Commuting typically means you do not live in the city where your university/school/campus is. This means, when others are on campus for 2 hours because they have a 1 1/2 h lecture, you’re there for 3 hours.
Commuting generally means you are much longer away from home than other people. This also means that you can’t just go home if you need a nap or if you forgot something. You need to be prepared. That means: Organisation is the key. Things other people rarely take with them are your essentials: phone charger/extra battery, hygiene products, things to fill up your (free~) waiting time. Etc.
For me personally, it takes about 50-60 minutes to go from outside my home door to be in the lecture hall. Sometimes less. It might not seem super long but there are also only two trains / hour so I can’t just go spontaneously. It also means I’m usually much earlier for my lectures and have a lot of time left after them.
Since I am in my forth semester already, I feel like I have gathered a lot of experience so I thought I’d share it with you.
Things to do in the train/bus/tram
Read a book // I personally like to read two books “simultaneously”: One at home (usually a very thick and heavy book) and a “train book” which is usually a smaller one or just one I can’t bring myself to read when I’m at home. In the train, I am typically quite good at ignoring other people’s talking and can read quite concentrated for the 20 minutes.
Listen to an audiobook // this is especially helpful for when you usually are on very noisy and crowed vehicles or just usually have to take the rush hour train. You can relax, don’t have to hear other people and still “read” a book.
Listen to music // quite obvious, probably. Note: I have come to install Spotify Premium eventually because that just made easy access to music a lot more easy for me.
Enjoy the view // This is something I had to learn. But it can be nice sometimes.
Listen to people // It can be quite amusing sometimes.
Do something productive // I personally tend to get very exhausted on the way back from uni but on my way there, I sometimes get productive. However, it depends on whether there is a small “table” on the train, whether there are a lot of people and what have to do. Laptop work always works, reading articles and annotating also works most of the time, but actually writing stuff can obviously get a bit .. shaky:
THINGS TO ALWAYS TAKE WITH YOU
enough money to pay for an extra coffee or an extra train ticket (I am always afraid of losing mine!)
your keys if you have some with you
some extra work for uni that you can do on the train/in a café
a phone charger or a spare battery for your phone (!!!)
a “hyiene/bathroom-bag” with:
tampons/pads/menstrual cup/panty liners (at least for the female ones here)
chewing gum or something else to fresh your mouth
deodorant (there are also deodorant tissues - very handy!)
band-aids (also there are certain one to cover up blisters (for when you’re wearing new shoes etc.))
a small extra bag for when you can leave your backpack in uni in a locker and just make a short trip to a café.
THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE A LONG DAY OF UNI
where do you get your food? Take some with you? Cafeteria? Just make sure you think about it for a minute the evening before so you could prepare something to take with you.
Using a backpack or a handbag? Depends on your personal preference but I find a backpack much more easy and comfortable
Will you have longer breaks? If so, when? And where will you be? Think about it and then plan your break time, so either plan a lunch date with your friends in uni, plan in a library session, or a walk in a park to calm you down before the next lecture(s).
When will you leave? Which train at which time can you take? Plan this out the night before (also for your way back). I have come to always know when my trains leave and when the connection is really bad but I used to rely greatly on apps of public transportation.
How long will you be away and what will the weather be like? It might seem like a minor consideration topic but for commuters I guess it’s best to always have an extra cardigan with them.
OTHER USEFUL COMMUTING TIPS!
https://apenchantforfantasy.tumblr.com/post/147133929844/today-when-i-was-traveling-by-train-this-idea
https://hometownbar.tumblr.com/post/127110242826/backpack-tips
