TIPS #4

FOUR. Be smart with your commute.

• Why it matters: Whether you are walking, taking the bus or train, or driving to school or work, all that time adds up. Your commute can be an hour or more each way, which adds up to maybe 3 hours total in one day - and that can mean 15 hours per week, or 60 hours per month. That's a LOT of time! Why not plan ahead so that you can maximize it in ways that can grow your imagination, help you learn new things, get strategic about how to achieve the goals that are important to you?

• How to use it daily: Instead of listening to the news or stressing out because you're stuck in traffic, queue up some podcasts to keep you alert, focused, and entertained. Pick topics that you care most about and that are useful for achieving your personal or professional goals. Here are a few podcast ideas:

• Optimize with Brian Johnson (condensed big ideas from the best books on optimal living and also micro classes on how to apply these ideas)

• Achieve Your Goals with Hal Elrod (creator of The Miracle Morning, provides ideas to cultivate a morning routine and be productive early in the day)

• Happier With Gretchen Rubin (a fun show led by bestselling author of "The Happiness Project" with small ideas you can apply to your life to exercise your happiness muscle)

• Intelligence Squared (forum for debate and intelligent discussion on a variety of topics ranging from world politics to art to economics)

• Planet Money ( stories about smart people, economics, politics)

• Radiolab (show about curiosity, interesting ideas, science, philosophy)

• The Inquiry (a debate on a controversial topic in the news and 4 experts challenging each other with 2 views, for and against the topic)

• Ask Altucher (Q&A sessions with entrepreneur/investor/writer James Altucherwhere he responds to questions from listeners on a variety of topics)

• Question of the Day (a show for people short on time and long on curiosity, with a lot of good humor in trying to answer the question at hand)