I spend 2 hours a day on southern California freeways. Leaking time out of your day can be unnerving unless you have a plan. Here is mine:

1) AGGRESSIVELY DOWNLOAD PODCASTS – This is crucial for me. Download a lot of them. Put aside 1 hour every 2-4 weeks to pull together a robust cache of podcasts that will be enriching to you while you commute. I start with a list of current projects, and track down podcasts that have information I’ll need to excel at those tasks. Examples? SEO, Entrepreneurship, GTD, Productivity, Finance, Psychology. You name it. I feel as though I’ve already accomplished a great deal when I arrive at the office. Sometimes I’ll have lighter material for weekends and evenings. Ensure you download 3 times as much material as will be required on your commute (total commute time). You’ll want to skip at least half of the podcasts you encounter.

2) Jott.com – I’m not sure when they’ll be accepting new members, if you don’t already jott, set ticklers in your GTD system to check up on this website (they were recently acquired by Google). It is invaluable for driving commuters who have a great idea mid drive. This morning I jotted myself “one way to hack your commute is by using jott.com.” Nice.

3) Drink water – It mixes with your coffee or tea well and sets you up for the day.

4) Get there early – You will always feel better. You will likely only do it if you set a rule, so set the rule… and don’t hit snooze.

5) Skip the news – only negative things can happen when you listen to the news. You might start: a) thinking about it b) stressing about it 3) forgetting that you can make something of your commute 4) commenting on it. Ask yourself: What is the upside? If you can’t figure it out, forget it.