How do you stay sane with a long commute?

[rosa727]

I just accepted a job that I am really excited about. The one big drawback is that it will be an hour commute from my house, and I am not going to be moving any time soon. But anyway, my question is, for those of you who have a long commute, what sorts of things do you do to keep yourself from getting bored and even enjoy it? My new boss is cool and is going to let me alter my hours to avoid traffic and be home at a good hour, but I would like some other tips or suggestions. Thanks!

[dionysia]

A couple of things:
- NPR
- my mp3 player
- finding a backroads route so that I'm never sitting in traffic. It takes just as long as going the main routes, but I'm always moving and therefore less stressed when I get to the office.

Di

[cocopop]

Listen to books on tape. I really start getting into them and find myself sitting in the garage, not wanting to go in the house. :p

[Hello Kitty]

I have a two hour commute when I go into the office - driving and taking a train. My drive is usually traffic free (all highway, no stops) and the train is pretty quiet.

For the drive in, I just listen to the radio. When I get on the train, I listen to my Ipod and just relax. I sometimes sleep. On the way home I work on the train to get as much done as possible. When I drive home, I usually catch up with friends and family on my cell.

The train keeps me sane. I hate, hate driving/traffic/weather and it makes me crazy. I would go absolutely crazy if I had to sit in traffic every day.

[LittleFredPunkinHead]

Listen to books on tape. I really start getting into them and find myself sitting in the garage, not wanting to go in the house. :p
I'll second this!
I have a membership to audible.com that allows me to download 2 books per month for $21.95. I get a lot of "reading" done this way. :D

[Annette]

Shoot, I keep forgetting to bring my CDs in the car. I currently flip through the radio stations. I'll take alternate routes to avoid the ones that I know have traffic.

Are you going to be driving or taking public transportation? If the latter, bring a book or magazines to read.

[dionysia]

OT to cocopop:

That pic of your little one is hilarious!!!!

Di

[Guinness]

My DH commutes 1 1/2hrs each way by car. He has satellite radio and I think I will get him a ipod for christmas. I am also going to look at the books on tape website. Thanks LittleFred!

[alootikki]

I commute by train - I have gotten more organized about getting library books/buying books that I am super interested in (this obviously doesn't help you!), and I use my iPod every single day too. Set up some great playlists, and they really do make time fly!

[BethIrish]

I'm assuming you are driving, not public transportation for any of it?

Books on tape are great! The only issue with them is that if I'm sleepy, they put me to sleep...you might want to keep that in mind after a long day ;) Also, I know my library has a great collection of them - you might want to check that out - they can get expensive! (and cumbersome to keep - if you buy, you should find out if a local nursing home or VA takes donations.)

My friend is a sales-person who drives around in her car a LOT. She loves her Sirius Satellite radio :)

How about learning a new language? I think it's Berlitz that puts out language tapes. Might be cool to learn a new language and reward yourself with a trip to a country that speaks that language :p

[sandt8704]

I have had an hour commute for as long as I can remember, and after a while, you just go into autopilot. I just listen to the radio or CD's, but I have heard that books on CD are great, too.

[LittleFredPunkinHead]

My DH commutes 1 1/2hrs each way by car. He has satellite radio and I think I will get him a ipod for christmas. I am also going to look at the books on tape website. Thanks LittleFred!
You're quite welcome! :D BTW, that's exactly what I do- I load a bunch of books on my nano and just listen away. Oh, one other thing- audible.com has a deal right now where they're giving a free iPod shuffle with a year subscription. Not a bad deal!

[DisneyGirl]

My DH also have a 1 hr 15 min drive each way to work ( NOWAY i could not do that..I hate driving for the most part). He bought himself an i pod and FM adapter and now listens to his songs. He had also thought about books on CD..you can rent them from a library. I think thats a good idea if theres a book you want to read but can't find the time.

