Use your commuting time to clear your mind

Do you drive to work or catch public transport? Whatever your chosen mode of transport, you probably spend your time rolling on the train, car or bus one of a few ways:

• Catching up on the day’s news
• Going through emails and making work-related calls
• Working on the laptop or tablet computer

You probably think this is time well spent – we’re all time poor and cramming in an hour or so at either end of the day is a great way to get a bit more done.

Maybe or maybe not.

Recently I was struck by the central idea of a book called The Third Space by Adam Fraser, who argues that how we move from one mindset to another is crucial in terms of managing a busy life.

Our actions in the “third space” – between, say, home and work – can really affect our behaviour.

Our friends over at LeadingCompany talked to Fraser and described a three-step process he helped teach people to improve their behaviour at home after returning from work.

“They taught people to reflect: To spend a few moments thinking about what just happened to them: what went well; what didn’t; what they would have changed. Once this step was completed, the test subjects were told to relax; to try and clear their mind for a few moments. Then, they were told to actively think about what would happen in the next activity they were doing (in this case, going home). What their goals were and how they would achieve them.”

People who used the process found their behaviour at home improved significantly. And all through a simple exercise in self-awareness that can be done on the train, plane or automobile.

Get it done – today!