Reading books
This has the advantage over TV in that one does not have to worry about the battery running out, unless you read electronic books. All you need is to remember to take the book with you. For anyone with a continuous commute of over 20 minutes- e.g. no line changes- it is possible to read and absorb fairly serious topics so this activity is not necessarily limited to the kind of reading that does not require much concentration. Get my drift?
The daily 90 minutes of commuting has been useful for me to catch up on reading those books that I need to read but have no time other than that which takes me to get from A to B. When I get to these points there are tasks awaiting and there is no time to indulge the mind with these other topics. The recent political discussions regarding benefits tax, for example, has heightened my interest on the issue of social equality to such an extent that I feel compelled to read more on the subject to help me answer some of the questions I have. There is little or no time to do this other than while I am on the tube and yet I need this information for me to judge the merit or demerit of the government's decisions and, thus, inform me of how I can best fulfill my civil obligations. Perhaps it is a sign of the times we're in that one has to be trapped in a train carriage to be able to do this even though it is obviously important.
What's more when reading a particularly interesting book, any extra time spent on the train because of problems on the track, etc become a blessing. I sometimes find myself wishing the journey would take a bit longer so I could read a bit more.
Variety is key but reading as a means to further learning can be achieved with this otherwise 'dead' time so why not?
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