Improve Your Career While You Drive

The 40-hour work week is a relic. A recent Expedia.com survey found that nearly two-thirds (63%) of Americans now work more than 40 hours a week, while four in 10 workers spend at least 50 hours a week on the job.

If you happen to be one of those working long hours and feel there is no extra time in the day to improve your career, then your commute -- both to and from work -- may be an ideal window of time to work on little things which can help your work situation. 

Sure, if you take public transportation or carpool, you have the opportunity to do a lot of things that aren't possible if you drive to work. But even if you drive, there are still plenty of things you can do to shape up your skills:

1. Listen to audio books. There are probably a long list of books relevant to your career that you know you should read, but simply haven't been able to find the time to do so. Your commute to and from work can be the perfect time to catch up on these. Many books are now released on CD and your local library should have a large selection that you can check out for free. Along the same lines, there are more and more podcasts available with a wealth of information, which can be downloaded and then listened to during your commute.

 2. Record your thoughts. You can also take the opposite approach and instead of listening, do the talking. It can be a good investment to get a hands-free digital recorder. If you have one with you in the car, you can use it to record a list of tasks that need to be addressed. By planning your daily, weekly or monthly to-do list on your way to the office, you know what needs to be done as soon as you arrive. Recording a review of your day on the way home will help you to determine areas where you can improve.