Taking the train to move around a big city like KL not only saves money, but also helps avoid nasty traffic jams. Unlike driving though, commuting via train offers a wide window of free time to do basically anything, including nothing! If you value your time, however, there are countless ways to enjoy train commute. Consider trying any of these 10 on your next trip.
1. Sharpening your photo-taking skill
Nearly all cell phones, nowadays, are equipped with decent cameras. In many cases, you don’t need RM 2,000 camera to snap a picture of a dainty cloud or majestic sunset. Beautiful life moments are all around us. It only takes an observant eye and a charged phone (with a camera of course) to capture plenty of them.
2. Learning a new language
Learning a new language requires a great deal of time and commitment. And when a big portion of your time is divided between work and family, commitment enough wouldn’t suffice to convince you that a second (or perhaps third) language matters in your life. Despite the excuses, you have more than enough time in our lifespan, including that of daily commutes, to learn and communicate effectively in multiple languages.
You don’t have to be a polyglot. One or two extra languages would do more than good. You can start with memorizing few words on each daily, or even take it to next level by practicing with fellow commuters who might speak the language we learning.
3. Catching up with work
Whether you are working or still in school, chances are, you don’t always get enough time to finish your tasks within schedule. And resuming the work at home is not only detrimental in term of productivity but also bad for your mental energy and social responsibilities.
While there is a spectrum of ways to improve work productivity, including the use of mobile apps, the time of your daily commute is a perfect opportunity to do some -if not all- of the overdue work.
4. Organizing your emails
Email inbox can easily get bloated with messages from client requests to social notifications. As you listen to your favorite music, you can spend few minutes of your daily commute organizing your email messages into groups and deleting useless or spammy ones. This habit not only allow you to spot important emails that you’ve missed, also also helps you retain focus on what’s important as you kick-start your workday.
5. Writing a review of your favorite mobile apps
We enjoy using and bragging about mobile apps with our friends and colleagues, be it games like 벳무브 or instant messaging apps. Yet in the end, we are reluctant to share our experiences, as users, with the rest of the world, simply because ‘Ain\’t Nobody Got Time for That’.
But in reality, if you are using Kelana Jaya line LRT, you have enough time to write at least 10 reviews between the KLCC and Masjid Jamek stations. They could be as simple as I love it!’ or with a bit of feedback as ‘The screen is too crowded, still gives me what I need’.
6. Talking to fellow commuters
The good aspect in sharing a commute with hundreds of people is that you can easily ask around if you got lost. Yet what makes sharing a space with people you’ve never met thrilling is the opportunity to look at them not as stranger but rather as fellow humans, with common interests, emotions and curiosity towards life.
Approaching people with that mindset can be nerve wrecking for sure, yet it’s also immensely rewarding as you discover how much you and them are alike, or when you realize that the world is full of wonderful people, many of which were setting beside you all the time.
7. Practicing proper body postures
Body posture is something that most people overlook as they carry out with their daily activities, including commutes. A poor body posture exerts unbalanced pressure on on your body causing health problems such as back and shoulder pain. Contrarily, a proper body posture balance out the pressure and increase blood flood flow, longside making you appear confident in front of others.
8. Writing a story
Most of the successful novelists such as J. K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer weren’t taught how to write novels that touched the lives of millions. They’ve discovered their creativity just by writing about things that inspired them, either from dreams or daily life encounters. Writing something interesting is not a piece of cake. It demands continuous practice in term of language and style and most importantly commitment.
9. Making a resolution
We think of resolutions all the time, not only during year-end. Throughout out our lives, we come across circumstances and people that encourage or influence us to change something within ourselves. It could be to layout off a bad habit or adopting a good one, losing weight or just altering a perspective of life.
Consider using a portion of your commute time to think of big changes that can potentially transform your life for the better.
10. Relaxing
There are moments in life, when doing nothing is the best option. Stress from work, school and life matters can’t be resolved by thinking alone. Sometimes, thinking too hard will only make things worse.
If you had a bad day at work, lost your phone to a pickpocket, or had an argument with your loved one, yet you could do nothing about it, close your eyes, just take a deep breath, relax your muscles and simply let your worries, fears and sadness fade away as you exhale. Stop thinking, just live the moment and enjoy ambiance around you.
