Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that carpooling isn't just for kids. If you
Speaker 1: want more time with family, friends, or colleagues, consider whether
Speaker 1: driving somewhere together could create relationship building time without adding
Speaker 1: one more thing to your schedule. So I want to
Speaker 1: start this episode by acknowledging that a lot of people
Speaker 1: do like their commutes, because being alone in a car
Speaker 1: is an opportunity for quiet or a chance to listen
Speaker 1: to music or podcasts that no one else likes. When
Speaker 1: I have worked in offices, I have often enjoyed the
Speaker 1: trip home as a transition between work and the rest
Speaker 1: of life. If that is you, o great. But if
Speaker 1: your commute isn't something you look forward to as me time,
Speaker 1: consider whether you could bring another person along on occasion.
Speaker 1: This might create time for connection during a window of
Speaker 1: time that often feels like it is wasted. So, for instance,
Speaker 1: if you and your partner work anywhere near each other,
Speaker 1: you might decide to join forces on occasion. I am
Speaker 1: not saying you try to commute together every day. If
Speaker 1: you don't actually work together, you likely have different schedules,
Speaker 1: and two stops adds time for someone, but it might
Speaker 1: be a nice treat. Once a week or so, you
Speaker 1: could choose a particular day of the week and protect
Speaker 1: your schedules on that day so you don't end up
Speaker 1: with an early morning meeting or a solo commitment right
Speaker 1: after work. Even once every two to three weeks or
Speaker 1: so could give two working parents a significant extra dose
Speaker 1: of couple time. The same options would be available with
Speaker 1: a friend who lives somewhere near you and works near you.
Speaker 1: Aligning schedules can be hard, but you do have to
Speaker 1: get to work. Maybe you can go together at least
Speaker 1: once every few weeks. Carpooling to your extracurricular activities can
Speaker 1: be great too. If a volunteer colleague lives near you
Speaker 1: ride the subway home together, you and your neighbor who's
Speaker 1: also in your book club could share a ride there,
Speaker 1: offer to pick up your exercise buddy on the way
Speaker 1: to your spin class. An added benefit of that is
Speaker 1: that you will probably make it to the class more
Speaker 1: often because you won't want to cancel on your friend
Speaker 1: who is counting on you for a ride. Carpooling can
Speaker 1: be especially valuable for longer drives. If you and your
Speaker 1: cousin are both going to a family wedding a few
Speaker 1: hours away, consider riding together. It's better for the environment
Speaker 1: and your budget, and you'll get lots of catch up time.
Speaker 1: Carpooling may create some extra time for connection with colleagues
Speaker 1: as well. You could ride with a colleague when you're
Speaker 1: both going from your office to a work meeting or
Speaker 1: a work dinner, or when you are traveling to and
Speaker 1: from the airport on a work trip. Whether you're in
Speaker 1: one of your own cars or in a shared cab
Speaker 1: or an uber, riding creates time for you to interact
Speaker 1: but feels lower pressure than going out to dinner. Lots
Speaker 1: of people want more relationship time in their lives but
Speaker 1: don't want to add any more commitments to their schedules.
Speaker 1: Commuting time and just general running around in the car
Speaker 1: tends to be some of the least pleasant moments of
Speaker 1: the day. Car Pooling is a win on multiple fronts
Speaker 1: because it adds something nice to life during a time
Speaker 1: that isn't always pleasant. Even if it can't happen all
Speaker 1: that often, it might be worth trying from time to time.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura, thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for
Speaker 1: listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,
Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
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