I commute about 45 minutes to 1 hour each way for work daily- I have a love/hate relationship with this activity. I drive from the city to rural Iowa so the drive is very quiet, sometimes involves gravel roads, and often times my GPS cannot even find itself in places I end up. I usually get to stay on the interstate for the majority of my trip and thought I would time lapse the 40 minutes of me driving on the interstate to give you a glimpse of how dull the drive is.
Because the drive every day is long and boring in terms of scenery and stops along the way, I used to view it as a waste of time. I would calculate all of the other things I could be getting done on the time I spent on the road each day (which usually meant I would think about how I could sleep for two hours longer each night). I just hated feeling like I could be productive instead of spending so much time in the car every day. Then I came across this quote -
This quote inspired me to find ways to enjoy my car ride so I viewed it as a productive use of time. I now intentionally use the time to process my day, make phone calls, sing Kelly Clarkson, go over the ideas brewing in my mind, and listen to podcasts. I have grown to love my podcasts because I feel like I learn so much from them, even the comedy ones because they allow me reflect on my own views and decisions.
My favorite podcasts include:
- This American Life
- Freakonmonics
- Mohr Stories
- Adam Corolla
- Alison Rosen in Your New Best Friend
- For Crying Out Loud
- Dr. Drew
While I am looking forward to finding a new job that does not involve such a long commute, I will miss the time to myself. I will especially miss the time to sing Breakaway loudly on repeat without the risk of someone hearing me.