How to make money on your commute using digital skills

Hands up who loves their commute! Err, don't all shout at once...

As research published last year by the TUC suggests, commutes in the UK are getting longer. Indeed, the average UK employee spent 219 hours a year on the journey to and from work in 2017, compared to 201 hours a decade earlier.

This means we are currently spending the equivalent of 27 working days each year just getting to and from the office. How are you spending that time - huffing and puffing as the wasted minutes of your life fly by? Scrolling though Instagram at all your friends' holiday snaps? Or, generating buckets of dosh?

With the invention of the smartphone comes a handy wa to help you boost your bank balance anywhere with wifi.

Want to find out how your commute can earn you money? Keep reading.

Sell unwanted items on eBay

Photographing items you wish to sell on eBay is only half the battle. The next stage is uploading imagery to the site, writing all those product descriptions and setting prices. All of this can be done from your smartphone on a morning commute.

Not only can it lead to extra earnings, but by selling unwanted items instead of throwing them out, you're helping the environment too. Win-win.

Learn a new skill

Mastering a new skill might not increase your bank balance immediately, but depending on what you do with it, it could do in future. There are a number of skills that can be learned digitally through a smartphone, tablet or laptop - like a language, for instance, through language-learning websites and apps Duolingo, Babbel or busuu.

Or else, what about teaching yourself to code through apps like Encode, Code Hub or Sololearn? Or even learn an entire academic subject (think Maths, Biology or History) through the Khan Academy app? The options are virtually endless.

Write a book

It worked for Fiona Mozley – the author who wrote her Man Booker longlisted novel Elmet on her phone whilst commuting.

It doesn't have to be written down in 'Notes' either. There are writing apps to help with that. Like iA Writer, the 'clean slate', which facilitates all sorts of clever things, like 'focus mode' which enables you to concentrate on just one sentence or paragraph at a time through text highlights.

Alternatively, you could download the Google Docs or Microsoft Word apps if you'd rather work with what you're familiar with.

And if a book seems altogether too intimidating to start with, why not begin with a blog? With enough readers you may attract interest from advertisers and whilst building up a readership may take some time, with 27 days a year spent in transit, you've got a bit of it to spare.

Examine your spending

Those with online banking might use their commute to go through their monthly expenditure and work out where savings can be made. Contactless payment makes it all too easy to ignore how much money we actually get through and totting up exactly how much our oat milk latte addiction is costing us might act as a good incentive to ensure we tone it down.

Although not technically 'making money', this activity may end up saving money. Which means there'll be more in your account at the end of each month, which is arguably the same thing.