Steve Marr.org

Many of us spend a lot of hours in our cars commuting to work or traveling for business. This is time we cannot afford to waste. Although my regular commute takes twenty seconds as I walk across the house to get to my office, I often take driving trips to see clients.  

I try not to engage in phone conversations while driving. Driving and carrying on a serious business conversation is distracting for me. Others disagree and use drive time as phone time using a hands-free device.

However, I don’t want to waste this time, either.  Moses wrote, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, ESV) That’s why I look for ways to put drive time into good use. There are several ways to do this.

One way is to listen to recordings of business lectures and other how-to presentations that apply to my business. This allows you to turn dead time into productive time.

To make the most of these recordings, make a goal to glean one or two ideas from each presentation. If you hear idea after idea coming through, listen to the recording later when you can take notes. If you can take away one or two key points that you write down when you stop, it may be all you can incorporate anyway.

Another listening focus is to employ the teaching technique. Stop the recording every five minutes or so. Then, practice repeating what you learned as if there was a person sitting on your dash that you need to instruct. At first it might feel a bit silly; but when you pretend-teach each segment, you will be surprised how much better you understand and remember the material.  

Don’t lose productivity as you increase your drive-time miles.  Make good and safe use of them in ways that prepare you to help your business grow.

Steve Marr, Your Christian Business Coach 

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