How to have a better commute when return to office won’t wait
Why don’t workers want to return to the office? For most, it’s not the office that’s the problem at all. The No. 1 roadblock is the commute. Unless you can walk or cycle to work, commuting costs can be substantial. The average commuting time in the United States is one hour, round trip. So commuting has serious costs in both time and money.
For most people, commuting is also a pain in the neck. I wrote this description at the start of my book, “Curating Your Life”:
“When I ride the train to my office in the morning, I look at the faces of the other passengers. Some sleep, most text or listen to music, and others stare dully out of the window. Almost no one looks happy or energized or enthusiastic. When I walk around downtown, it’s the same picture. Most people charge along, heads down or looking careworn and weary. The panhandlers on the street corners look especially miserable. But honestly, most of us don’t look much happier than they do. At the end of the day, we’re heading home, the lucky ones to spend time with the people we love. Do we look eager and anticipatory? No, we mostly look even more tired than we did in the morning. This is not how I want my life to be — and not yours, either.”
If that’s what most people’s commutes are like, no wonder we don’t want to go back to the office.
The costs in time and money of commuting are difficult to remedy. Employers can start subsidizing their employees’ costs, although there’s a fairness issue for those people who live close by. As a society we can build better transportation systems that move people around more efficiently. But individual employees considering whether to return to the office don’t have control over those factors.
How to build a better commute
We do, however, have some control over our misery. Instead of grimly sitting behind the wheel in a traffic jam or glaring at the other passengers who are squashed in with us on the train or bus, we can find small ways to make this chunk of our day more satisfying. Here are some ideas:
Listen to music — whatever pleases you. Just don’t play it loud on crowded public transportation. That’s an assault on your fellow passengers.
Listen to a podcast — maybe it’s work related or maybe it’s just for fun.
Put away your phone and look out the window. Try to notice something you’ve never seen before. Appreciate whatever is beautiful to you.
Observe other people if you’ve got company. People can be endlessly fascinating. Make up stories about who those people are and where they’re going. Just don’t be obvious in your staring.
Make conversation. Not everyone wants to talk with you, so you need to read the signals. But a lot of people enjoy small talk to pass the time, and you might meet someone interesting. I landed one of my best clients when we sat next to each other on an airplane.
Meditate or pray. Use this time to calm your mind or focus on what’s important to you. Give thanks for the gifts you are receiving.
Think big thoughts. Many business leaders complain that they can’t find the time to think about strategic issues and long-term plans. Your commute can be the time for you to do that.
Set your intentions for the day. What do you want this day to be like? How will you make that happen? On the way home, review your day. What was fun? What did you accomplish? What do you feel proud of?
Read or listen to audiobooks, whether for fun or to learn something new.
Think grim thoughts and feel sorry for yourself. We all need to do this occasionally, but try not to make it a daily practice.
When I was a psychotherapist, my office was at the back of my house. Only a door separated my workspace from my family space. I would finish talking with my last client, open the door and immediately plunge into the demanding world of three little boys, dinner prep and the multitude of other tasks of a busy wife and mother. Sometimes I would long for a little commuting time to help me catch my breath and make the transition from work to home.
Don’t get me wrong — I really appreciated the convenience of working from home. But, wisely used, your commute can be a time of focusing, resting and refreshing yourself for what lies ahead.
