Make the Most of the Mobile Office

With as much windshield time as I have been getting lately, it makes it tough to sit down and write about some of the ideas and thoughts I have at random times during the day.  So, in between one of the many conversations I have with the guy in the rearview mirror, I had an epiphany.  Voice recorder!

Now I have long been a subscriber to listening to audio books in the car, which is another great use of time.  I’ll change the subject here for a minute.  I’ve mentioned many times before that, to make massive improvements, you have to self educate, there is no way around it.

Think about it for a minute, where else (assuming you drive yourself to and from work, without passengers) can you have some nice quiet time to yourself.  Let’s face it, when you get home at night, there are many distractions that can take you away from reading.

Why not make the most of the time you have to yourself, so you can make the most of the time you have with your family or on other projects that are impossible to do when you’re driving.

There have been instances where I have read a book and then listened to the same book on CD.  Powerful stuff because I heard the same message repeatedly, through different medias.  Which is a key exercise that leaders employ to help communicate a message to his or her team.

Getting back on track now…

This handy little device I keep in my shirt pocket is a great tool.  Many times when I am writing, my thoughts travel a heck of a lot faster than my fingers do.  I have spent several minutes with the cursor blinking mercilessly at me while I try to remember what I was going to type next.  Since my gums flap faster than my fingers move, dictating a blog, random idea or anything else I can conjure up is quick and I have found, more complete, than straight typing.

I have also discovered that when I go back and listen, other ideas come up and add value to the voice memo, all of which is invaluable when I can focus on an idea instead of trying to find the “R” key on my computer.

In fact, this blog and the last one “Why It’s Important to Get Going” were both dictated on my new voice recorder and there are two to three more waiting in the wings, just from about 30 minutes of my three hour drive last weekend.

One other excellent use for this handy little guy is recording conversations (no brainer, huh).  From time to time I sit down and quiz a mentor or other successful people on how they got their start, what their keys to success are and other topics related to business, money, personal development and achieving goals.  Now, I can focus more on the conversation and what questions to ask, instead of focusing on what was just said and trying to scratch down a note I won’t be able to read in two days anyway.

That’s my thought for today, more like Monday night about milepost 57.  Heck, sometime down the road there may be an audio blog or two, you never know!

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