5 Ways to Reduce Your Commute Time
Americans spend an average of 46 minutes every day sitting in their cars on the way to and from work. Although most people say their commutes do not involve stressful situations, most seem interested in spending less time in their cars and more time enjoying life with family, friends, and coworkers. Use the following five tips from Mercedes-Benz of Annapolis for reducing your commute time to get started reclaiming your time and your life.
1. Leave home early. Leave work late
If you ever thought you were the only one running the proverbial “rat race,” think again. Every morning and every evening millions of people just like you drive to and from work using the same highways. You can change your schedule so you can commute during periods of light traffic. For example, you can drive to work before the morning rush hour and then leave work before evening work traffic clogs major thoroughfares. If necessary, you can postpone your commute until the end of the evening rush hour by going to dinner or working out at the gym before heading home.
2. Learn alternate routes
If you live in a densely populated area, you know the roads, freeways, and bridges that cause the most significant delays. Spend some time with your map and your computer to plot alternate routes that may have less congestion during your morning and evening commutes. You might find that one route works best in the morning and another route works best in the evening. Patiently try out alternate routes until you find the combinations that work best for you.
3. Trust your smartphone or GPS
Even if you know your commute by heart, try following your smartphone or GPS system to explore new routes. Your GPS might surprise you by taking you down roads that you never before considered for your daily commute.
4. Telecommute
Stop commuting. Get out of the rat race. Talk to your boss about logging into the office from home. With VoIP technology, VPNs, and high-speed data connections; workers can work in their home office without losing productivity or accessibility. Employers who promote telecommuting gain environmental credibility with the community and lucrative tax breaks from the government. Employees who telecommute gain hours of their precious lives by spending time at home rather than in traffic jams.
5. Move closer to work
No one says you have to live hours away from your place of employment. When you live closer to work, you can keep more of your time for your family, friends, and yourself. If you want to reduce your commute time but do not want to move, try getting a job closer to home. If you set your mind to accomplish that goal, you will soon find yourself living a less-stressful life by working down the street rather than across town.