4 great ways to make the most of long car journeys

Our commutes are full of what’s sometimes referred to as ‘dead time’, especially for drivers. Since your hands and concentration are both generally occupied, you can’t do what you’d normally do on trains and buses, such as fiddle with your phone, read, or even get a little creative with a pencil and sketchpad. However, as a driver you’ll be happy to know that there are more options to pass the time than there might first appear.

That means you don’t have to endure your longest journeys in boredom, whether you’re a private customer planning on using car hire for your long Christmas journey, a member of staff looking to take advantage of our flexi van hire services, or a travelling salesmen using our large cars for business purposes. Wherever you’re going and however long you’re travelling for, you might find this list useful in helping the miles to just fly by!

Call ahead to prepare your schedule, or get yourself organised

The very first thing we should say is the obvious: don’t do this unless it’s safe to do so. (That means no mobiles at the wheel!) Happily, lots of our vehicles and van hire options here at Intack Self Drive have a range of in-car connectivity, giving you the ability to communicate safely at the wheel. If you’re a small family making the Christmas drive, you may find this helpful to keep family posted of your progress, and whether you’ve hit any traffic jams and similar sorts of delays. 

However, it’s probably an activity that will be most helpful for business users of our services - especially salespeople, who are often on reactive schedules, and need to make arrangements on the fly with both customers and managers. The ability to communicate while on the move is a great tool not just for keeping your boss in the loop, but also for managing the expectations of customers - which is an undeniably useful skill no matter what your industry. 

Listen to audio books and podcasts

When it comes to long cross-country journeys, audiobooks are often a parents’ best friend. They provide a reliable and effective way to keep the kids entertained, and with a bit of planning you may even be able to decide on an audiobook that’s a favourite of the whole family. If you’re travelling on your own, on the other hand, you might want to choose more educational podcasts to improve either your general knowledge, or your expertise on a specific topic. On that note…

Absorb an audio seminar from industry experts

The most famous example of these probably comes in the form of TED talks, which are widely available in audio format. Another favourite of solo travellers, these sorts of seminars and expert talks can help you keep yourself at the cutting edge of your chosen (or required) skills and knowledge. While it can be helpful in improving your performance in your current job, it doesn’t necessarily have to be related to your current position. Instead, you can choose seminars that are more aspirational in nature, focused on the roles you’re aiming for, rather than the one you have now. They could also be related to goals you’re aiming for in your personal life. 

Learn a new language

This is another extremely popular one for solo travellers, and it’s an undeniably useful skill. Widely spoken languages like French, Spanish and German are popular, and the great thing about it is that even the hours you spend making mistakes are objectively useful time. In your personal life, you can employ these foreign languages when you travel to other countries, and they can also help you communicate with customers (or even potential employers) in your professional life too. 

There are all sorts of techniques that tricks that modern teachers employ to help students learn, but you can’t do any of it without an investment of time. And when you’re travelling, by definition you’ve got plenty of it to spare! Don’t worry if you’ve tried without success in school - modern learning approaches such as DuoLingo or the Michel Thomas method make a conscious effort to be highly accessible for learners of any level, and are designed from the ground up for an audio format. What we’re saying is: it might well be easier than you think! 

These are just a few of our suggestions of course, and you may well have some of your own. It’s about whatever works for you - if you’ve enjoyed the time you’ve spent, or learned something from it, then by definition it can’t be wasted time. Plus you’ll be thankful of anything that make the hours go faster when you’re on the long Christmas drive, or making constant trips to customers! We’ve got a fantastic range of vehicles to help you make the trip, too. You can take a look at our flexi car hire options here, or browse our daily and weekly hire options. If you’ve got any questions or need anything clarified, our friendly team is only a phone call away - feel free to give us a ring on 01254 57811!