WEBVTT - Commute with a friend

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to try commuting with a friend, thus

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<v Speaker 1>turning commuting time into relationship building time at least once

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<v Speaker 1>in a while. Few people enjoy their commutes. They tend

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<v Speaker 1>to be a necessary part of getting to work, but

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<v Speaker 1>studies of human happiness find that the morning commute is

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<v Speaker 1>the lowest moment of people's days. The evening commute isn't

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<v Speaker 1>quite so bad because you arrive home afterwards, but the

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<v Speaker 1>morning commute has no such redeeming features. To deal with

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<v Speaker 1>this misery, we listen to podcasts and such to make

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<v Speaker 1>the time go faster. But here's another option. Consider commuting

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<v Speaker 1>with a friend, a colleague, or your spouse on occasion.

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<v Speaker 1>This can turn a low point of the day into

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<v Speaker 1>one of the day's highlights. First, I'll say that I

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<v Speaker 1>know a lot of people already socialized during their commutes

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<v Speaker 1>because they're on the phone. People send me the tip

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<v Speaker 1>all the time to call relatives during a commute, but

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<v Speaker 1>the truth is that dialing and talking can be quite distracting.

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<v Speaker 1>I try not to do phone calls while driving, and

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<v Speaker 1>I'd encourage you not to either. But having another adult

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<v Speaker 1>in the car isn't nearly as distracting because that person

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<v Speaker 1>can see when you've encountered a tense situation. When break

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<v Speaker 1>lights come on suddenly, the other person in the car

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<v Speaker 1>gets quiet. But all the other good parts of socializing

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<v Speaker 1>are there. You can catch up and keep each other entertained.

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<v Speaker 1>Many people say that they don't spend enough one on

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<v Speaker 1>one time with their spouses or their friends. By sharing

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<v Speaker 1>a ride, you find time for fun during something you

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<v Speaker 1>had to do anyway. It seems straightforward enough, but every

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<v Speaker 1>year or so I get sent transportation surveys finding that

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<v Speaker 1>very few people car pool regularly, even with h OV

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<v Speaker 1>lanes adding an incentive. I think there are a few

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<v Speaker 1>reasons for this. We like to leave when we want

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<v Speaker 1>to leave. We don't like to think about our drives

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<v Speaker 1>ahead of time. If commutes are unpleasant, we don't want

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<v Speaker 1>to go out of our way, even if it would

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<v Speaker 1>make the whole experience much better. There are also some

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<v Speaker 1>funny psychological issues going on. Even if we always go

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<v Speaker 1>straight home from work. Maybe we like to entertain the

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<v Speaker 1>fantasy that today is the day we'll take off for

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<v Speaker 1>Atlantic City. Instead, and of course you can't do that

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<v Speaker 1>if the car pool is waiting for you, so we

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<v Speaker 1>waste time and money holding onto the fantasy. In any case,

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<v Speaker 1>there's some value to flexibility, so you probably don't want

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<v Speaker 1>to do this every single day, but if you feel

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<v Speaker 1>like you never see your spouse, it could definitely be

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<v Speaker 1>worth driving ten to fifteen minutes out of your way

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<v Speaker 1>one day a week so you can share the ride

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<v Speaker 1>both ways on that day. Or maybe you have a

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<v Speaker 1>friend who lives ten minutes from you and works ten

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<v Speaker 1>minutes from you again, and it's sort of a twenty

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<v Speaker 1>minute time cost on both ends, but not really, because

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<v Speaker 1>the extra time will feel enough better than the time

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<v Speaker 1>you were spending that you'll probably be happy about it.

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<v Speaker 1>Work friends, of course, have the upside of being located

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<v Speaker 1>much closer to you on one end of the commute.

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<v Speaker 1>It might be wise to treat this as a strategic

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<v Speaker 1>career boosting time. Find someone you think is a real

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<v Speaker 1>go getter, and the two of you can strategize how

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<v Speaker 1>you'll conquer the world when you share a ride one

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<v Speaker 1>day a week and no one else will be around

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<v Speaker 1>to hear your plotting. Have you ever turned your commute

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<v Speaker 1>into social time. If so, please let me know. You

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<v Speaker 1>can email me at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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