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'Commute less' should be taken with a grain of salt unless one talks about cars. Any form of transport I take where I am not driving the vehicle myself gives m

'Commute less' should be taken with a grain of salt unless one talks about cars. Any form of transport I take where I am not driving the vehicle myself gives me time to read, relax, think – even meditate (trains are great for this). I know for a fact that I read most books/month in my life in times I had a job that included at least 20 mins of commute (one way) on public transport.

laputan_machine 5y ago
For you, perhaps. Public transport for me involves having to fight for a space in an incredibly crowded environment, having to take multiple buses or a bus + tram, it's expensive, smelly and a vector for illnesses. I read a lot of books on my commute, but for me the cons outweigh the pros by quite a margin. No thanks!
- Aeolun 5y ago
  Hmm, in my time we’d have said something like that builds character.
  - laputan_machine 5y ago
    I commuted from the age of 11 until 21, when I had finally had enough of the BS to buy a bicycle and learn how to navigate the pot-hole-ridden roads of UK cities, figure out how to avoid getting killed by tired motorists and how to quickly fix a punctured tyre in -4c. Those things build character. Sitting in a bus just breeds resentment.
enriquto 5y ago
I'd say that even if you "drive" yourself, the commute can be a pleasurable experience, depending on the circumstances. I for one love my commute (which is a calm promenade in the woods on my bicycle). But this is very specific: even a much shorter commute but inside the city traffic and among cars and red lights would be a nightmare.
michaelgrafl 5y ago
In terms of commuting, 20 minutes is my threshold for starting counting the minutes. Anything up to 20 minutes is zero in my mind. I used to commute 90 minutes via public transport. Twice daily. Did I read a lot? Sure. It still was a nightmare. I now commute 17 minutes by car. Biggest improvement of life quality I've ever had.
hvidgaard 5y ago
Maybe you have some podcasts you want to listen to. Or books. Or just music. A car can be a joy too, but I would struggle to fill 1 hour each way though.
corecoder 5y ago
It much depends: if trains are very frequent, train stations easy to reach and you only take one single train, that's one kind of experience. If there's few trains, you have every day the anxiety of risking to loose the train and the be very late, or in some cases, absent for the day. If the train station is hard to reach, you have stress along the way. If you have to switch three trains, you cannot concentrate on your book/podcast/whatever, because you must always check if it's your stop, and then maybe you have to sprint to take the next train. Can be unpleasant.
JoshTriplett 5y ago
I enjoy traveling by train, but I'd never want to commute by train. Even if you can use the time for something else, you're still pre-committing to spend that time in transit, which changes the effective workday from ~8-9 hours (counting lunch) to ~11-12 hours. It doesn't matter that that isn't "work" time; it's still time that's pre-committed and constrained. That makes a substantial difference in how much free time you have that's not spent in transit.
roland35 5y ago
A comfortable train ride is nice, but I had a chance to listen to many books on tape and podcasts when I had a long driving commute. It also was helpful to be able to stop at a store if I needed something on the way to work or home. That said, I am very happy to work from home now!
JKCalhoun 5y ago
I have found that having more free time does not necessarily allow me to be more productive. Productivity, creative pursuits, still require down-time, pauses between creative activities where, like dreaming, you can process and consider your next steps. Commuting, walking, can be those break times between productive bursts.
k8sToGo 5y ago
Personally, I get that time of thinking during driving. In fact, I hate taking public transportation after work since it is always noisy etc.
TimPC 5y ago
I used to be very big on commuting less. Then my wife got pregnant and suddenly it was more important to be in the right school district and close enough to my parents that they can come over regularly to visit and help. I find that shortening other people’s commutes to you changes their behaviour in ways that involve seeing you far more. Shortening your commute adds time to your day but doesn’t really change the things you can do in that time. These days I value the extra interactions far more than the extra time. For what it’s worth in non-COVID times I’m a subway commuter who mostly reads on the subway.
crocodiletears 5y ago
I love commuting in my car. It's one of the only times I'm guaranteed solitude, and an opportunity to listen to or think about whatever I want in an enclosed space without interruption or surveillance (older car).

laputan_machine 5y ago

For you, perhaps. Public transport for me involves having to fight for a space in an incredibly crowded environment, having to take multiple buses or a bus + tram, it's expensive, smelly and a vector for illnesses. I read a lot of books on my commute, but for me the cons outweigh the pros by quite a margin. No thanks!