[rosa727]

Thanks so much everyone! I am getting some great ideas - keep them coming :) I will be commuting by car, but the drive is basically all highway with very little traffic (going in at 7AM will help with any there is). Plus there are gorgeous mountain views for most of the drive.

[greenbunny]

How about learning a new language? I think it's Berlitz that puts out language tapes. Might be cool to learn a new language and reward yourself with a trip to a country that speaks that language :p

That was going to be my suggestion. A girl I know is trying to learn Italian because she wants to travel to Italy. I don't know where she got the tapes, though.

[LDS Angel 19]

My commute is an hour each way and I can't stand it. In the morning on the way in I listen to the morning show on my fav station, and in the afternoon I mostly listen to cds. There are some good ideas in this thread that I may have to try!

[Aimee]

I drove an hour each way to law school for 3 years - yuck! I kept sane by having a morning show I loved for the morning drive, and an iPod with FM transmitter for the afternoon drive.

Also, DH-then-FI and I, and my mom and I all had unlimited mobile-to-mobile on our cell phones, so we'd all talk on our respective commutes. On a headset, of course.

People used to ask me how I did my commute (it wasn't a common one around here) and I'd say: "Simple. I get in my car, turn it on, and go." It really wasn't that bad, because it was better than the alternative of living in the city where I went to school (Ugh, hate Baton Rouge).

Congrats on the new job!

[gayle]

I third books on tape. My husband has an hour commute and swears by them. He actually looks forward to his commute since he started listening to them.

[hockeybrat]

That was going to be my suggestion. A girl I know is trying to learn Italian because she wants to travel to Italy. I don't know where she got the tapes, though.

Pimsleur Language tapes http://www.languagetapes.com/

I usually listen to NPR on my commute. :)

[vwinkel]

I have a long commute also (today was an hour 45 minutes - stupid snow!). I listen to books on CD also. My local library at home only had a few, but the local library in where I commute has a GREAT library of books on CD. I grab three at a time and then return them on my lunch break in a couple of weeks.

The other thing I do on the commute is talk on my phone to friends. I catch up about once a week with everyone (especially the long distance ones).

[greenbunny]

You guys who want to try books on tape should start a thread for trading them, like the regular book trade thread.

[Winter Biscuit]

Once a week I have to commute 1-hour to work at a different campus. I go in early so I can avoid the early morning rush hour (and I leave early too, to avoid the afternoon rush). I also second the suggestion to become familiar with alternate routes.

I am hearing impaired so I don't/can't listen to music or the radio or books on tape, so I tend to use my driving time as "quiet time." I used to dread the thought of having to sit and drive for 1 hour by myself, but now I look forward to it. Sometimes it's the only "me" time I have since I work full-time and have a very active toddler who keeps me on my toes. I do a lot of thinking (and even praying) while I'm driving, I make an effort to stop and count my blessings, and I really try to make an effort to appreciate the sights I see on my way to/from work. I know this sounds lame, but in today's fast-paced world, sometimes we really need to force ourselves to take time to smell the roses. My driving time is when I tend to do that. If you view your commute as an opportunity to do something productive, it'll come to be something you look forward to, even on the days when traffic is backed up and there is construction for miles. :)

[maxandmolly]

Well, in order to stay sane, one would have to be sane to start with. Fortunately, I don't have that problem. Starting off insane and getting crazier with each mile and minute in the car is much easier.

[Ki Ki Marcus]

Well, in order to stay sane, one would have to be sane to start with. Fortunately, I don't have that problem. Starting off insane and getting crazier with each mile and minute in the car is much easier.

Bwwwwaaaahhh!!!!

[rosa727]

I definitely think books on CD, language CDs (I actually have Spanish ones I have never used), and a cell phone with unlimited long-distance will be great. In the morning I plan to take my coffee and drink it on the way too. Normally I sit and take about 30 minutes in the morning to drink it. So if I can just do that in the car that's like 30 minutes I won't even miss.

