How to take the pain out of your commute and enjoy the drive
No matter where you live if you work you must commute to the office. I’m not talking about the commute from the bedroom to the home office either. I’m talking about traveling outside your home to your office in another physical location. Chances are you have to drive, walk, bike, take a bus, ride a train, or a combination of these in order to get to your place of work. Let’s focus on the dreaded drive to work and what we can do to make it more enjoyable. With the number of cars on the road increasing, your commute is probably getting worse and worse, but why should we care?
Commuting adds up to wasted time
A quick Google search will let you know that the average commute in the United State is close to 30 minutes each way.
That doesn’t seem too bad at first but when you do the math, a typical five day work week, traveling to and from work each day, equals five hours stuck in your car.
On top of the typical five hours a week, there will be delays due to bad weather, accidents, or just plain old bad drivers that will inflate your travel time and grate on your nerves. These additional factors will no doubt add some stress and other negative side effects to your travels.
Road rage is bad for your health
Being stuck behind the wheel for what can feel like days and then having someone cut you off or not let you merge (even though it most likely wasn’t on purpose) can make your blood boil and have the potential to push you over the limit and into a rage.
Most of us have experienced some form of road rage at one time or another. From a mild sense of frustration and using some curse words under your breath to a full-on screaming and honking fit, road rage comes in many different degrees and the more intense, the worse it is for your health.
The stress, raised blood pressure, and increased heart rate caused from road rage can lead to or trigger a heart attack or stroke. Road rage can become even more deadly when it leads to violent confrontations, which I was surprised to find out happens more often than you realize.
Stay calm and drive on
So how can you beat road rage when you feel your temperature rising? The best way is to avoid getting to that point in the first place. I found that reading The Four Agreements (which is a very fast and enlightening read) really helped me. If you take the four agreements to heart and try to practice them as often as possible, you will surely improve your life.
The main point I took away was realizing that no matter what anyone does, don’t take it personally. When you step back for a moment and realize that the other driver didn’t mean to intentionally cut you off and that it really had nothing to do with you at all, you will be able to let things go more easily.
I have found that I am a lot calmer when I drive now which in turn has probably improved my driving as well (even though I always thought I was the best driver on the road).
Listen to podcasts or audiobooks
So you are now calmly stuck in your car for at least five hours a week. What can you do to pass that time and trick yourself into thinking your drive took no time at all?
Podcasts and audiobooks. Load up some episodes of your favorite podcasts or an audiobook or two. I make sure I always have something cued up (I’m personally going through a personal development kick so you will find all kinds of self help books loaded on my phone) before I leave the house or office.
When you are listening to something you enjoy with no commercial breaks you will be surprised how fast the time flies. It might sound crazy but there have been times where I have wished traffic was a little worse so I could continue listening to something I was really enjoying.
If you go the audiobook route I would suggest checking out what is available through your local library or subscribe to a service such as audible where you get your first book free (or with this link you get two free books) so you can give it a try. If you haven’t heard of Audible, basically each month you get a credit for a new title which is then yours to keep (even if you cancel the service). If you go through more than one book a month, you always have the option of buying additional titles at great discounts.
Even if you enjoy your commute, it still takes time
Even though you are now enjoying your commute, it doesn’t change the fact that you are still wasting your time stuck in traffic rather than having that time to be more productive or spend with family and friends or on basically anything else you prefer.
So why not free up that commuting time by getting rid of your commute all together! Impossible, you think? Millions of people have done just that, by starting their own online business from home, so why can’t you?
In this day and age, anyone with a computer and internet connection is able to run their own successful online business. How great would it feel to get ready in the morning and then instead of heading out to fight your way through hours of traffic each week, you only had to take your coffee (or beverage of choice) and walk into your home office to start your day.
Not having to commute is only one of the benefits of starting your own online business. I have a video series that I want to share with you which lists all the other benefits. Sign up for this free video series now and also find out how anyone, regardless of age or skill level, can easily setup run their own successful online business. After all, you have nothing to lose except that dreaded commute.
Until next time, remember to stay positive and live your joyful life!
Paul is a lifestyle blogger who thinks life is too short to be living someone else’s dream. He wants to help others realize they have the potential to change their lives and live the way they want.
Disclaimer: To help keep this blog running, I may earn a commission from the products and service I recommend. However, I do stand behind and only recommend products and services I like and have found useful.
