As a Gold Coast student, having just completed a summer placement located in Brisbane, and undertaking an intensive week-long workshop up at Nathan campus over the past week, I have become quite familiar with Queensland’s public transport system – namely the train and bus services – that I was compelled to utilise. And while the system is arguably quite efficient and easy to use, it can be, if you let it be, incredibly boring and time consuming.
Now if you’re travelling with friends then sure, you will probably have enough entertainment to survive the trip, however if, like me, you are shy or introvertish, or just happen to not have many friends in the same courses as you, then the predicament is clear: travelling solo on public transport will be boring. That said I have compiled a list of the top ways to fight boredom and make the most of your time while training or bussing.
- Sleeping – this is probably the most obvious thing to do while travelling as chances are you had to wake up early in the morning to catch the train or bus and weren’t able to catch those extra Z’s that you normally expect to get. If the trip is long, perhaps you could bring a neck pillow or sleep mask to make your nap all the more comfortable. The down side is that if you fall deeply asleep you may drool or snore, which could be very embarrassing.
- People watching – sure it may sound creepy, but there are some pretty interesting characters in this world and it may be fun to silently observe them. You could take it to a whole new level and add colour to your people watching activities like this guy did.
- Talk to people – this is a bit more advanced than people watching and may take you out of your comfort zone, however, strangers (or friends you haven’t met yet) can prove to be incredibly interesting and will have stories to tell and you may share similar interests. Who knows, you may make a good mate or even meet your true love this way.
- Listen to music – this is an easy one, as long as you have the appropriate phone or mp3 player or whatevs.
- Game/Internet – similar to listening to music, if you have a laptop or smart phone, you could browse the web or play a computer game/app of some kind.
- Read a book – it could be that favourite fantasy novel or perhaps that stuffy text book you have to read for that tutorial later in the week.
- Writing – it could be some homework you need to complete at the last minute or it may be a list of goals you want to achieve this year. It may even be a blog that is due very soon…
- Explore – lastly, do not forget this blog. Explore will be full of fun tidbits of information that will easily help you fight the curse of boredom.
Anyways, I wish you happy travels and hope that these ideas may help you stave off the dismal effects of boredom while commuting!
– Matthew
