Mum on the Run: Top Tips to Turn the Commute Into a Productivity Zone.

As part of the 75 per cent of Australian mothers who juggle motherhood and a career I am always on the lookout for smarter ways to manage my time.

If there’s one place I’ve spent quite a bit of dead time over the years it’s the car – whether it’s a commute for a business meeting or ferrying the kids to and from school and extra curricular activities, some days I feel I really should put taxi driver on my resume.

But once I realised I could be utilising this time to get some of my to-do list ticked off I made friends with the rather thankless task of driving and now I even have a specific in-car task list.

The first thing you need to do (if you haven’t already) is pair your smartphone with your car or get a Bluetooth car kit. It’s against the law to touch your mobile phone while you are driving so make sure you’re all set for hands-free and always keep the road ahead your first priority.

Then let the timesaving, multitasking begin:

• Make and receive calls. While you are driving you can phone the office to schedule meetings, check on messages, call clients who require quick yes or no answers and have quick briefings with colleagues. You will need to keep in mind if it’s appropriate to make or take calls with the kids in the car – a backseat brawl broadcast to the entire office is not a good look.
• Get up to speed with industry news. Load your smartphone up with the latest professional podcasts and talking books and brush up on your business knowledge on the way to the office.
• Turn your car into a command centre. Switch your smartphone’s voice commands on and you will be able to use voice to text SMSing and emailing. This is a great way to send reminders to yourself as they pop in to your head.
• Get your phone to take notes. Use your smartphone’s audio recording capabilities and have your very own brainstorming session in the car, make notes for your next meeting or plan out that new project. You can even convert the voice file to text when you get to the office.

And don’t just limit yourself to the office to-do list – you can make some serious inroads to the household chores using the same methodology. Use your driving time to dictate the grocery list, return calls to family and friends and send voice to text reminders to yourself and other family members.