What Successful People Do During Their Morning Commute

Figuring out schedules for a carpool can be tricky. But a little inconvenience—and a few planning emails—may be worth the effort, if you're sharing the drive with, say, a mentor who can advise you or a co-worker who can talk over an issue with you that will save you time at the office. The perfect ride-sharer may be right at home. Take Michelle Paquette, PhD, and her husband, both professors in Kansas City, Missouri, who commute together most mornings. "When we're really on the ball," she says, "we brainstorm ideas and how to deal with co-workers, which is a nice way to add another five productive minutes to an otherwise too-short workday."

Even if you don't work at the same place as your spouse, there are advantages to driving as a couple, namely reconnecting. "Carpooling turns otherwise wasted time into a daily date," says Dr. Paquette. And though that might not translate into a higher salary or a corner office—it does increase the most important measure of your success: your happiness.