Eighteen months ago my wife and I moved. The move was to a neighboring town that was closer to her work but further from mine. Where I’d been commuting only five minutes at a slow drive I’m now 50 minutes at a hard clip. Good situation gone bad for me, right? I wouldn’t agree with that statement.

I look forward to that hour and a half each day. That mindset came a few months after the move, when I purchased an IPod, FM Tuner, and power adapter for my car. Not for music, although I have on occasion used it for that, but for listening to audiobooks. Now when I see a book I want to read, I first search for as an unabridged audiobook. I can listen to two or three books each month during my commute and retain about as much as if I’d read them.

As Kathy Sierra stated in her The myth of “keeping up” post on “Creating Passionate Users” that many of us “have a stack of books, journals, manuals, articles, API docs, and blog printouts that you think you’ll get to.”

I’ll admit that I still can’t keep up, but by using this bit of time wisely I’ve gained a sense of accomplishment and have lessened my “to read” stack considerably. I’ve also lessened the pressure and guilt from being behind and have made a necessary hour and a half commute into production time I look forward to.

Technorati Tags: Meandering Passage, New Skills, Skillsteps

4 Comments

  1. I also have a long commute but mine is via plane @ the beginning and end of each week. The iPod has been my savior as I routinely chew through a book a week this way. I usually have a nice fiction book, an interesting non fiction book, and a few podcasts. I’v e been meaning to add some language programs so I can expand my horizons a bit. Any great books you’d endorse?

    Thanks,

    -james

  2. James, I enjoy a wide varity of books. Below are some I’ve enjoyed and would recommend:

    A Long Way Down – Nick Hornby
    Life Expectancy – Dean Koontz (Not you standard Dean Koontz)
    The Broker – John Grisham
    A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson
    The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
    Blink – Malcolm Gladwell

    Anyone have any other suggestions?

  3. Lisa Whitaker

    Try this book:

    Against the Grain by Richard Manning

  4. Lisa:

    Thanks, I’ll take a look at it!