If you're a regular train commuter, you know the drill: you squeeze onto the car 30 seconds before the doors close, shuffle to the first available seat, and then spend the next 20 to 60 minutes half-scrolling TikTok, half-staring at the same ad for a personal injury lawyer on the wall across from you, before you even get to work. I spent two years doing exactly that on my 45-minute each-way train commute to a job I hated, and I kept telling myself I was "too busy" to read the stack of unopened books on my nightstand. I didn't realize I was already wasting hours a week on dead time that could have been spent diving into stories, learning new skills, or just zoning out to something that didn't make my brain feel fried.
Train commutes are uniquely suited for building a reading habit, no extra time or effort required. Unlike bus or car commutes, you don't have to watch for stops, monitor traffic, or split your attention between the road and a book. The consistent, gentle motion of a moving train even helps many people focus better than they would sitting still at home. And the best part? You're already making the trip anyway---you're just repurposing time you would have spent scrolling mindless content into something that adds to your life.
Audiobooks: The Low-Friction Way to "Read" on the Move
Audiobooks are the obvious pick for train commutes, but a lot of people write them off as "not real reading" or say they can't focus on them over the noise of a moving train. The trick is to pick the right setup for your needs, not force a one-size-fits-all approach:
- First, invest in a cheap pair of noise-canceling headphones. You don't need $300 AirPods Max---even $20 wired noise-canceling earbuds will block out the rumble of the tracks, other passengers' phone calls, and repetitive station announcements well enough to let you focus on the audio.
- Match the book to your commute mood, not your "to-be-read list" goals. If you had a stressful morning and just want to zone out, queue up a lighthearted rom-com or cozy fantasy, not the dense, triggering memoir you've been meaning to get around to. If you have a long, quiet weekend ride, that's the perfect time to tackle that 800-page classic you've been putting off for years.
- Fix the zoning out problem with low-effort pairing. If you struggle to focus on audio alone, pair your audiobook with a mindless, low-stakes activity: doodle in a small notebook, knit a simple scarf, people-watch out the window, or even just tap your foot to the rhythm of the narrator's voice. Your brain doesn't need to be doing nothing to absorb what you're listening to---giving it a tiny, unimportant task to focus on can actually help you tune in better.
- If you're worried about missing sections, use synced audiobook and e-book apps. Services like Audible, Libro.fm, and even the Kindle app sync your audio and text progress automatically, so if you zone out mid-chapter, you can pull up the e-book version later to fill in the gaps, no re-listening required.
Book Summaries: The Hack for Short Commutes or Overwhelmed Brains
If you have a 15-minute or shorter commute, or you're having a week where you can't focus on a full book, book summaries are a game-changing alternative that still let you engage with new ideas without the commitment of 300+ pages.
- For professional development, services like Blinkist condense popular business, self-help, and nonfiction books into 15-minute audio or text summaries, perfect for fitting into a short ride to work. You can get the core takeaways from 2-3 industry books a week without spending any extra time outside of your commute.
- For casual reading, look for free book summary podcasts (like Book Shorts or The Summary on Spotify) or 10-minute YouTube summary videos you can download to watch offline. They're great for previewing a book you're curious about before you commit to the full version, or for getting the gist of a bestseller you've heard everyone talking about without spending weeks reading it.
- Summaries are also perfect for people with executive dysfunction or ADHD who struggle to stick with long-form content. There's no pressure to remember every detail, no long stretches of text to get through, and no guilt if you forget what you listened to 10 minutes later. You still walk away with new ideas, even if it's just one takeaway that sticks with you.
How to Turn One-Off Commute Reading Into a Habit That Sticks
The biggest mistake people make with commute reading is setting a vague goal like "read more on my commute" and then burning out when they try to force a 30-minute reading session every single day, even on days they're running late or exhausted. The key to a sustainable habit is to make it as low-effort as possible, no willpower required:
- Eliminate decision fatigue the night before. Queue up your next audiobook or summary playlist before you go to bed, so you don't have to scroll through your app when you're rushing to catch the train. Keep your headphones in the same pocket of your commute bag every day, so you never have to dig through your bag to find them.
- Tie reading to your commute, not a time goal. You don't have to finish a chapter every ride, or even listen for 10 full minutes. If you only have time to listen to 2 minutes of an audiobook before you get to your stop, that still counts. If you're running late and have to stand the whole ride, that's okay---you can still listen, or skip it entirely without guilt.
- Curate a separate "commute reading list" so you don't waste time picking what to listen to when you're on the train. Save the fun, easy reads for stressful workdays, and save the denser, more challenging content for days when you have the mental bandwidth for it.
- Track your progress lightly, if it motivates you. Mark audiobooks and summaries as read on Goodreads or a simple notes app. I started tracking my commute "reads" two years ago, and last year I hit 52 books almost exclusively from my train rides---something I never would have believed was possible when I was spending my commutes scrolling mindlessly.
Push Back on the Gatekeeping: All Reading Counts, No Exceptions
If you've ever been told audiobooks "don't count" or that summaries are "cheating," ignore that noise. Reading is about engaging with stories, ideas, and new perspectives, not about decoding text on a physical page. If an audiobook lets you enjoy a fantasy series you would have abandoned because you can't sit still to read for 30 minutes at a time, that's a win. If a summary lets you get the core of a business book you need for work but don't have time to read the full version, that's a win. The only metric that matters is whether the content adds to your life, not whether it fits someone else's arbitrary definition of "real reading."
For me, my train commute used to be the worst part of my day---a cramped, stressful hour I just had to get through. Now, it's my favorite part of my daily routine. I get to escape into a fantasy world, learn new skills for my side hustle, or just zone out to a fun story, all without taking any time away from my work, my hobbies, or my free time. Your commute doesn't have to be wasted time. It can be the small, daily habit that helps you fall in love with reading again, no extra effort required.