Undergraduate Blog / Career Development

Three Ways to Make the Most of Your Commute

One of the things I miss most from Babson is the ability to wake up at 7:45AM to make it to my 8AM because of the 2 minute walk from dorm to classroom.

This summer, my internship is located in a WeWork office in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, an “up-and-coming” neighborhood filled with gentrified ethnic restaurants selling overpriced food, an Equinox right above Whole Foods, two Urban Outfitters, and millennials. Although getting lunch can be a bit pricey, I have grown to love the neighborhood because it maintains its culture in the form of murals, mom and pop shops, and rooftop restaurants and cafes.

However, I need to take a bus and three trains to get to Williamsburg. This means that my commute is an hour (on a good day) to an hour and a half (most days) to a grand total two or three hours on public transportation. Here are a couple things I do on my commute:

1. Podcasts
At the end of spring semester, I asked around my brothers in Delta Sigma Pi for Podcasts that they recommended. They did not disappoint! My favorite Podcasts to listen to are Serial, Revisionist History, and Stuff You Should Know. Podcasts are easy listening in the morning or after work and you can pick up some interesting facts to share with your family or colleagues, like I did when I learned about how TV Dinners were made.

2. Music
Spotify’s “Daily Mixes” are playlists that are curated based on your most played songs to introduce you to new artists and songs. These playlists aren’t random and are generated based on music genre so you don’t have to go from Migos to James Arthur. I’ve been listening to these playlists during my commutes and have found new songs to work out to or on leisurely walks.

3. RELAX
Occasionally I’ll disconnect from my phone during my commute and just sit and enjoy the subway ride. While it’s almost impossible to have a quiet train ride, there are days where the subway racket turns into white noise and it’s nice to just sit and have a moment before a full workday. This has taught me the importance of slowing down and having the time to do activities that require little to no energy, such as people watch or stare out the window.

These are the things that I do on my commute! I know I’m missing some major ones that other people do, such as read or catch up on work, but I believe that my commute is my time to prepare for a stress-filled workday, not practice for it.