WEBVTT - Second Cup: Commute with a friend

0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:09.800
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

0:00:10.280 --> 0:00:14.920
<v Speaker 1>This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:18.080
<v Speaker 1>tip is to try commuting with a friend, thus turning

0:00:18.079 --> 0:00:21.919
<v Speaker 1>commuting time into relationship building time at least once in

0:00:21.960 --> 0:00:26.360
<v Speaker 1>a while. Few people enjoy their commutes. They tend to

0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:29.160
<v Speaker 1>be a necessary part of getting to work, but studies

0:00:29.160 --> 0:00:32.120
<v Speaker 1>of human happiness find that the morning commute is the

0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:36.080
<v Speaker 1>lowest moment of people's days. The evening commute isn't quite

0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:39.520
<v Speaker 1>so bad because you arrive home afterwards, but the morning

0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:44.040
<v Speaker 1>commute has no such redeeming features. To deal with this misery,

0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:46.440
<v Speaker 1>we listen to podcasts and such to make the time

0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:51.400
<v Speaker 1>go faster. But here's another option. Consider commuting with a friend,

0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:56.240
<v Speaker 1>a colleague, or your spouse on occasion. This can turn

0:00:56.280 --> 0:00:58.440
<v Speaker 1>a low point of the day into one of the

0:00:58.480 --> 0:01:01.840
<v Speaker 1>day's highlights. First, I'll say that I know a lot

0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:05.479
<v Speaker 1>of people already socialized during their commutes because they're on

0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:08.399
<v Speaker 1>the phone. People send me the tip all the time

0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:10.920
<v Speaker 1>to call relatives during a commute, but the truth is

0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:14.959
<v Speaker 1>that dialing and talking can be quite distracting. I try

0:01:15.040 --> 0:01:17.760
<v Speaker 1>not to do phone calls while driving, and I'd encourage

0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:20.880
<v Speaker 1>you not to either. But having another adult in the

0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:24.360
<v Speaker 1>car isn't nearly as distracting because that person can see

0:01:24.640 --> 0:01:28.080
<v Speaker 1>when you've encountered a tense situation. When break lights come

0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:31.120
<v Speaker 1>on suddenly, the other person in the car gets quiet.

0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:34.440
<v Speaker 1>But all the other good parts of socializing are there.

0:01:35.160 --> 0:01:38.240
<v Speaker 1>You can catch up and keep each other entertained. Many

0:01:38.280 --> 0:01:40.360
<v Speaker 1>people say that they don't spend enough one on one

0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:44.000
<v Speaker 1>time with their spouses or their friends. By sharing a ride,

0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:47.240
<v Speaker 1>you find time for fun during something you had to

0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:51.760
<v Speaker 1>do anyway. It seems straightforward enough, but every year or

0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:54.920
<v Speaker 1>so I get sent transportation surveys finding that very few

0:01:54.920 --> 0:01:59.120
<v Speaker 1>people carpool regularly, even with HOV lanes adding an incentive.

0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:02.480
<v Speaker 1>I think there are a few reasons for this. We

0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:05.800
<v Speaker 1>like to leave when we want to leave. We don't

0:02:05.840 --> 0:02:08.440
<v Speaker 1>like to think about our drives ahead of time. If

0:02:08.480 --> 0:02:10.720
<v Speaker 1>commutes are unpleasant, we don't want to go out of

0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:13.160
<v Speaker 1>our way, even if it would make the whole experience

0:02:13.240 --> 0:02:17.760
<v Speaker 1>much better. There are also some funny psychological issues going on.

0:02:18.680 --> 0:02:21.880
<v Speaker 1>Even if we always go straight home from work. Maybe

0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:24.519
<v Speaker 1>we like to entertain the fantasy that today is the

0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:27.520
<v Speaker 1>day we'll take off for Atlantic City. Instead, and of

0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:30.079
<v Speaker 1>course you can't do that if the carpool is waiting

0:02:30.160 --> 0:02:34.519
<v Speaker 1>for you, so we waste time and money holding onto

0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:39.680
<v Speaker 1>the fantasy. In any case, there's some value to flexibility,

0:02:39.720 --> 0:02:42.520
<v Speaker 1>so you probably don't want to do this every single day,

0:02:43.240 --> 0:02:45.359
<v Speaker 1>but if you feel like you never see your spouse,

0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:48.760
<v Speaker 1>it could definitely be worth driving ten to fifteen minutes

0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:51.280
<v Speaker 1>out of your way one day a week so you

0:02:51.280 --> 0:02:54.960
<v Speaker 1>can share the ride both ways on that day. Or

0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:57.000
<v Speaker 1>maybe you have a friend who lives ten minutes from

0:02:57.040 --> 0:03:00.840
<v Speaker 1>you and works ten minutes from you, and it's sort

0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:03.960
<v Speaker 1>of a twenty minute time cost on both ends, but

0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:07.560
<v Speaker 1>not really, because the extra time will feel enough better

0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:10.320
<v Speaker 1>than the time you were spending that you'll probably be

0:03:10.400 --> 0:03:14.639
<v Speaker 1>happy about it. Work friends, of course, have the upside

0:03:14.639 --> 0:03:16.960
<v Speaker 1>of being located much closer to you on one end

0:03:17.000 --> 0:03:19.640
<v Speaker 1>of the commute. It might be wise to treat this

0:03:19.680 --> 0:03:24.000
<v Speaker 1>as a strategic career boosting time. Find someone you think

0:03:24.120 --> 0:03:26.520
<v Speaker 1>is a real go getter, and the two of you

0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:29.600
<v Speaker 1>can strategize how you'll conquer the world when you share

0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:32.960
<v Speaker 1>a ride one day a week and no one else

0:03:33.480 --> 0:03:36.560
<v Speaker 1>will be around to hear your plotting. Have you ever

0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:40.480
<v Speaker 1>turned your commute into social time. If so, please let

0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:44.400
<v Speaker 1>me know. You can email me at Before Breakfast podcast

0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:49.080
<v Speaker 1>at iHeartMedia dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:52.240
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of

0:03:52.280 --> 0:04:01.559
<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:04.480
<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:08.800
<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:13.680
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then

0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:17.720
<v Speaker 1>Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an email at

0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:22.440
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast

0:04:22.560 --> 0:04:25.120
<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much.

0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:33.320
<v Speaker 1>Should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast

0:04:33.400 --> 0:04:37.680
<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,

0:04:37.920 --> 0:04:41.839
<v Speaker 1>visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen

0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:46.839
<v Speaker 1>to your favorite shows.