Long car drives are romantic and also somewhat exhausting. Somewhere halfway through the ride, you typically start feeling really bored. And when you’re bored, you actually feel more tired physically. So it makes sense to do something about it.
Play a Game
Here, it all depends on whether you are traveling alone (with a driver) or there are other people, too. If you’re in a group, you’ve got plenty of variants:
- I Spy
- 20 Questions
- Did you hear that…?
- Fortunately/Unfortunately, etc.
If you’re alone, mobile games or RocketPlayCasino games distract your mind from the endless highway. Plus, if you’re feeling competitive, try setting high scores to give yourself a fun challenge!
Study Something New (Like Finally Understand a Difficult Concept)
A long car ride is a great time to finally crack a tough concept that’s been on your mind. Let’s say you’ve always wanted to understand the basics of investing or the stock market. Of course, you never find the time for that in your everyday life. Now, you are on a long car ride and have tons of it!
You can download Coursera or Khan Academy (or a YouTube playlist) content that explains investing. By the end of the ride, you might finally understand what compound interest or index funds actually mean! The key is to pick something you’ve always wanted to get a grip on and break it down step by step during your trip.
Read Professional Literature
Car rides can be, among all else, the perfect time to catch up on reading work-related materials you’ve been putting off. Maybe it’s a business book, an industry report, or even articles you’ve saved on improving your skills.
Grab an ebook or download some PDFs before the trip. Take what is most comfortable for your eyes. Professional reading will entertain you (unless you hate your job, of course) and you’ll also get this sense of self-accomplishment. You’ll be content with yourself and perhaps come up with new ideas to implement once you’re back at work!
Organize Your To-Do List
Planning is very time-consuming, you know it well yourself. But when you are on a long car ride, that’s even a plus! You can plan quite a lot of useful staff:
- business tasks for your week
- important appointments
- a grocery list
- a menu
- buying presents
- leisure (perhaps, you need to book something)
- calls/emails, etc.
Planning makes a car ride feel more productive. Plus, you’ll feel super organized and happy because you’ve done the job that would otherwise eat up much of your time!
Take Photos and Make a Road Trip Diary
As a passenger, you have these unique opportunities to capture fun moments. Take photos of the changing scenery, funny signs, or anything that grabs your attention. Turn your trip into a mini photo project. You can even start a road trip diary. Or, you can try to sell your pictures to stocks. That is, you can view it as a paid job you are doing on this trip.
Meditate
Okay, hear me out. You don’t have to go full-on zen mode, but practicing mindfulness or even light meditation can actually help you feel less tired and stressed during a long ride.
There are guided meditation apps that walk you through calming exercises. Or you can simply focus on your breathing and the scenery.
Bonus: Meditation Exercises for a Car Ride
If you don’t have a guided meditation app, here are three simple exercises you may want to try on a car ride:
- Breathing Focus: Close your eyes (all this is only for passengers, of course) and breathe slowly and deeply. For four counts, inhale, hold, and exhale. Repeat this for a few minutes. Try to focus on your breaths and nothing else.
- Body Scan: Think about your toes (focus on them). Then, mentally “scan” each part of your body. Try to notice any tension or discomfort — this shouldn’t be very difficult since you are sitting in a car. You’ll now work your way up to your head. Try to relax each part you are focusing on.
- 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding: Name five things you can see, four things you can feel, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. Other passengers may take part in it, too.