[ee_chick]

I commute around 2 hours a day (traffic dependent). Adjusting hours is the very best thing to do - that's awesome that your boss will let you do that! I do a lot of the things mentioned here

1. Van/Carpool as often as possible (your city/county probably has a website devoted to this)
2. listen to my iPod
3. I can't get into audio books, but I do get the NY Times diges from Audible and listen to that every morning.
4. Chat on the phone (hands-free of course)
5. Take the scenic route

[Msbhvn]

The longest commute I had was 1 1/2 hours. I used to listen to the radio, and cd's beofore I made up a little game. The game involved counting the number of people who had those air freshners in the shape of a pine tree hanging from their rear-view mirror. You'd be surprised how many people actually buy these things. It would always make me laugh when I saw one, and soon the joke spread to my office. When people found out about the game they started doing it too, and it became a competition to see who found the most people. It was a riot! :D

[Brandles]

I sub at different districts. Sometimes, my drive is 10-15 minutes. Other times, it's 45 minutes to an hour.

--I dig all my old mix tapes out and listen to them in order.
--I listen to "talk radio"--Bob & Sheri show, Pam Stone Show, Matt & Ramona Show.
--I like to scan the radio stations and sing when I find a song I like.

I'm lucky that my driving is only highway and not interstate and that it's not around a big city, so the only traffic jams I get into are those that are caused by slow-moving farm equipment.

[Lil_Mrs_0702]

You are all braver than I am. I live about 10 minutes away from work and I get pissed if I have to wait through the same stop light twice and it takes me 20 minutes to get home.
I am freaking out because they are moving my office another 20 minutes away at the end of next year. I am actually considering moving or finding a new job.

[Rositabean]

Just seconding the NPR and talking on the phone suggestions. I have 2 offices I go between so my AM commute can be 10 or 30 minutes. My lunch commute (when I go between the offices) is 30 min. My drive home is 30 min or 1 hour due to awful So Cal traffic.

I love NPR because there is always something interesting to listen to. I can get all my day's news and some nice shows in while driving. My DH opens the front door and laughs at me when he finds me sitting in my car in the driveway with the car door open and one leg out waiting for part of "my shows" to wrap up.

[sublime311]

I don't have an hour drive, but it's still pretty long at 1/2 hour. I LOVE my XM Radio. I mostly listen to the (naughty) comedy station (it has little snipits of stand-up comedians) and laugh all the way to work! I love it!

I used to have an hour drive, but I was lucky because DH and I worked at the same place so we carpooled. It was great having an extra 2 hours everyday together!!

[Brandy]

I download Audiobooks to my iPod (it hooks directly to my car stereo). I love it! I make sure I only listen to them in the car also.

I also make playlists every month of the songs I am currently liking, and then I make playlists on my mood, my rock out music, my mellow thinking music, my I just want to cry music, my inner party girl music, etc etc :)

[KarenS]

I just accepted a job that I am really excited about. The one big drawback is that it will be an hour commute from my house, and I am not going to be moving any time soon.Sounds exactly like my situation. Congrats on the job! :)

I have an hour each way and all of it in heavy traffic - although also all on the highway. I start off with a coffee from Dunkin Donuts ($1.57 for a large with cream - it's my morning splurge) and then listen to NPR on the way. I drive in from about 7:25 until 8:30 (I can arrive any time between 8 and 9, and getting there at 8:30 nets me the least traffic on the way).

I may try books on tape at some point, but I really like NPR's Morning Edition and I like All Things Considered in the afternoon. It is my "catch up with the world" time.

Karen

[looch]

I love public transportation! It is so much nicer to sit on the train sipping coffee and reading the paper as opposed to being stuck in traffic with every other driver.
But i live in an area where it's not necessary to own a car, and I don't own one, so I am biased!

[Kari331]

I have an hour and a half commute as well with no plans to move. On days I am totally exhausted and dreading the commute, I make myself a "coffee deal." If I make it halfway, I can get a coffee as a treat. It makes me a little more motivated to make it to the gas station or cofee shop and then the rest of the commute I enjoy my drink. At first I felt a little guily splurging on coffee as it adds up, but I figured a little bit of money goes a long ways to my sanity.

