Tips For A Happy Commute

Dreamergirl8812

My husband "watches" comedy central on his phone. He has one of those hands-free devices. It's mostly stand up comedy, so he doesn't have to look at the screen to get a laugh. Occasionally he "watches" stuff like Broad City, then we'll watch it again when he gets home, since he's not actually seeing what's happening. Apparently it's still pretty funny.

He also joined a gym near his work, so by the time he works out the traffic has cleared.

JaxInBlue

I have a 30 minute commute each way and I do many of the things people have already suggested - standing phone call home to parents, NPR or podcasts, have worked with my supervisor to adjust my schedule to avoid traveling at peak times (it works generally).  I can't say enough for trying to work around the commute - it's made me so much saner and I'm thankfully in a position where I have the flexibility to make minor adjustments based on weather/construction/whatnot.

One other thing to try, if he's up for it, might be to see if his program/college has a ride share opportunity.  There might be someone with a relatively similar schedule to share all or part of the commute. 

JoanE2012

I have about a 45min commute each day.  Maybe I've become immune to it, but it doesn't really bother me.  Most of my jobs have been close to an hour.  I listen to FM morning shows on the way in and the FM news guys on the way home.  I do hate sitting in traffic, so I try and make sure I leave early enough that I miss most of it.

themosthappy91

thisismynickname said:

My question to the OP is, can he adjust his school schedule to commute during less traffic-y times? For example, if it's that long at 8am, maybe he can leave at 7am, get there in a shorter amount of time, and go to a coffee shop or study somewhere.

I used to work a job from 7 to 3:30pm and that was the LIFE. Now that I'm on 8-5, some evenings I want to slice someone for the crazy commute time.

---STUCK IN THE BOX---

Luckily his commute is traffic-free 90% of the time- it's just 50 minutes of driving on a relatively open road, which is great.   The downside to that kind of driving is it's so mindless, so I worry about him falling asleep at the wheel or just not being alert enough when other cars happen to be around.  

Also, someone else mentioned ride-sharing, which I SO wish was an option (not just for him but for what we'd save on gas and wear on our car).  Unfortunately there is literally NO ONE ELSE in his class of about 80 people who lives in our town, and his schedule wouldn't match up closely enough with anyone else at the college because it's super irregular and varied.  

I love the podcast idea though, I think I'm going to try to find a bunch I think he's like and load them onto his phone for him!  It seems like that would be more engaging and productive (if you listen to an educational one at least) than just always listening to music or a book.   

anrforanr

I drive A LOT for my job. A while ago there was a post about audio books, so I got into that a little bit, but sometimes it can put me to sleep.

This week, I picked up a language audio book from the library - FI and I are both working on learning German. Your H could try that if there is a language he'd be interested in learning. Your library or maybe his school's library should have all sorts of languages available.

I also have XM, and the comedy channels keep me entertained as well.

emmaaa

DH and I both currently have a 1 hour commute to work/school. I just listen to the radio and use that time to get in the mindset for work. I make a mental list of the things I have to do that day and I end up being able to hit the ground running when I get to work. 

I listen to Pandora on my way home and "jam" out to fun music. I use that time to take my mind off work. That way when I get home I can be 100% HOME.