Let’s be honest, unless you’re on holidays and exploring a new country, being stuck on a long train commute day after day can seem like a complete waste of time. Even worse considering it’s travelling to work.
But despite being boring, uncomfortable and almost always tiring, that time spent on the daily train commute can also be surprisingly valuable me-time; a slice of day dedicated solely to you. Fill that me-time with a range of activities and boom – it just passed by a lot quicker.
Here’s 13 things to do on a train commute to make the most of your time and turn what feels like wasted time into something productive and heck, maybe even a little bit enjoyable.
1. Read books
Books can be a train commuters best friend and these days thanks to the plethora of e-readers and apps available these days, you’re no longer travelling with a single book, but an entire library.
While many folks still prefer the pleasure of holding a physical book, e-readers and smartphones allow you to comfortably read in even the most crowded train carriage – particularly if you’re forced to stand. E-readers also take up considerably less space in that over-stuffed commuter bag sitting across your lap.
I love a good paperback but over the years I have been converted and can say that I love, repeat LOVE my Kindle. I was initially hesitant about e-readers as I don’t like reading from an illuminated screen (ie a smartphone) but what they call ‘e-ink technology’ is about as close to the physical book experience as you can get. Check out the range of Kindles at Amazon but my preference by far is the Paperwhite.
Pro tip: If you’re using an e-reader, consider a service like Kindle Unlimited – it’s effectively like Netflix, but for books! Click here to get your first month free.
2. Listen to audio books
The next best thing to reading a book is having someone read it to you. Not simply an awesome way to pass a long train trip, audio books are perfect for car, bus and bicycle commuters also.
Audio books have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, largely thanks to big providers such as Audible. Often professionally narrated, sometimes with accompanying sound fx and musical scores, they’re a terrific form of modern commuter entertainment.
Pro tip: Sign up with Audible and get the first 2 audio books free.
3. Learn a foreign language
Remember that foreign language you kept putting off because you never had time? No more excuses!
There’s a huge variety of digital language learning options these days, all perfect for train commuters. From classic audio-based language lessons and podcasts to smartphone apps which provide everything from vocabulary learning games to flashcard. There’s even apps like HelloTalk which serve as a social hub for language learners, great to find language exchange opportunities or simply make friends with speakers of the language you’re studying.
As someone who spent many hours studying Mandarin Chinese on the train I can tell you that a long commute is the perfect place to learn, reinforce and practice. The biggest challenge is finding the motivation to stick with it because let’s face it, language learning can take work! (particularly if you’re studying Chinese :))
Recommended online language learning apps & providers
| Pimsleur | Pimsleur’s fantastic audio lessons are based on how we acquire language when we’re babies |
| Rosetta Stone | An award winning software package that combines a range of language learning options to suit most styles |
| Duolingo | Gamified lessons to make the learning fun! |
| Memrise | A fantastic app with a focus on memorizing vocabulary |
| HelloTalk | Connect with native speakers and help each other learn via language exchange |
Pro tip: avoid practice speaking on the train!
4. Listen to music
When you’re tired after a long day, music excels at passing the time while keeping you relaxed. It also has the added benefit of drowning out the often annoying sounds of our fellow commuters!
The combination of fast mobile networks and smartphones has given us access to music streaming services like never before, making commuting for the music lover particularly easy.
Recommended online music streaming services
| Amazon Music Unlimited | Listen to tens of millions of songs on any device anywhere (click here for a free 30 day trial) |
| Spotify | An awesome streaming service with a bajillion play-lists to choose from (check out premium free for 3 months) |
| Apple Music | Access to over 50 million songs (try it now for free) |
| YouTube Premium | Ad free YouTube and YouTube music and the ability to listen with the App minimized? Yes please! (free one month trial available here) |
Pro tip: Spotify can be used free with a limit of 6 music skips per hour and commercials every 30 minutes.
5. Study an online course
There are thousands of online courses available on every conceivable subject. Whether up-skilling for work, exploring new career options or to keep the mind active, the train is the perfect place to study.
Most course providers have their own apps or online portals which make doing them on a phone, tablet or laptop a breeze. Many let you preview several modules for free so you can assess the quality of a course in advance, or whether a course is suitable for you.
Recommended online course providers
| Udemy | Choose from over 100,000 courses – regularly has sales. Allows course previewing and has a very good app. |
| Coursera | College and graduate level courses offered by top notch institutions taught by world-class academics and experts. |
| Lynda.com | LinkedIn Learning’s range of online courses. Great subscription options available. |
Pro tip: The price and quality of courses varies substantially. If you find a course that interests you, check back often as courses regularly go on sale for sometimes considerable price reductions.
