How to utilize time when stuck in traffic.

I drive a car almost everyday. Probably like most drivers, I don’t like traffic jams and closed level crossings. These can easily consume significant amount of time and cause nervousness. It is unaffordable. Don’t let traffic jams waste your time. Use following ideas to fill it with some positive activities:

Relax, slow down your breath.

Don’t get nervous. It is the most important step. Relax.

Very often I find myself in hurry, stressed and in the poor mood. Being stuck in traffic jam is a good moment to slow down and release tension. Don’t think about your work, duties and worries. Focus on your breathing. Slow it down and relax. Develop your own relaxing routine that will work well for you and use it.

Turn on your radio and sing.

Music can help you to keep positive attitude. If you like, then sing. It is a great breathing exercise.

Eat breakfast or fruits.

If you didn’t have time to eat your breakfast, do it now. If you didn’t have time for preparing breakfast, next time do it the day before, in the evening. Keep it in refrigerator till morning. Fruits are even better as they don’t need too much preparation. My favorites are apples and bananas.

Use your cell phone.

Perform your urgent calls. If you don’t have any, call someone you love or like. Just for simple, positive conversation.
Organize tasks and messages.

Meditate, visualize or do the brainstorming.

If you meditate, do it unless surroundings disturb you. Visualizing tasks you have to perform in near future is also a great idea. Sometimes, I do small brainstorming. This is exactly how I came with the idea of this post. Remember to note everything, for instance on your cell phone.

Listen to the podcasts.

Upload podcasts to your player and listen to them next time you are stuck.

Read newspaper.

In Polish cities, there are a lot of newspapers you can get for free on street and on bigger crossroads. They usually don’t have too valuable content, but anyway I can always read about some most important news. You can also take some press you bought but didn’t have time to read earlier.

Do a crossword.

Any brain activity is welcome. Crosswords are only as an example, but I have a lot of them in free newspapers.

Take some pictures.

Traffic jams and level crossings are grateful subjects for photographers. Just take a look…

photo credit: César Rincón

Do you have any other interesting ideas? Share them in the comments.