Seth's Blog : Two commuting hacks

Two commuting hacks

Just about everyone commutes to work, by car or by public transit. And just about everyone carries a smart phone.

All organizations have a communications problem, and it gets worse as they grow. Which issues are we facing today? Who else is on the team? What’s changed in the environment, and what do we need to get in sync on?

Consider starting an internal podcast. Just fifteen or twenty minutes a day. The host interviews team members, informs on important issues or simply helps people see the big picture. When everyone on the team listens to the same podcast each morning, cohesion and focus improve.

A podcast with 25 of the right listeners might be exactly the right size.

The second hack: I’m amazed at how many people on the train are mindlessly swiping through one social media platform or another. Judging by their facial expressions, they’re not enjoying it much.

Instead, we can focus our time and energy on learning. Six months of commuting can easily cover an advanced college course in something that interests us. And using Claude as a Socratic tutor can be a breakthrough. If you’re driving, use voice mode. Ask it to patiently engage you, one conversation at a time, in a journey to learn something difficult. How transistors work. Why the Roman Empire fell. The origin of species.

Day by day, your commute gets better and you get smarter.