May
12
Create Your Own University on Wheels
Posted under Goals and Goal SettingThe other day I posted about how to build a self-development day. A self development day gives you a boost in optimism and attitude that will definately cause some great results.
But what about when the honeymoon is over and your self development day is behind you? What is going to help keep you on the right track? How will you continue to gather great ideas that continually move you forward?
One way is to create a University on Wheels for yourself. Take the self-development programs you purchased for self-development day, add some other titles and keep them in your car. Listen to an audio program on your way to and from work every day. Whenever you set off on an errand, think of it as brain-time where you can learn or reinforce a skill. If you travel for a living, throw some of the CDs in your carry on luggage and learn on the plane.
I don’t know how long your commute is, but if you are normally listening to FM radio and commercials, your time will be much better spent if you pop in a learning cassette or CD. Just think of all the time you spend in your car getting from home to work and back. If you travel for a living, how much time do you spend in a plane?
Even if you are just 15 minutes each way, that is 1/2 hour of good focused learning time each day that is otherwise wasted if you don’t have an audio program playing. Added up over the course of a year and you’d have 125 hours per year or more of education just by making this simple change!
That is why we call it a University on Wheels, you can get a college equivalent education sitting behind the wheel of your car.
I have used this method to learn new communication skills, business and marketing tips, Spanish, negotiation, Conversational French and more. I am thinking of naming my school The University of Brad in Camry. 
What skills would help you to get to your most important goal the quickest? Odds are, there is an audio learning series you can get that can train you as you drive. While other people are listening to top 40 radio and getting stressed with the commute, you could be advancing your career.
Aside from the long-term education you’ll gain from your university on wheels, there are some immediate benefits from creating one.
- You get a good mental start to your day - you are feeding your mind with new ideas that can help you get stuff done efficiently. You’ll feel brighter and more awake.
- Driving becomes more pleasant. Listening to commercials on the radio, the sound of traffic, other radios blasting gives you a headache. Learning more about a subject you are passionate about will sometimes make the drive seem too short! You might start wishing for red lights so you can finish listening to the author’s thoughts before you get to your destination.
- You end your workday on a positive note. If you had a rough day at work, we all have them, what better to boost your spirits than learning more and preparing for your future success?
Additionally, as time goes on, you’ll build your library. You can listen to your older programs for a "refresher course."
So if you haven’t already, get started building your university on wheels as soon as you can.
Technorati Tags: learning, gtd, lifehacks, university
If you are new to my blog, don't forget to get your free copy of the book 107 Goal Setting Breakthroughs. Thanks for visiting!
Also See:
















Comments
Now that’s what I call good time management skills! Do more than one thing at the same time. I’ll buy a cdplayer and an audio cd of learning to speak japanese. :D
Stop Being a Dummy
How much driving do you do each week? With both the cost of gas and the amount of time spent in the car on the rise for most Americans, heres one way to make those two investments pay off: educate yourself.
Brad Isaac points out,
Even if you are…
Sounds great :) You planning on visiting Japan soon?
Actually I’m planning of working in Japan in the near future :) One of my goals.
Nice site keep it up!
If you buy a text-to-speech product like TextAloud or NaturalReader you can convert any electronic text into an mp3 file. This would allow you to listen to much more material for the same price (these TTS programs are under $60 or so) and you would have access to a much greater variety of material. I have used both programs above and they are great. The natural voices sound like news anchors speaking.
Couldn’t agree more Brad! Great suggestion.