If you're like most people, your daily commute is a black hole of wasted time: you're squished in the backseat of an Uber during rush hour, or perched on a subway seat during your morning train ride, or carpooling with a coworker and you've already scrolled through every unread email, rewatched every TikTok on your For You Page, and your phone is about to die. The U.S. Census Bureau pegs the average one-way commute at 27 minutes---that adds up to 4.5 hours a week, 225 hours a year, or 9 full 40-hour work weeks of dead time you could be using to finally get through that stack of books on your nightstand.
For years I carpooled 45 minutes each way to my old office, and I wrote off that time as "unusable" because I thought reading in the car would make me motion sick, or distract my driver, or just feel like a waste of energy when I was already tired from work. Then I tested small, low-lift, driver-friendly hacks to sneak reading into my commute, and by the end of the year I'd finished 18 books without touching my reading list once outside of my commute. No one in my carpool ever even noticed I was reading half the time.
First, a non-negotiable safety ground rule: If you are the person operating the vehicle, do not read, take notes, or engage with any reading material while the car is in motion---this includes red lights, stop signs, or slow-moving traffic. Reading while driving is illegal in most regions, and even a 2-second glance away from the road doubles your risk of a crash. All tips below are designed exclusively for passengers, public transit riders, and drivers only during fully parked, safe stops (e.g. waiting for a train, parked at a park-and-ride before your carpool, waiting in a fully stopped drive-through line with your car in park).
Prioritize single-ear audio for zero visual distraction (and zero motion sickness)
If the thought of tracking moving text in a car makes your stomach turn, or you don't want to be fumbling with a physical book while the driver navigates potholes, lean into audiobooks first. Use a single, low-volume earbud so only you can hear the narration---no blaring audio that forces the driver to turn up the radio, no need to take your eyes off the road to adjust volume, and you'll still be able to hear if the driver asks you a question or if there's an unexpected traffic issue. For people who don't get motion sick, you can even have your e-reader's built-in text-to-speech feature read the chapter aloud to you while you follow along on the screen, no need to flip pages. This is 100% distraction-free: you're just sitting there, listening, no fidgeting, no noise, and no risk of pulling the driver's focus away from the road.
Use silent, low-friction annotation tools to avoid noisy page-flipping
If you prefer reading physical books or highlighting passages, ditch the scratchy ballpoint pen and flimsy paper bookmarks that make constant rustling noises. Instead, pack a soft-tip highlighter that glides silently over page edges, or a set of small, adhesive silent page tabs that you can place in the margin with zero noise. If you take notes, use a pocket-sized notebook and a gel pen that doesn't scratch the page, so you can jot down quick thoughts without making a peep that would pull the driver's focus. If you're sitting in the front passenger seat, hold your book or e-reader low in your lap so it's not in the driver's peripheral vision---this small adjustment eliminates even the chance of visual distraction. Pre-select your reading chunk before your commute starts, so you don't have to fumble with flipping through half the book mid-ride to find your place. Bonus: Book stands or small lap desks hold your book open at your pre-selected pages, so you don't have to use your hands to keep it open, and you don't have to flip pages constantly.
Stick to pre-planned, bite-sized reading chunks to avoid mid-commute fumbling
Nothing distracts a driver faster than a passenger frantically digging through their bag for their book, or scrolling through their e-reader library for 10 minutes trying to pick what to read next. Before you leave for your commute, pick exactly what you're going to read: a 12-page chapter of your novel, a 20-minute audiobook segment, a single long-form article saved to your e-reader. No decision-making mid-commute, no fumbling, no distractions. For public transit riders, pre-download the content you need before you leave the house so you don't have to mess with spotty Wi-Fi mid-ride, which can pull your focus (and the focus of people around you) away from the ride.
Use driver-friendly sensory cues to boost focus without being disruptive
You don't need to light a scented candle or play a full playlist to get into reading mode during your commute. Pick low-key, non-disruptive cues that only you notice: chew a specific flavor of mint gum every time you read during your commute, sip an iced coffee from a travel mug, or wear a single-sided noise-canceling earbud that blocks out road noise but still lets you hear transit announcements or the driver's voice. These small cues train your brain to associate that sensory input with focused reading mode, so you'll get into the flow faster, no wasted time ramping up your focus. Avoid fidget toys that make noise, or strong scented lotions that might bother the driver or other passengers.
Try 5-minute parked micro-sprints if you're a driver with downtime
If you're the one driving, you can still sneak in small reading wins during safe, fully parked stops: the 5 minutes you spend waiting for your carpool to show up, the 3 minutes you wait in the drive-through line, the 10 minutes you have after you park at the office before your first meeting. Keep a small pocket book or your e-reader in your glove compartment, and use these tiny pockets of time to read 2-3 pages, no pressure, no need to wait until you get home. Just make sure you're fully parked, not in drive, and not at a red light---safety first, always.
The best part about these hacks? They don't require you to carve out extra time in your already packed schedule. You don't have to cram 50 pages a commute to see results: even 5 minutes of reading, or 10 minutes of an audiobook, adds up to a full book a month, without cutting into your evening relaxation time or weekend plans. Next time you're stuck in traffic or on the subway, pull out your e-reader or pop in a single earbud, and turn that dead time into your new favorite reading slot---no driver side-eye required.