Tip of the Day: Make the Most of Your Commute

Good morning! Well, it's quite a dreary day here, and my plan for staying dry (wearing flip flops instead of sneakers) was a total failure. Ah well...

So, I'm an avid bus rider, and am very lucky to live on the campus bus route. It picks me up at the end of my apartment complex and brings me right to my office. We live about 2 1/2 miles from campus, and our car gets about 30 mpg. By taking the bus, we save at least 25 miles per week, or almost a gallon of gas once you add in searching for parking (which often takes as long as the commute) or being stuck in traffic. This might not sound like a lot, but a gallon a week adds up. We only really drive on the weekends and rarely have to fill up our car.

Aside from the gas (and headache) savings, commuting to work using public transportation is a great way to make the most out of life - and that's what this blog is about. That 2 1/2 mile commute takes about 25 minutes (believe it or not. Traffic is a nightmare around here.) What could you do with an extra half hour? Read a book! Listen to music! Plan your day! Learn a new language - there are lots of free language-learning podcasts. You have so many options. One great tip I read was to use your commute to work to get ready for your day. Get motivated, get inspired, get ready to face the day. Then, use you commute back home to transition from work to your home life. Plan your meal for that evening, listen to some relaxing music, etc. Use your commute, regardless of whether you take the bus, to transition your mind to where you're heading.

Now of course, there are some downsides to being a bus rider. Often, the bus is late, and sometimes it's early and I miss it. Other times, I have to stay a little later than I want to catch the correct bus. However, I see all of these as much less stressful than worrying about traffic, fretting over parking, and spending a half hour in traffic when someone else could be driving for me.

Don't live or work as close as I do to a bus stop? Why not walk a bit further, and get your workout in! (I actually catch a longer bus sometimes for just this reason!) Does your work have a carpool program? If not, why not start one? Surely, there's someone you work with that lives fairly close to you. Perhaps you could trade off driving duties.

Whether you do it to save money, save yourself from stress, or save the environment, commuting to work using public transportation, carpools, or even your own man/woman power is a great way to go!