[juliemag]

- Find a good morning show you like on the radio. This has been my saving grace sometimes. (For me it's Kenny & Footy on 100.7 in south fla)

- Leave a good 30 minutes early if you know there will be traffic. Some days it takes me 35 mins, some days and HOUR and 35 mins. Building in the extra cushion causes less stress.

- Realize there are about 300,000 other drivers on the road (if not - MORE) and everyone has somewhere to be. Just take your time.

[vwinkel]

Other bits of advice:

I used to freak when I wasn't arriving right at 8am. If there was an accident or traffic and I would arrive at 8:45am - I'd be stressed and get a bit of road rage. Finally, I came to the conclusion - I can't affect the traffic so I'll get there when I get there. My boss realizing the commute I make and knows I'm not taking advantage. So, just relax.

I also like to listen to AM radio (720 - WGN - Spike O'Dell show) for a part of the drive. (I'm sure I'm the only listener under age 65) But they have updates every 15 minutes for traffic and on every half hour, I get the world news.

[Gracie]

Do you have a Cracker Barrel restaurant nearby? They rent books on CD in the country store area of the restaurant. You purchase the book on CD at list price and receive a refund less $3.49 upon returning it to any CB restaurant. So basically you rent it for $3.49 unless you decide to keep it. You have to return it within a certain amount of time or you'll pay a little more, but I've always found the rental period to be more than enough time to listen to the entire book.

[Angelfish]

I listen to music and sing at the top of my lungs. It's very relaxing!

[framboise]

Keep monkeying with your schedule as long as your boss will allow until you find the best time to avoid the traffic in your area. For me in Los Angeles, that means coming in later rather than earlier. I can't even imagine the time I'd have to leave the house in the morning in order to beat the traffic! While I'm in the car, I like listening to books on tape / cd & catching up with friends by phone.

Congrats on the new job!

[Noniitis]

I don't have a commute as a SAHM but my friend was telling me that her aunt has a recorder < I am not sure if it is a tape or digital> in her car and she tell stories into it and then she has some computer program dragon speak or something that she plays it for and it types it out onto the computer. She has sold some of these stories. I am not sure if they become books or what not but I thought it was a great way to use the commute. Hers was an hour and a half.

[rosa727]

Thanks for the ideas everyone. I will definitely use a lot of them. Luckily, traffic is very light where I will be driving. The only traffic at all will be when I get very close to my job. The reason it will take an hour is the sheer distance I will be driving (about 45 miles) I will be driving on the highway, but not interstate, so that's good. Unfortunately, public transportation is not an option. We have city buses in the city where I live but there is no public transportation to other nearby cities. The other good thing is that it almost never snows here, so I should not have to worry about too much bad weather. We do have a Cracker Barrel nearby so I may look into that option for the books on CD.

[DiscoDiva]

I used to commute 70 miles a day, all of it in heavy traffic. Never again! Anyway, I listened to books on tape, which I borrowed from the local library. I wish, however, that I had used some of that time to learn another language.

[Asha]

rosa - i know you are not taking public transport, but i'd thought to include suggestions for those who are taking public transport.

my commute on the subway is between 1 - 1 1/2 hours each way depending on connecting trains and delays. this is what i do to stay sane.

-read
-study
-watch people and make up stories about them
-now that it's xmas time, i will start writing out my xmas cards too.

[suzubeane]

Bumping this thread up for more ideas, or just elaborations on the old ones. (Any new sources for recorded books?)

After working at home and/or having a commute under 10 minutes for the last two years, I'm considering a job offer that would have me commuting 45. (Think remote picturesque New England town.) I've had a 45 minute commute before, but the last 20 minutes of this one are on a slow, hilly, windy, one lane road. I've made the trip twice and got anxious both times by the last 10 minutes. But the job itself is really appealing, so I'm torn.

