I feel like I’m always running at 100 miles-per-hour helping fulfill all the various activities of my family. This week in particular was tough as two of my kids were in a play that had them at school until 9pm each night and three showtimes on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. All these commitments can easily drain my free time of any personal accomplishment. Certainly, I’m spending time with the kids: but more in the capacity of taxi driver and activity observer than anything else. So, I’m always keen on finding ways to squeeze out a few minutes of productivity here-and-there. Here are a few ways that help accomplish that:

1. Bring the kindle

Wherever I go, I always try to bring my kindle with me. I keep it loaded with hundreds of books: from non-fiction books on the ridiculous number of topics I’m interested in to fiction books to just entertain. The kindle is my number-one, go-to item to try to find some sort of accomplishment when I’m out-and-about.

2. Listen to podcasts

I’m frequently criss-crossing town to and from activities, so I try to keep my phone filled with podcasts from which I can learn and try to make the driving somewhat productive.

3. Keep the car stocked with bars and water

Much of the time, I’m too busy to stop at some fast food restaurant for refreshment, but even if time permitted, it’s cheaper and healthier to just keep my car stocked with water and protein bars or other relatively healthy food that won’t spoil or melt.

4. Maintain and manage a to-do list

In the must-see movie Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, the main character is a detective trying to solve the kidnapping of noted cheese scientist, Dr. Forrest. Dr. Forrest has left different clues in the form of lists that the detective has to discover and then deduce the meaning. These lists are everywhere: torn off corners of dollar bills in desk drawers, one is inside a woman’s brooch, another is hidden inside the lid of a jar of coffee. Unfortunately, I find that I’m a lot like Dr. Forrest: I write to-do lists on envelopes or post-it notes only to misplace them and begin anew. Lately, I’ve started using Google Keep in hopes I can be less like the good doctor. Regardless, having a to-do list handy to review and work on during your various excursions can be helpful.

5. Take notes on your bright ideas

Occasionally, I’ll have a half-baked idea on a new blog post or entrepreneurial endeavor: making sure I have tools on hand to write down these brilliant ideas is important. To that end, I always keep pens and small notebooks in the car–that comes in very handy during parent/teacher conferences for note taking. Also, I try to take notes electronically as much as possible. I used to use Evernote quite a bit for that effort, but lately I’ve switched to using Google Docs. Both work great on your smart phone.

6. Read blogs

Like my addiction to podcasts, I subscribe to hundreds of blogs covering my wide variety of interests. Back in the day, I used Google Reader to aggregate the blogs I like to read, but when that was discontinued, I switched to Feedly. Feedly works great on your phone, too!

7. Wear clothes with lots of pockets

How do you effectively carry all the material that aid your on-the-go productivity–kindle, phone, pens, paper, etc.–particularly when you have to march deep into a sports venue, school, or Boy Scout camp? Pockets, I tell you! I own several pairs of cargo pants and shorts that help me haul around the items I need. I’m a big fan of ScottEVest, as well, and own a few of their vests, coats, and jackets that each come with dozens of pockets for storing essentials.

8. Keep a full gym bag and towel in the car

Going to the gym is an important release for me and I’m able to do it less and less as the family’s activities increase. Most days I have to plan out a few days in advance when I can hit the gym, but practices are occasionally canceled, so it’s a good idea to always keep my gym clothes in the car in case I can slip in a workout.

9. Keep portable batteries, charging cables, and related items handy

As a few of these tips rely on electronic devices, I find it helpful to keep portable batteries, cables, and other paraphernalia around and available in case one of your devices gets low on juice. Obviously, keep your devices as charged as possible and don’t forget to charge your portable batteries, as well!

10. Think about other “everyday carry” items

“Preppers” will sometimes discuss the topic of “everyday carry” (EDC) items. Items like flashlights, band-aids, tweezers, multi-tools, and the like. Eyeglass screws come loose, splinters happen, and small items fall into dark spaces. Compiling EDC items and keeping larger kits like first aid kits in the car can help fix an unexpected problem that might otherwise throw off your schedule and undermine your on-the-go work.