6. Listen to podcasts
For the long commuter, podcasts are one of the best things since sliced bread. Imagine being able to find a radio show tailored to your own very specific interests – that’s podcasts!
From sports commentary style retelling of ancient history to writing tips. Science? Comedy? World politics? Skateboarding? Travelling? Literally every topic imaginable is covered and best of all, most of them are free.
Ranging anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours, you’re guaranteed to find one that matches the length of your commute.
Check out PCMag’s Best Podcasts of 2019.
Pro tip: Due to the unpredictable availability of mobile phone signal on the train, pre-download podcast episodes at home or at work(!) so they’re guaranteed to be listenable.
7. Meditate
In our busy lives, how often do we find the time to just stop and do nothing?Actively meditating can take that simple relaxation to the next level, allowing you to start or end the day feeling refreshed…and completely forget about the often annoying people sitting around you!
There’s also a slew of health benefits to boot!
So close your eyes, take a deep breath and relax.
Pro tip: If you’re like me and haven’t a clue how to meditate, pick up an app like Simply Being from the iTunes app store and it will verbally guide you through it to the accompaniment of soothing music
8. Watch TV & Movies
We live in an age where TV series’ have never been of such a high quality, so numerous and so readily available. Before you can catch up one series, another has released, and then another, and another and suddenly you’re buried.
First world problems
Thank god for that terribly boring commute to work…the perfect place to watch some of that backlog where even a standard half hour episode can halve your travel time.
Recommended TV streaming services
| Amazon Prime | Thousands of movies, TV shows & Amazon Originals |
| YouTube | You know those 5 hour YouTube binges you didn’t mean to have on the home computer? Just imagine them on a train… |
| Netflix | If you’ve got the data cap to support it, the Netflix smartphone app is a fine addition to your travel kit. |
Pro tip: Periodically check with your phone provider whether they’ve got any deals on data allowance. The good news is they’re getting larger and cheaper by the year.
9. Work
Utilizing that boring train ride to catch up on work can be surprisingly productive. You’re not only making the daily grind that much easier but when you get into the groove you’ll be surprised at how quick it can make the commute seem.
The train is a particularly good place for smashing out all those email replies you put off in favor of escaping the office on time.
Cloud-based services such as as Dropbox make file handling remotely a breeze and phone apps like Microsoft Office Outlook make attending to email better than ever.
10. Write a novel
You know that novel you kept telling yourself you’d write? No more excuses!
The age of the smart phone means you don’t need to lug that cumbersome laptop with you everywhere in order to write something substantial (although I recommend getting your hands on the super lightweight 11.6 inch MacBook Air if you have the means)
An awesome range of writing apps combined with cloud-based file management like Dropbox and Google Drive makes writing a full length novel very achievable. There’s even apps specifically for writing outlines and character development.
Alternatively you can use your train time to smash out blog articles.
Pro tip: I cant talk about writing remotely without mentioning the amazing Scrivener app. From outlining to the various stages of drafting, this app is insanely good for both pc/mac or smartphone
11. Play games
Mobile gaming is insanely good these days – many titles rivaling those you’d previously only find on a gaming console. You can get your hands on anything from multiplayer shooters to role playing games, online poker, fighting, driving, puzzles – you name it.
If you’re looking for something a little more productive there’s also a range of games to assist foreign language learning.
Pro tip: Pro tip: Check out the iTunes App Store either at their website or in your phone app for more games than you’ll ever need! Android users click here
12. Digitally detox
Are you like me and find yourself using your phone far more often than you should be? Have you noticed your attention span is at an all-time low, and too often you’re sitting on the same sofa as your partner, both glued to your screens?
I certainly have.
It might be time to switch the phone off and go on a digital detox. Purposely taking a step in this direction can be immensely boring, but also can have many health benefits.
Being stuck in a train, car or bus can be the perfect opportunity to try and wrangle some of your attention back from that incredibly interesting device you just happen to be reading this list on.
13. Sleep
A good friend and work colleague of mine says the sleep he gets on the train to and from work is some of the best he gets all day (I suspect largely thanks to the two very small children waiting for him at home). As someone who often dozes on the train I can attest.
If you can get a seat by the window and pull off a powernap, it’s unsurprisingly a very good way of making the trip seem much faster.
Pro tip: Just be sure you don’t miss your train stop!
Hopefully by now you’re inspired to try at least a few of these things to do on a train commute and find ways to get more value from your time. Be sure to also check out 16 TRAIN COMMUTER ESSENTIALS YOU NEED IN 2020 to arm yourself with the right kit.
Happy commuting!
