Dealing with a long commute

For the last year I have been doing 5 hours worth of commuting 5 days a week since changing my job and I'm finally at the point where I can finally cut down my journey to a more sane 40 minutes.

Some days have been a struggle, some days have been pleasant, here are some things you can do to make your commute more pleasant.

Don't rely on the transport service.

Transport systems will simply fuck up. If you follow me on Twitter or know me in real life you'll know this is my biggest complaint. A certain northern rail company in the UK constantly failed to meet my needs and I had to find alternative routes home.

What I'm trying to say is, always have a back up plan. Quite often my main route to and from work had delays so I had to have alternative routes home. These routes aren't always advertised on websites / apps so a little bit of research will be required on your part.

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Tell everyone

Tell your co-workers, friends and family that you are doing a long commute every day. They'll be more understanding if you are late or grumpy. Too many things can happen on your commute and things are bound to piss you off or go wrong.

Prepare for weather

Weather is so unpredictable in the UK and because of the amount of distance between my home and work location, the weather can be completely different.

I personally don't like hoods so I also rock an umbrella for those rainy days. I also Pack a spare set of clothes in my bag, an extra pair of socks is always a good idea. Wearing damp clothes all day isn't fun for you or others (imagine a wet dog smell in the office).

For those hot days I would also recommend travel clothes and work clothes so you don't have smelly clothes by the time you get to your destination. Also a water bottle is an essential.

Timebox your commute.

I can't stress this point enough! If you imagine one massive commute, it's going to feel like it's taking forever. Cut it down into sections and for each section do something different. Which brings me onto my next point.

Do something

Don't waste the time. If you go to sleep or simply listen to music, you are wasting a large chunk of the day which could be productive. Read blog posts, plan your day or develop. Whatever you do, make sure its productive.

Conclusion

If you can avoid a long commute, avoid it. I think one of the things that made it easier for me is I always knew it was short term. If its long term, I salute you because it will be a strain mentally and physically.

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