Why I enjoy commuting two hours per day.

If you don't know me, you probably think right now that I'm crazy. Because who enjoys commuting two hours a day? Really who does?

Well, here's the answer: I do.

Don't get me wrong, there are lots of drawbacks when commuting to work every day.

The drawbacks of a long commute.

According to various studies and articles, commuting to work makes you unhappy, has a bad influence on your love life, and even makes you unhealthy.

The article is pegged to Swedish researchers' discovery that a commute longer than 45 minutes for just one partner in a marriage makes the couple 40% more likely to divorce.

source

Two hours every day.

As my headline stated, I commute two hours a day, since more than one year now. Each way takes me one hour. Depending on traffic or train delays, sometimes even longer.

In summary, I spend about 10 hours per week in my car and in the train.

So why do I enjoy that time?

This is 'me' time.

Actually, this is the main reason, why I enjoy commuting. Commuting time means 'me' time. It's just me, and no one can steal this time from me.

In the morning, it gives me time to wake up, plan my day ahead, and just get a slow intro into the day. During the evening commute, I can recap work-related projects, tasks and other things.

Commuting time is the perfect time to allow my thoughts absolute freedom.

It's podcast & reading time.

Audio is the perfect medium for a commute. Since commuting to work every day, I started to fell in love with audio books and podcasts. I haven't been a real fan before, but ever since I commute, I'm hooked.

I love listening to podcasts or audio books.
(I'll probably publish another article pretty soon on my favourite podcasts.)

How to optimise your work commute?

Obviously, a well-executed commute requires experience and some planning. Are you going by train? Are you surrounded by many people? Is your phone battery fully charged? Do you have a great book to read?

Here's a list of questions I recommend you to answer before you start your commute.

  • Which things you enjoy doing can be done during your commute?
  • How can you avoid stress during your commute?
  • Which things create relaxation during your work commute?

The following apps help me optimize my work commute.

Meet the Supercommuters.

Fascinated by the commuting stories of others, I found this Guardian article a while ago. I do know people who commute even longer to work than I do. However, I didn't know that there are people who commute five hours a day.

There are now 900,000 of us who commute for more than three hours a day.

Go and check out this great Guardian article on supercommuters!