What If Your Commute Became Your Best Training Tool?
If you’re in Property Management, you already know the “between” time adds up.
Between routine inspections.
Between vacates.
Between that investor meeting that could have been an email (but wasn’t).
Between “I’ll just duck out and grab the keys” and somehow losing 35 minutes.
Most Property Managers treat drive time as dead time or stress time. Either you’re replaying a difficult conversation, or you’re mentally writing your to-do list with one hand on the wheel.
But what if your commute became your most consistent tool for property management professional development?
Not another thing to “fit in”. Just a smarter use of time you’re already spending.
The hidden opportunity in drive time
Axiom Workplaces put a number on it: “In 2019, Australians were commuting an average of 48 minutes a day.”
Property Managers often do more than that, because you’re not just commuting to an office. You’re travelling to properties, meetings, tribunals, and trade appointments.
So here’s my take: you don’t need more time for training. You need more intention with the time you already have.
The value that changed how I use my time
Early in my career, a mentor gave me a simple principle that stuck:
“Learn something new and teach someone something.”
It sounds basic. It’s not.
That one mindset keeps leaders relevant, helps teams grow faster, and stops stagnation in an industry that changes constantly. Legislation shifts. Client expectations shift. Technology shifts. Your team’s capability has to shift with it.
Turning drive time into learning time
I’m not suggesting you turn your car into a classroom. I’m suggesting you turn it into a rhythm.
Here’s what I’ve seen work best for Property Managers and leaders:
Pick one learning theme for the week.
Examples: inspections, difficult conversations, arrears scripts, AI basics, complaint handling.Use commute time for input.
Podcasts, short audio training, recorded modules, or even replaying your own voice notes.Use commute time for reflection.
Ask yourself one question: What would I do differently next time?
That’s leadership development, not overthinking.Record voice notes while ideas are fresh.
A new template idea. A process fix. A script tweak. A reminder for your next 1:1.
And yes, you can make this AI-supported. If you’ve got a smart assistant tool (or you’re using ChatGPT safely with agency guardrails), you can dictate a rough response and have it turned into a polished template later. Less typing. More consistency. Less “stare at the screen until the words appear”.
The second half of the equation: teaching
Here’s where most people stop short.
Learning is great. But learning alone is private progress.
Teaching turns it into culture.
Once a week, share one insight with your team. Just one.
Drop it into your team meeting as a “this saved me time” tip
Send a short voice note to your group chat
Add one improvement into an SOP
Coach a junior Property Manager through a scenario using that insight
Teaching reinforces your own judgement, and it quietly builds confidence in others. It also reduces the dreaded repeat question cycle that drains senior staff.
Why structured learning still matters
Self-learning is powerful. But structured learning accelerates everything.
When training is formalised, your team isn’t relying on whoever has time to explain something that day. You get consistency, clear standards, and measurable progress.
That’s where LAiRE Academy fits as a foundation. It gives agencies structured pathways, skills assessments, mentoring rhythm, and safe, practical AI integration so Property Management teams build competence without chaos.
A simple challenge for next week
Next time you get in the car:
Choose one topic to learn
Use your drive for input or reflection
Teach one idea to one person
That’s it.
Growth doesn’t require extra hours. It requires intentional use of the hours you already have.
And sometimes, the most useful training room in Property Management is the driver’s seat.
In my LAiRE PM Foundations program that is perfect for your brand new property management recruit, I teach them to use their drive time to learn. It keeps them switched on to the task at hand, and get out of their head replaying the noise of the day before.
If you want to turn your new recruits individual learning into real team capability (without reinventing training every month),book a discovery call and let’s map out a structured professional development plan that actually sticks for your new hire.
