{"id":4920,"date":"2019-08-12T18:04:45","date_gmt":"2019-08-12T23:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stlouisdad.com\/s\/?p=4920"},"modified":"2019-08-12T18:04:46","modified_gmt":"2019-08-12T23:04:46","slug":"turn-commute-into-productive-time-on-your-phone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stlouisdad.com\/s\/turn-commute-into-productive-time-on-your-phone\/","title":{"rendered":"Turn Commute Into Productive Time On Your Phone"},"content":{"rendered":"

The average American employee commute at least 25 minutes to work. However, more and more professionals are forced to commute over an hour to get to the office each day \u2013 and, of course, one hour back in the evening. If you\u2019re driving, it\u2019s a lot of full. Additionally, you need to stay focused on the road for long periods.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, if you\u2019re commuting on the train, the bus or the tram, you may find yourself quietly dozing off each morning on your way to the office. If you\u2019re lucky, you can get a seat, and you wait until you\u2019ve reached your stop. It\u2019s a lot of idle time in the day! While it\u2019s not a bad thing, idle time can make your commute appear more tiresome than it actually is. Indeed, our addiction to digital technology has turned us into impatient users. We\u2019re so used to click to get what we want that waiting for an hour or more without having anything to do can feel dull and draining in comparison. Can you turn your commute into something a little more exciting without moving out to live closer to the office? The answer is yes, and, believe it or not, all you need is your faithful smartphone device! Indeed, transforming the purposeless wait on the tram into productive time can change your perception of the daily commute. Are you ready to spice up your bus or train journey to work? Charge your phone and explore these different options:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Relax on the go<\/b><\/p>\n

Work is stressful. Most of us work in a hectic and fast-paced environment. It makes no doubt that the stress accumulated during your workday doesn\u2019t disappear when you leave the office. One of the most effective stress relief remedies is to exercise regularly. Unfortunately, if you work long hours, hitting the gym after a long day at the office may not be a solution. However, you can use your commute time to de-stress. There are many entertainment options available on your phone. Don\u2019t rush to your favorite social media platforms and instead <\/span>try some video games<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> If you haven\u2019t played games on your phone since the Snake games on the old Nokia, it\u2019s time to explore what\u2019s available in the App Store or Google Play Store, depending on whether you\u2019re an iPhone or an Android owner. Games offer the perfect distraction from stress, and, because they demand your attention, they help your mind to move away from work-related thoughts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Win, big or little, as long as you win<\/b><\/p>\n

Day after day, the same routine; it makes no doubt that the office life can be draining. For many employees, each day ends up looking just like the others. There\u2019s no other way to put it; the routine makes everything dull. Your days have lost their excitement, and somehow you wish you could call on sick and forget about work. But you can\u2019t, and every morning you\u2019re heading back to the office for another day of dullness. More often than not, changing jobs isn\u2019t going to help. Indeed, when you struggle with mental fatigue, it\u2019s tricky to get enthusiastic about finding another office to sit in. However, you can bring some excitement to your daily commute with <\/span>hot spins<\/span><\/a> games. Indeed, you could set a reasonable and safe budget to play every week \u2013 for instance, you can save your lunch money by preparing your meals, and repurpose it for a few spins. The prospect of potentially winning can inject some much-needed enthusiasm into the routine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep in touch with your clients\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

With a solid network of contacts, you can do almost anything. Platforms such as LinkedIn are hugely useful to make connections and build a list of professional contacts. Unfortunately, you need to invest a lot of time into the platform to gain any benefit from it. Being on LinkedIn isn\u2019t enough to land you the next best job or to grab a client\u2019s attention. You need to be active on LinkedIn to grow your network. So why not use your commute time to create a <\/span>memorable and productive profile<\/span><\/a>? Start by personalizing your connection requests.<\/span> You can\u2019t just hit the \u2018connect\u2019 button and hope for the best. Instead, visit the person\u2019s profile and use the \u2018connect\u2019 button there as it lets you write a small note. Similarly, following up face-to-face meetings on LinkedIn, such as trade show business card exchanges or even your yoga instructor can make a great deal of difference.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Take a course\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Who doesn\u2019t want to boost their professional skills? However, when you can\u2019t juggle going back to school with work, you need to find smart alternatives. Thankfully, there are plenty of mobile apps that let you <\/span>learn new skills<\/span><\/a> every day, directly from your smartphone.<\/span> Udemy is a favorite as you can find almost any topic online. One word of advice, though, not all course materials are cheap. However, the app runs regular sales, letting you buy expensive courses for as little as $10.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Build your online expert presence<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s never too late to start a blog and establish your presence online. You can use a blog to promote your expertise within the industry or even to build your own business that could one day replace your office job. Some bloggers have only created a blog because they enjoy sharing their opinions and ideas. Regardless of your <\/span>reason for blogging<\/span><\/a>, there is a lot to gain, for your reputation, your income and your mental health. A blogging platform such as WordPress lets you create exciting posts directly from the smartphone app.<\/span> You can edit your photos with an app such as Pixlr Express that enables you to adjust, correct, crop and filter your images for a consistent look.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Run a profitable side hustle\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Last but not least, why not start a side hustle that brings a little pocket money to your household? An online selling platform such as eBay allows you to earn supplemental income by <\/span>decluttering your home<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> You can also buy things wholesale and sell individual items on eBay. Admittedly, you need to know your market first as you might end up wasting your money on products nobody wants!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Making the commute to and from work more enjoyable and productive can dramatically impact on your mental health. More importantly, you can use the time to boost your income, your skills and your personal image online.<\/span><\/p>\n

This post is a collaborative effort by St. Louis Dad.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The average American employee commute at least 25 minutes to work. However, more and more professionals are forced to commute over an hour to get to the office each day \u2013 and, of course, one hour back in the evening. If you\u2019re driving, it\u2019s a lot of full. Additionally, you need to stay focused on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4921,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Turn Commute Into Productive Time On Your Phone #dadbloggers","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,1],"tags":[17,12,878,877,530],"class_list":["post-4920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apps-tech","category-blog","tag-around-town-2","tag-blog-2","tag-commute","tag-make-money","tag-phone"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stlouisdad.com\/s\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_2684.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5JMKA-1hm","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stlouisdad.com\/s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stlouisdad.com\/s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stlouisdad.com\/s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stlouisdad.com\/s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stlouisdad.com\/s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4920"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stlouisdad.com\/s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4922,"href":"https:\/\/stlouisdad.com\/s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4920\/revisions\/4922"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stlouisdad.com\/s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stlouisdad.com\/s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stlouisdad.com\/s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stlouisdad.com\/s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}