5 iPhone Apps for Productive Commutes

Commuting always feels like a big waste of time to me.  The act sucks up energy too.  I usually end up more tired than I was getting on the bus.  I try to fill up my time with random school related things like studying flash cards, highlighting case studies (or at least attempting to,) napping and pre-reading notes.  Mostly napping and flash cards.

Being sick of the routine, I downloaded some apps to play with during my commute. 2 hours a day * 5 days a week = 10 hours.  I think one can only have so many hours of Angry Birds before wondering if there is something more meaningful out there.  Of all the apps I tried out, below are 5 that have stuck that I am using pretty actively.

All of the apps I’ve chosen are free and 4 of 5 are offline.

1. Flashcards+

What can I say?  I find flashcards helpful!  And with this app, I can even make them on the bus too!  (Although I’d say the paper ones are better, I find myself coming back to this app when I want just enough productivity that isn’t strenuous.)  You can make multiple decks, flip them around, and even download ones that other people made.

2. iTunes U

Free access to lectures and course materials from universities around the world.  When my brother first told me about this I rolled my eyes at him and said “yeahhh ok, I’m not that much of a nerd.”  But now that I’ve actually tried this out, it’s pretty awesome.  I get to listen to lectures for classes that I’m interested in but will probably never take.  Like music history and robotics. Plus the lectures are nice things to sleep to on the bus too 😉

3. Orchestra

It’s a to-do list app.  The bus ride in the morning is a good time to plan out what I need to do everyday.  I was never a fan of planners because I’d always forget to bring them one day and stop using it after that.  I’d never forget my phone though! (That’s not true, but if I did, I have bigger things to worry about then.)  I tried a lot of list apps.  I stuck with this one because you can make multiple lists and the tasks are sorted as today, someday, and some specific day.  I like the “today” option because I just ended up making a list called “today” with the other apps anyway.  The most unique thing about this app is that you can share the lists with someone else.  The creators were looking for a way to “orchestrate” family to-dos. (It’s a good pun eh?!)

4. Adobe Reader

Reading on the bus! I don’t own very many books and I don’t go to the library often, but I am on the internet a lot!  Digital books ftw!  They may hurt your eyes if you have a small screen but still equally as engaging to me!

Runner up: iTunes -> audio books! Sounds lame at first, but give them a try!

5. Flipboard

This one is for people with data plans.  I don’t have a data plan but this app makes me wonder if I should get one so I can use it on the bus.  It’s pretty much an RSS feed that grabs articles from news and blog sources and displays it on a pretty layout where you can “flip” through the articles. (With an animated flip of course!)  If you find the Metro and 24 Hour isn’t cutting it for you, check out this app.  I’m not much of a news reader myself but this app has got me into it, I use it almost daily now.  How it’s better than RSS: they have a list of stuff in different categories that you can select from so you don’t have to look it up yourself.  If you’re not totally sure what you like, they have curated selections of articles too.

The apps I mentioned are all iPhone apps but I’m sure you can find similar ones for Android!  Do you have any suggestions on how to have more productive commutes?

 

“It’s not like we’re going clubbing, we’re going on the bus!!”

was what my friend said when talking about the new UPass system and how we have to carry two “IDs” (the pass and our UBC card.)  Whilst making the following face:

Ok, not actually but everyone loves internet memes.

Quick update on my life, guess where I am!

 

 

If you guessed YVR then you are absolutely correct and amazing at remembering minute details.

I am about 2 hours away from boarding my flight to Beijing, then Hong Kong to endevour in my next “great adventure” of university life.  Exchange.  It may seem like nothing to those of you who came all the way to Vancouver and are fighting it out on their own right now but for me, someone with overprotective parents who don’t think I could survive for even two weeks on my own, this is a challenge I’ve been dreaming of since senior year in high school.

 

I don’t have anything too insightful to say right now but I wanted to make an in the moment post.  So for the sake of that I will tell you of my in the moment feeling: sleepy, and wondering why I am not as excited as I thought I would be right now.  But that’s the curious thing about trips, some how when I’m planning and signing up everything is delightful and as it draws close, it just feels unreal so I’m not as excited.  Anyone else get that?

Maybe it’s my friend’s mentality about trips passing over to me.  “You’re not going for sure until you land.”

What I’ve learned in university:

It’s really hard to be alone.

I came to UBC knowing that most of my closest friends wouldn’t be here, but I thought it would be ok.  I’m a pretty independent person anyway. I still get to see them just not as much as I would like even though none of them moved overseas or anything.  It’s not like they would be in my classes either, but it makes more of a difference than I thought.

You think I would’ve felt this loneliness earlier and not when the school year is nearing it’s end.  The feeling just suddenly hit me today when I was riding the skytrain home.

Maybe it’s not loneliness but nostalgia.  I do wonder what it would be like to be going to the same school as them though.

How must it feel to be an international student?  Maybe I’m underestimating the difficulty but it seems like it’s harder to be nearby and not see your friends than far away and not see them.  Am I heartless?  I don’t think so, it’s just my thought.  I’m not bent on it, you can change my mind if you want.

Ok, I’m not totally alone, I’ve made friends, I like being around them.  But when it’s time to go home… wait.  Maybe it’s that long lonely commute I hate.

First trip to campus.

I’m so relieved. After reading other people’s posts about their first visit to UBC, I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who has never been. Though some of you are actually international students which kind of changes things since I’ve always been in the area… but whatever. It’s fine. =D

Random fact about me #1 (because at this point I don’t intend on making a real profile): I am a local commuting student… is “local” the correct term? As in opposite of “international?”

I knew that UBC is big.  I just didn’t think it would be this big.  My friend and I spent 5 hours just walking around exploring.  It was a good way to spend our day considering we were too broke to do anything else.  5 hours sounds a little ridiculous, but we spent a good 20 minutes wandering to find the bookstore and another hour inside it playing with the Macs and looking at other random stuff.

Opinions (and facts?) of UBC:

  • the bus loop is kind of far from everything
  • the ocean can be seen from the Rose Garden, but the ocean is still a ways away.  It is still beautiful though.
  • Chapman Commons at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre looks like Hogwarts! Continue reading