that’s me swerving all over the road as I write down a great idea for my blog! Thanks for your comment.
next time someone honks a horn at you, i want you to know it’s me
See, the world is a much smaller, friendlier place now!
interesting that’s I love that kind of writing it really make you think! I think that if you set goals and work hard then you need a balance. you have to have work hard and you also need some time to have fun. if your having to much fun and not really working you feel like your not getting anything done. on the other hand if you work really hard and you don’t ever take anytime out then you feel like your wasting your life. if you can enjoy what your doing then it help. I live in LA and I waste so much time in traffic. work 12 hours and come back home and go to sleep. but then I might get a week off and then I try to relax. anybody if they looks at how much time they waste then they can feel bad but if you turn it to a positive then maybe it will give you a chance to manage you time better.
Hi James. So true. I bet the traffic in LA is unbelievable!
You’re spot on when you talk about the balance. Maybe just accepting that some time waste is unavoidable is a good approach. It’s another great lesson that we just have to accept some things in life and we’re much better off psychologically when we do this. Thanks for your comment!
I have an excellent suggestion for people who want to use the time wisely – Audio tapes. I have used the method and use it to learn a foreign language, so the time is not wasted. They have different kind of audio tapes available – finacial, self-motivation, language skills, and others so there are plenty of choices if you are into that sort of stuff.
Although, I would certainly not recommend meditation tapes when you are driving on the freeway
Hey Cin, that’s a great idea. I used to listen to my Learn in Your Car Japanese tapes for a while, but got bored with it. I should start doing that again. Thanks for the tip!
I had read the post. It was all about time management and how can we use the time given to us for a day without wasting it. There are some people who doesn’t no the value of time. cin had given a beutiful suggestion for people who want to use the time wisely. It is an excellent idea.
When going to school a few years back, I had a 45 minute bus ride each way. I loved the fact that I didn’t have to drive myself. Instead I could use the time to study my homework or get some extra sleep.
Audio tapes sound like a great idea by the way! I’ve never tried it but I’ve always wanted to learn another language. I’ll probably give it a shot some time to see if it works for me.