Aeolun 5y ago
Hmm, in my time we’d have said something like that builds character.
- laputan_machine 5y ago
  I commuted from the age of 11 until 21, when I had finally had enough of the BS to buy a bicycle and learn how to navigate the pot-hole-ridden roads of UK cities, figure out how to avoid getting killed by tired motorists and how to quickly fix a punctured tyre in -4c. Those things build character. Sitting in a bus just breeds resentment.

enriquto 5y ago

I'd say that even if you "drive" yourself, the commute can be a pleasurable experience, depending on the circumstances. I for one love my commute (which is a calm promenade in the woods on my bicycle). But this is very specific: even a much shorter commute but inside the city traffic and among cars and red lights would be a nightmare.

michaelgrafl 5y ago

In terms of commuting, 20 minutes is my threshold for starting counting the minutes. Anything up to 20 minutes is zero in my mind. I used to commute 90 minutes via public transport. Twice daily. Did I read a lot? Sure. It still was a nightmare. I now commute 17 minutes by car. Biggest improvement of life quality I've ever had.

hvidgaard 5y ago

Maybe you have some podcasts you want to listen to. Or books. Or just music. A car can be a joy too, but I would struggle to fill 1 hour each way though.

corecoder 5y ago

It much depends: if trains are very frequent, train stations easy to reach and you only take one single train, that's one kind of experience. If there's few trains, you have every day the anxiety of risking to loose the train and the be very late, or in some cases, absent for the day. If the train station is hard to reach, you have stress along the way. If you have to switch three trains, you cannot concentrate on your book/podcast/whatever, because you must always check if it's your stop, and then maybe you have to sprint to take the next train. Can be unpleasant.

JoshTriplett 5y ago

I enjoy traveling by train, but I'd never want to commute by train. Even if you can use the time for something else, you're still pre-committing to spend that time in transit, which changes the effective workday from ~8-9 hours (counting lunch) to ~11-12 hours. It doesn't matter that that isn't "work" time; it's still time that's pre-committed and constrained. That makes a substantial difference in how much free time you have that's not spent in transit.

roland35 5y ago

A comfortable train ride is nice, but I had a chance to listen to many books on tape and podcasts when I had a long driving commute. It also was helpful to be able to stop at a store if I needed something on the way to work or home. That said, I am very happy to work from home now!

JKCalhoun 5y ago

I have found that having more free time does not necessarily allow me to be more productive. Productivity, creative pursuits, still require down-time, pauses between creative activities where, like dreaming, you can process and consider your next steps. Commuting, walking, can be those break times between productive bursts.

k8sToGo 5y ago

Personally, I get that time of thinking during driving. In fact, I hate taking public transportation after work since it is always noisy etc.

TimPC 5y ago

I used to be very big on commuting less. Then my wife got pregnant and suddenly it was more important to be in the right school district and close enough to my parents that they can come over regularly to visit and help. I find that shortening other people’s commutes to you changes their behaviour in ways that involve seeing you far more. Shortening your commute adds time to your day but doesn’t really change the things you can do in that time. These days I value the extra interactions far more than the extra time. For what it’s worth in non-COVID times I’m a subway commuter who mostly reads on the subway.

crocodiletears 5y ago

I love commuting in my car. It's one of the only times I'm guaranteed solitude, and an opportunity to listen to or think about whatever I want in an enclosed space without interruption or surveillance (older car).