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I retired just as the laptop was invading the business world. One of my last tasks in my final years was introducing our insurance agents around the world to the little magic box. I'm sure the ever-improving laptop has done much more for them since, but at that early time in laptop history I realized and appreciated the ways it revolutionized their workdays and customer relations.

As manager of a large division of the company, I spent most of my career working at least 60 hours a week on projects and personnel duties. Catching the morning commuter train at 6:30 am to my office until I rode the 6 pm train home was my normal work day. It was often a boring, frustrating and tiring existence.

I dragged a stuffed portfolio along on the train and shuffled through heavy paperwork on most trips, but the crowding, noise and other distractions didn't allow me to accomplish much. Following my commuter trips, spending too much time away from my family, I did some more paper shuffling at home just about every night.

I was fortunate, in those last year or two of my career, as the laptop revolutionized away the discomfort and boredom of my commuter train rides. Even though the crowding and noise never subsided, I could do considerably more productive work without digging into my portfolio and shuffling papers. I was able to shut out much of the distractions and accomplished an hour's meaningful work on each trip. Even better, I did less work at night working at home and was able to spend more time with my family.

Today, with the never-ending improvements in laptops and other electronic gimmicks, the commuter can make driving or riding the train valuable for getting work done, while finding ways to eliminate the boredom. To prepare for the work day, it is becoming easier and more efficient to read, compute and write on laptops. Face-to-face networking with others can take care of many meetings and decisions that used to take hours of inconvenient traveling and gathering in office conference rooms. These are only a few of the many advantages of using laptops while commuting.

Listening to educational tapes for personal growth and music for relaxation can help pass the time and fight the boredom, crowding, noise and other commuting frustrations. With all the little TV pods and DVD players now on the market, watching TV while on the train or as a non-driving member of a carpool can add sight to the sounds.

Do I wish all of my working years had included such magic as can be performed on that little box? Doggone right I do!

Learn more about this author, Ted Sherman.
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