As PGA of America Golf Professionals, especially during the busier periods of the golf season, it can be difficult to find time in our daily schedules to incorporate professional development. My recommendation is to start utilizing your morning and evening commute to become an expert in a new topic that you have been thinking about – by simply listening to audiobooks and educational podcasts.
According to 2024 data published by Bankrate, the average commute in the U.S. is 25.6 minutes each way to work, which is around 51 minutes total per day. Even if your commute is only half of that, you are spending at least 30 minutes total per day in your vehicle. Let’s take a conservative 30 minutes per day (well below the national average) and multiply that by six, assuming you are heading to your golf facility six days a week in some capacity. That is 180 minutes in one week or 720 minutes per month — that is three hours in one week or 12 hours in one month. In one year, you will have logged 144 hours of “drive time” simply commuting back and forth to work.
By turning your commute into a “university on wheels” or mobile classroom, you can take advantage of this consistent idle time. Self-development author and speaker Brian Tracy first made this concept popular many years ago and it still holds true to this day. By simply listening to audiobooks or educational podcasts each day while you’re commuting, within a few months it will have compounded remarkably. It’s safe to say that we would all like to have an extra three hours in our work week to accomplish something personal – well, there’s great news, we do!
A great place to start is to ask yourself, “What is my greatest frustration in life or what is my area of greatest need, right now?” Chances are it is in one of life’s most significant categories: financial (personal finance, investing, budgeting); relational (marriage, parenting, friendships); intellectual (knowledge, skills); physical (health, wellness); spiritual (faith, religion); or occupational (career-related, promotion, compensation, etc.). Perhaps it is something specific to your role at your facility such as leveling up your hospitality or communication skills, enhancing your leadership ability, or creating innovative programs for your members.
Maybe it is a key skill that you know you need to acquire before applying for a specific opportunity or that next step in your career. Whatever it may be, I encourage you to spend the next 12 months or so to become an expert on that topic.
Fortunately, there are thousands of authors who have spent countless hours researching and writing books on specific subject matter that we can tap into to enrich our lives. The average audiobook takes eight to 12 hours to complete, which means we should be able to take in at least 12 books per year. If your commute is longer, you will be able to knock out even more. The key is to stay disciplined and intentional with what you are listening to and over time you will be amazed with the results. If the content becomes stale or you need a break, an autobiography or biography of a legend or leader in that particular field is a great substitute.
Another great benefit of incorporating professional development into your drive time is that it opens up the time you would have spent doing this in the early mornings or late evenings to be with your family or enjoy some leisure time. There have been times throughout my career when I have purchased a book to read, very well-intentioned, only to let it sit on the coffee table collecting dust for several months. However, I could have listened to the audiobook version and completed it within a few weeks. Priorities at home and outside of work are guaranteed to emerge but your commute will typically remain an advantageous stable environment.
As this month’s PGA Magazine cover story is about health and wellness, I encourage you to prioritize your own wellness and enjoy this newly created “secret advantage time.” Your knowledge will increase significantly and, if you stay consistent and apply what you learn, you will grow.
Stephen Limpach, PGA, is a PGA Career Consultant serving the Northern Texas PGA Section. He can be reached at (945) 289-3342 or slimpach@pgahq.com.