Also, we'll be replacing one of our cars in the next year - besides fuel efficiency, if anyone can name features that have helped with a long, non-highway commute, I'd love to hear them.

[EJH]

Suzubeane

In May I took a job that increased my commute from 30-40 minutes to 1.5 hours. Each way. For me it was the right choice because my previous position was terrible, I hated going to work. I took this job after a LOT of consideration (and after having turned down the offers to apply for it many times). Now in October I still feel it was the right choice, even though commute sucks. I go from up near southern NH to Boston every day. It's certainly not ideal, but I'm happy when I get to work and that makes a monstrous difference for me. I've just in the last week started taking the commuter rail, which is helping to keep me sane. Traffic has just gotten so much worse than it was when I commuted into the city a few years ago (and it was bad then, LOL).

I guess my answer is, as long as you think the job is really worth it, go for it.

I'm not sure that's at all helpful...but there ya go :)

Erin

[AmandaLeigh]

Up until a few months ago I had about a 1.5 hour commute in each direction. I usually hit the library for books on cd/tape. Some libraries even have audio books that you can download from home.

One of the things that helped when dealing with traffic was that I have a very tiny car. This made it much easier to manuver in stop and go traffic.

[suzubeane]

Erin - thanks. The employer has offered me a trial run of sorts; because I freelance now, they've asked me if I would just try it out for a few days this coming week and the one after. After that, though, they'd want a full time commitment. So given that, there's really no reason for me NOT to give it a shot, since I'd still have my present clients until such time as I decided to go full time with this new place.

I wish I could take the commuter rail! I was actually looking halfheartedly in the Boston area for that reason myself. But there's no public transportation where I'd be working.

Amanda, thanks for the tip. We have interlibrary loan, so I logged onto the state card catalog and requested a few recordings.

[Rosebud]

I have a membership to audible.com that allows me to download 2 books per month for $21.95. I get a lot of "reading" done this way. :D

Another enthusiastic recommendation for Audible.com. I have the 1 book a month subscription (like $15?) and absolutely love this service. It's so easy to use if you have an iPod. I get a ton of "reading" done while sitting in L.A. traffic. It definitely makes the time pass more quickly.

[salysaturn]

My real office is 80+ miles away, when I have to go in (I work from home), I usually go with other WAH co-workers, that helps that we can talk, we usually meet mid-way.

When my real office was closer, it was about 45 minutes away, and I drove out alone. I kinda took in the sights around me, and remembered land marks so I knew I was closer. My favorite was blank Hemp Road....I always remember Hemp, never the word before :(

But yes, cd mixes of fav songs, IPOD.

[suzubeane]

Thanks, you guys.

Sally, I know what you mean about landmarks - That's been helpful on previous long commutes. The part of this trip I'm so daunted by is the last leg which is windy, mostly coastal road. I think it will get better once I'm used to it, though.

[SiValleySteph]

If you are interested in learning a second language, the Pimmsleur series audio lessons are really good! They recommend one lesson a day (30 min), so it works really well in the car. I did the Mandarian Chinese short course and it was amazing how well it works and how good my accent was (DH was really impressed!). That reminds me to order the next series.

Luckily, it's usually only taking me 25 min to get to work. It got up to 40 min for a while, so I changed my route. (I'm only going 7 miles, so that was pretty crazy!)

I think the audio book or some other type cd is a great idea for the first part and then you can turn it off for the scary part of the drive. After you do it for a little while, you will probably be very comfortable with that road.

Good luck!

[Yvangeline]

Satellite radio.

I'm thinking about trying one of those learn-another-language deals, too.

[young lioness]

DH listens to podcasts on his commute. He is a tech junkie, so he listens to stuff like Diggnation and SlashDot Review, plus some of the NPR podcasts. It's a great way to keep up with the news or other stuff that you are interested in...there are tons of special-interest podcasts.