There are days when it’s the most painful 30 (or 45 or 60 or more) minutes of your day. Commuting to work. And then you get to do it all over again later that day when you head home.
According to multiple studies (2004, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019), your commute could be killing you. And, in one case, your commute could be hurting others due to an increase in crime by commuters. There were more studies, but I was getting a little depressed from reading them. Maybe there should be a study on the psychological results of reading depressing studies.
In short, commuting results in higher cortisol, higher body mass index, less sleep, less exercise, a more negative outlook on life, increased aggression, and lowered productivity. How’s that daily commute sounding? Even less appealing than when you started reading, right?
For better or worse – probably worse – the daily commute is just a part of life. While you might not be able to shorten your commute, you can get a little more mileage from it and make that trip work for you. Try one of these suggestions to reboot your commute.
Learn Something
My first job featured a 40-minute commute in each direction. I started out listening to the morning DJs until I got tired of the same jokes every day. Then I wore out my Guns ‘n’ Roses Appetite for Destruction cassette (in case some of you are not familiar with the term cassette.) I even gave talk radio a try.
I wish I’d had Audible.com and podcasts back then. While both audiobooks and podcasts offer entertainment, I’ll focus on learning something for now and we’ll get into entertainment a little further down.
Audiobooks
From personal development to leadership to finance and more, audiobooks offer many learning options. I normally use Audible.com for my audiobooks, but libraries also loan audiobooks.
A few of my recent favorites are:
- Nine Lies About Work by Marcus Buckingham & Ashley Goodall
- Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
- Every book written by Scott & Alison Stratten (seriously, I listened to them all in the last three months)
Podcasts
I have about 30 podcasts in my subscription list. A few are for entertainment purposes, but most are about learning something. The ones I listen to as soon as they are released are:
- Freakonomics Radio covering the economics of everything from how to be great at something to the demonization of gluten
- The Side Hustle Show which provides ideas for starting your side hustle
- HBR IdeaCast with leading thinkers in business and management (and the source of at least half a dozen books I’ve purchased and read including Nick Morgan’s Can You Hear Me? which I wrote about a few weeks ago)
- And The Unpodcast which covers marketing, branding, and any other topic the hosts come up with. Scott & Alison Stratten host this … apparently I’m a fan.
Set the Mood for What’s Next
After a great weekend with the family, mentally shifting back to work can be a challenge. And after a rough day at the office, it’s all too easy to carry that frustration home on your shoulders.
Regardless of the direction of your commute, you’ve headed toward a significant part of your day that deserves your full attention and presence. Try getting yourself into the right frame of mind during your commute.
Making work calls while driving to the office and family calls while heading home can set the right mood for the next phase of your day. Of course, make sure phone calls while driving is legal in your city.
Creating a mental checklist of things to do when you arrive aligns your mind with the upcoming destination. Or, upgrade your mental checklist with your smartphone or Alexa-powered Echo Frames, and get a digital copy of your todo list.
I’ll cover music more in the Get Entertained section, but using music to set the right mood can also be helpful. Try heading home to a spaghetti dinner with Italian restaurant music. Or driving to work with Twisted Sister’s We’re Not Gonna Take It. Okay, maybe only if you’re planning to quit that day.
Get Entertained
This seems pretty simple: a little music, talk radio, a funny podcast, or an engaging audiobook. There are a lot of options for entertainment.
Although I’m not often on talk radio, I do make extensive use of the other three. I find myself browsing the stations of SiriusXM (1st Wave on Channel 33 is my current favorite), listening to entertaining and trivia-laden podcasts like Bald Move’s Expanse and Stranger Things podcasts, and listening to a variety of novels from Audible.com. While SiriusXM and Audible aren’t free, there are plenty of other options like local radio stations, your downloaded music, and your local library for audiobooks.
Beyond those ideas, here are a few more tips to make your commute better.
Tips for the Train or Bus
- Change your shoes – Wear sneakers on the train so your dress shoes don’t get damaged when someone inevitably steps on them.
- Get social on social media – Catch up on Twitter and Facebook.
- Get your day started – If social media isn’t your thing, start wading through your email or that budget proposal you’ve been putting off.
- Maybe look for a job without a commute – Instead of Facebook or Twitter, jump onto LinkedIn or Monster.com to find a job with a shorter (or non-existent) commute.
Tips for the Car
- Change your shoes – Wear sneakers in the car while you drive and then slip on your dressier shoes before walking into the building. You’ll be more comfortable and you won’t scuff the leather when you have to stomp on the brake and swear.
- Stretch before getting in the car – This will help prevent tight muscles and put you into a slightly more relaxed mood.
- Get social – Not on social media, though. Get social in the car by finding someone to share the ride. You can switch off drivers and having someone to share the ride will make it better.
- Try city streets instead of freeways – “I prefer the city streets,” said software engineer Brad Miller regarding his 40-minute commute. “The traffic is less aggressive, and I can listen to my book and drink coffee and not be too bothered with crazy drivers.”
The Final Takeaway
You may not be able to get away from the commute. And you may not be able to get away from all the stress. But you can reclaim that time and make it a better part of your day.
Author: Tracy Thomason
Agile project manager by day, craft beer drinker by night, and constant podcast/audiobook listener. They’re great when working in the yard and doing the dishes as well as during a commute.
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