Five Ways to Take Advantage of Downtime on the Road
dangerousroads.org focuses on, as its name suggests, dangerous roads. When on a dangerous road, you have to completely focus on driving safely. Most road trips are not completely composed of dangerous roads, and you can expect a fair amount of downtime on road trips.
Unless you have a self-driving car, you have to focus too much on driving to watch a movie, read a book, or doodle, but you can afford to give some focus to auditory and visual activities like listening to the radio or counting how many cars pass by. Our brain craves stimulation, but the repetitive music on the radio and road games can get boring. To help with this, here are five ways to take advantage of downtime on the road and keep your brain stimulation.
1. Learn Something New from Podcasts
Podcasts are audio recordings and a genre that has been rising in popularity this past decade. Podcasts discuss anything from entrepreneurship to sports to art and are great opportunities to learn while on the road. Say you’re interested in learning how to invest, there are a lot of good investment podcasts out there that can teach you the ins-and-outs of investing. The music on the radio can become repetitive after a certain amount of time driving, and learning something new is different and stimulating enough to switch things up from your typical radio station. Podcasts can come off as intimidating and pretentious at first since it’s different from mainstream media, but it is worth getting into. If you are new to podcasts, we suggest going through the most popular podcasts to get a feel for what podcasts are like.
2. Catch Up with Family and Friends over the Phone
Thankfully, technology has been created to safely make calls while driving. When you are on safer roads, you can catch up with family and friends. This is especially helpful when you are driving by yourself. Being confined to a small space for a long time can make you feel stir-crazy, and catching up on the phone will make you feel like someone is there with you. People lose track of time, and people like to hear from you. Phone calls, in this way, are mutually beneficial for everyone.
3. Get Tuned in with the News
It’s a well-publicized fact that 92% of Americans listen to AM/Fm radio. The majority of people spend the most time listening to music-related stations, and news stations are often forgotten about. Staying updated with the news provides variation in what you’re hearing and stimulates your brain as you learn new things. By the time you’re out of the car, you’ll know about everything that’s going on.
4. Take an Audio Tour
When driving through different places, it is natural to not think about the area you’re in. History exists everywhere. The boring road you’re on might have a rich and interesting history behind it. I want to challenge you to go on an audio tour of the place you’re in. You’ll gain a newfound appreciation of a place that is just a small part of your larger journey.
5. Record and Audio Journal
Solitude and self-reflection go hand-in-hand. What better way to track your thoughts than recording an audio journal. Journaling is a great practice for personal growth and tracking ideas. This activity is similar to catching up with family members and friends in that you’re talking. The only difference is that you’re talking to yourself.
Driving doesn’t have to be boring or unproductive. There are several things that you can do to keep your journey fresh and interesting. Every dangerous road connects to a safe road, and you don’t want to be bored when it’s safe.