I found that my stress level about getting to work on time disappeared. Unlike traffic, I can’t make the train go a little bit faster by screwing over other people on the road. There’s no competition to save one minute off my drive. Once you’re on the train, you get there when you get there. There’s a certain Zen appeal to that.
I agree that public transport can be less stressful (not always, making a connection between the perpetually 20 minute late bus and the train was stressful for me even if I had no control), but just as food for thought for those of us currently with commutes that aren’t public transport friendly — over the years I’ve found that driving like an absolute maniac only saved me a minute or two even over fairly long commutes, compared to driving calmly and courteously.
Leaving just slightly earlier led to much less stressful drives for me. I’m not talking 10-15 minutes, but even 5 minutes earlier would let me drive calmly, safely, and get to work faster than being an asshole with 5 minutes of extra sleep.
I found that my stress level about getting to work on time disappeared. Unlike traffic, I can’t make the train go a little bit faster by screwing over other people on the road. There’s no competition to save one minute off my drive. Once you’re on the train, you get there when you get there. There’s a certain Zen appeal to that.
I agree that public transport can be less stressful (not always, making a connection between the perpetually 20 minute late bus and the train was stressful for me even if I had no control), but just as food for thought for those of us currently with commutes that aren’t public transport friendly — over the years I’ve found that driving like an absolute maniac only saved me a minute or two even over fairly long commutes, compared to driving calmly and courteously.
Leaving just slightly earlier led to much less stressful drives for me. I’m not talking 10-15 minutes, but even 5 minutes earlier would let me drive calmly, safely, and get to work faster than being an asshole with 5 minutes of extra sleep.