On commuting

I use my commuting time to catch up on my reading - with an audiobook playing on the car stereo.
But as I drive, I have seen people in their cars or company buses with their eyes glassed over, surrendered to reality.

I was at a client office in Mumbai recently and we got chatting about the length of our commutes.
His commute was about 2 hours each way and he seemed to have accepted that as a sort of fait accompli. Thinking aloud I said that those 4 hours every day constituted 1/6th of his life; and he gave me a sudden look as the realization struck him.

"That is like sitting in traffic for 2 whole months every year," he said, "Time I could be spending with my kids. That is the time I have been unable to take on vacations. I don't have to do this." The way he presented the Math, it does indeed seem like a waste of life.

I am convinced there is a gold-mine of a business waiting to happen, if we can find a way to let people use their commuting time in some way they find worthwhile. Until then, you might want to check out some audiobooks.