A few decades ago we thought we’d all be riding around in driverless cars by now (thanks for nothin’ George Jetson).  Well, the present is finally catching up with the future, and one of the most promising results of driverless cars is the boost in productivity it will provide to those once hindered by commute times.  Between traffic and the time it takes to get from point A to B, millions of workers lose hours of daily productivity driving their cars.  But once fully automated cars take over, a portion of that commute time could lend itself to more efficient activities.

Even as Google works on its  own automated vehicle, engineering pros at BMW are working on a similar concept.  The German automobile manufacturer is teaming up with automotive supplier Continental to develop new technologies for self-driving cars.  BMW and Continental project that by 2016, consumers will be in partially automated cars, highly automated cars by 2020, and fully automated cars by 2025.

2016 is just three years away, and with the advancements made in automobile technology, it’s not that hard to imagine driverless cars.  There’s already cars on the market that parallel park themselves, and perform emergency stops when an impending accident is perceived, like the Ford Focus.

And at CES 2013, Audi demonstrated its own self-parking car.  Unlike the Ford Focus wherein the driver still controls the gas and brake pedals while the car is maneuvering itself to the parking spot, the Audi A7 was completely driverless while parking.  Though Audi stated that the technology won’t be generally available for another decade, the fact that it can be done, and was done, just proves that driverless cars are in our foreseeable future.

Let’s say we’re in 2025 and BMW is correct in its assumption that by this year, fully automated cars will be in use.  I imagine we’ll all be able to treat our personal vehicles as we would public transportation, freeing up our commute time for more productive activities.  How could a driverless car make us all more productive?

4 ways driverless cars could boost productivity

.

Finishing work or school-related tasks

Sometimes 24 hours a day is just not enough to accomplish everything you need for work or school.  You might be swamped with school projects for various subjects, or you need to prepare a presentation to deliver to multiple divisions in your organization.  With a fully automated vehicle, you could do more work while traveling to and from the office or school.  Thanks to steadily improving mobile software on smartphones and tablets, work can travel with us in the car.  A fully automated vehicle would provide a perfect opportunity to respond to emails, study flash cards and more.

Returning phone calls

Most of us miss phone calls, and then forget all about them because we rarely find the time to return each call.  With fully automated cars, we can now start returning phone calls because we have nothing else to distract us.  Also, if you get an important call while driving, you just engage auto drive to let the take take over driving so you can concentrate on what you’re talking about instead of figuring out how to concentrate on the road and the call at the same time.  This will prevent accidents from happening as well.

Catching up on your reading list

As long as you’re not prone to motion sickness, a driverless car is a great time to catch up on your reading list.  Skip the books-on-tape and finish up that e-book you’ve been reading for the past six months, or discover new authors and books.  You could even read a real book, with paper!  Who knew driving could be so fun?

Relaxation is the key

One of the biggest productivity boosts is actually relaxation.  Studies have shown that taking breaks while working, even small ones, actually increases productivity.  John P. Trougakos, an assistant management professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough and the Rotman School of Management, stated that by not taking breaks, people in fact become more fatigued and stressed.  He says that our mental concentration needs time to recover, much like our body after rigorous exercising.

So instead of worrying or stressing about things while on the way to work, why not engage auto drive, put on your favorite tune, recline your seat and just enjoy the feeling of being carefree for just a few minutes?  I’m sure you’ll feel refreshed by the time you reach your workplace.