After the flexibility and free time afforded by University the 9-5 life can be quite the shock to the system. But, for many, the hardest part is the gruelling commute. Hours of your day wasted in the fatigued zombie-like stampedes through Marylebone station, packed in between strangers sweaty armpits on the tube or stuck in mind-numbing traffic on the M4. These hours are an unavoidable and unpaid part of working life, and they can leave you feeling drained, bored and unmotivated. But, with the propensity of apps at our millennial fingertips you can make things a little more bearable and allow you transform the commute from a waste of time to invaluable ‘you time’.
Monday mornings might call for a motivational podcast to get you geared up for that 9am meeting whilst Friday nights almost always require a little Basement Jaxx to get you out of the office mindset and ready for the weekend. Every day is different, some times (in my case most mornings) I need something that requires a sleepy ‘brain off’ setting but other days I often want something to switch my ‘brain on’ and enrich my mind. Here is my weekly guide to everything you should hear, watch and see to get you through to Friday.
Monday:
Brain on: Otegha Uwagba’s podcast ‘In Good Company’. The best selling author and business superwoman/mentor chats with other inspirational women about their career trajectories, struggles, ambitions and all of the nitty gritty details of finances and working life that the British upper lip foolishly tells us it is impolite to talk about. I recommend the episode 015 with money journalist Abigail Bergstrom, perfect for drawing inspiration from two bad-ass women and learning to reject the taboo around talking about money between friends and colleagues. And don’t fret boys, just because it is a conversation between women, doesn’t mean you won’t learn a lot.
Brain off: Netflix’s Sex Education. You’ve heard the hype and if you haven’t seen it yet… what’s stopping you. It is inclusive, expressive and informative as well as being hilariously funny. You’ll fall in love with Aimee and Otis and Eric and well all of them. The ideal mood booster.
Tuesday:
Brain on: Meg Jay’s ‘Why 30 is not the new 20’ TED Talk. Meg Jay talks about the transformative powers of seizing your 20s and not just playing them down as developmental down time. In just fifteen minutes she will inspire you to both cherish your twenties and use them to define yourself and your future.
Brain off: Solange’s album ‘When I get Home’ it is instrumental, lyrical and transient. I guarantee your headphones will be glued on your head all night.
Wednesday:
Brain on: If you are deep in the throes of your Sex Education binge as recommended on Monday, get over the mid-week hump by talking all things humping and tune into Attega Adwoa’s ‘Gurls Talk' Podcast where Aimee Lou Wood and Emma Mackey (Aimee and Maeve in the show) talk all things sex, growing up and masturbation and how the show will influence the ways we talk about sex with young people today. Will put a smile on your face and leave you feeling empowered!
Brain off: ‘My Dad Wrote a Porno’ Series 1 podcast. The title says it all really, just try not to laugh too hard in the quiet carriage of the train home.
Thursday:
Brain on: Dive into Michelle Obama’s Autobiography ‘Becoming’. The book gives juicy insights into the life of a first lady, briefly makes you feel as if you’re reading a Nora Ephron script as she describes meeting Barack and explores her own struggles to balance financial wealth and moral integrity and she faces uncertainty and insecurity as a graduate (it is comforting knowing even the most influential woman in America struggled as a grad!)
Brain off: Another podcast, (can you tell i like podcasts) but the perfect way to soak in some educational insights without taxing that hard working brain. Listen to Russel Kane’s podcast ‘Boy’s Don’t Cry’ where Kane, two male guests and a female ‘auditor’ discuss, dispel and dig into stereotypes around masculinity, relationship and sex. Series 1 episode 9 with Jamie Laing is a particularly good one.
Friday:
Brain on: Finish the week on a High note, literally. Catch up on journalist Dolly Alderton and Pandora Syke’s hit podcast 'The High Low' to recap the biggest stories in News and Culture, arming yourself with some great topics of conversation over a pint at the pub later.
Brain off: Vogue.co.uk’s The Week in Review’ by Raven Smith. A short and witty summary of pop-culture’s biggest moments, long enough to keep you occupied between Oxford Circus and Marylebone, but short enough to appease your strained eyes from a week of staring at your laptop.