While I have cut back on my traveling time significantly I have always attempted to use travel time effectively. When I had two to four hours to “kill,” I looked for something to do that's productive.

I prefer to take headphones that cancel noise when traveling. The sounds around me can be distracting and I attempt to shut out as many as possible. This allows me to stay focused on the task I have before me. When I block out distractions waiting in a terminal or flying on an aircraft, I've been able to write articles or other serious communication; something I can't do without my headphones.

I spend time in my car that I don't like to waste. I can divide my driving into three categories:  long trips of several hours or more, 30 minute trips and trips of uneven length as I drive around town making visits to customers and prospects. I don’t want to waste my drive time.

For long trips I listen to downloaded preaching messages or business books on audio when it doesn’t interfere with my driving concentration.  When I'm not driving I'm able to take notes. Anytime I read a book, my goal is to learn one or two ideas I can implement.  I'm not looking to remember a lot of detail, but if I can utilize three ideas effectively.

A guest was checking out my vegetable garden and noted that my potato patch was growing extremely well. “Adam” commented that his potato plants were wilted and appeared to be dying. I mentioned a few things I did to keep my potatoes healthy and suggested how Adam might treat his sick plants. Immediately Adam took issue with my ideas. I quickly backed off because I didn't want to get into an argument. However, I was thinking how I wasn’t the one with sick potatoes. I believe part of the issue was that Adam didn't see me as an expert in gardening.

I've noticed that people have a tendency to argue with expert advice. I've had business clients argue with me intensely when they believe their business decision is correct and they don't want to make alterations. Inflexibility makes going forward in a different direction very difficult. In those moments I think to myself, I'm not the one with the failing business.

When I interview individuals for a job, one of my favorite interview questions is to ask them to tell me about the three biggest mistakes they made and what they learned from them. I'm not as concerned about the mistakes as I am in understanding how a potential employee grows through missteps. Scripture relates, “Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.” (Luke 2:52, NLT) We all need to emulate the example of our Lord who grew in wisdom.

Recently, I looked into replacing a coffeemaker that bit the dust. I pulled into the Walmart parking lot, entered the store not sure where to find coffeemakers. My first inquiry sent me in the general direction. I checked out several options and put one in my cart. Then, I walked to the checkout line, made my purchase, and trekked back to my car. The whole experience took about 30 minutes.

Now I am wondering why I didn't just go to Amazon.com, search coffee makers, check out a few online reviews, and make a purchase. I would've saved nearly an hour of my time. In essence I wasted an hour by going to the brick-and-mortar establishment, time I didn't really have to waste. I wasn't valuing my time correctly.