Making the Most of Commute Time
Cyan Ta'eed
Most freelancers will tell you that one of the joys of working from home is avoiding the commute to and from work. There is nothing nicer than knowing that while everyone else is stuck in a traffic jam or stuffy bus, you’ve got an extra hour or two up your sleeve to do anything you like.
Often however that extra time can quickly start to feel normal. It stops being extra free time and starts to get lost in your regular work time.
After freelancing for a while I started to realize that I almost missed the commute to and from my old job. Why? Because the commute gave me time to think. I had two hours every day where I could get lost in my own thoughts, and there was nothing else to do but just be.
As freelancers it is so easy to get into the habit of feeling guilty whenever we’re not working. Work can easily take over much of our free time and lead to imbalance and dissatisfaction. One of the great joys of freelancing is that you do have the flexibility to work in a way that brings you balance and helps you get more out of your life. I was finding that work was becoming the sole focus of my energies, and everything else was left by the wayside.
So I’m currently trying to revive the commute time in my day. And I’m not just riding the bus for the sake of it. Rather, I’m making it a time to do something other than work. Instead of working from 8am to 7pm, I’m attempting to start work at 9am, finish at 6pm and keep my two commute hours for other activities. The great thing is that I seem to get just as much work done in a day, I just don’t waste as much time.
The key is to get away from your computer for those times - so it’s best not to use your commute time to read blogs or chat on forums. Make it a time to do something important that will make a difference for you. So for instance you could make it a time to:
- Make a delicious dinner,
- Play with your kids,
- Exercise,
- Walk around the neighbourhood,
- Read a book in a cafe,
- Spend time with your partner,
- Meditate, or
- Work on a hobby.
The important thing is that it is a time for you to develop yourself outside of your work life. You’ll find most of the examples above allow you to switch off and just be - they force you to shift your attention away from work. If you can use your old commute hours to accomplish something outside of work you should find freelancing becomes a whole lot better.
will
May 1st, 2007
Good post. Its always important to get away from a computer and get some fresh air or some human contact :D.
Sanjeev
May 1st, 2007
As always, short and great article….
It’s been over a month since i went solo. Personally for me, freelancing full time has been quite a challenge but i’m slowly learning from my mistakes and your articles too.
I would like to thank Cyan, Jack & Collis for starting this wonderful website. May be you guys do not have an idea that how much your articles have helped (and are still helping) me!!
Thank you so very much!
Sanjeev
Dean
May 1st, 2007
Spot on post,
i think i’ve fallen into that trap before now. I now ride my bike down to the beach EVERY morning, great for the old lungs, plus it gets the creative jucies flowing, and only takes 20 mins out of my day
Chisa
May 1st, 2007
I’m a bit of a terrible driver, so I’ve been catching the bus everywhere for years… and I’ve come to enjoy it. It’s nice to spend some time just spacing out, thinking through things and sometimes reading, sketching or scribbling notes on various projects. When I’m excited about an idea it’s hard not to hurtle head first into it without taking the time to properly think things through; breaking my work day up with bus rides, short walks and gym sessions gives me a decent amount of fresh air, and I seem to think better when I’m in motion.
Walter Burek
May 1st, 2007
I used to commute to NYC by train — an hour and a half each way on a good day. It was time for me to do my pleasure reading — I was reading at least one novel a week. Now, it’s hard to carve out that kind of reading time. Still, I don’t really miss the commute. There were too many days when the 1 and a half hours turned into 2 and a half or 3 hours, almost always on the way home.
wgb
Kaj Rietberg
May 1st, 2007
It is to easy to go and sit behind the computer and do some working. But spending time relaxing is giving new energy so you have new energy for working. It takes time but also gives time.
Mostly my time thinking is when I go training on my bike.
Eric Bobbitt
May 1st, 2007
I’ve just recently started freelancing so I haven’t developed this nasty habit yet, but hopefully from reading this article I can protect myself from it happening in the future.
Thanks for the great tip!
Jermayn Parker
May 2nd, 2007
Yeah braking up your day and not working the whole ten odd hours is very important.
What I do sometimes is actually go and pick up the fiance from work and then cook her dinner at her place which helps me get out of the room and computer.
Jermayn Parker
May 2nd, 2007
btw what happened to the subscribe to comments???
Cyan
May 2nd, 2007
Hey Jermayn,
We were having a lot of problems with them so we’ve had to switch them off until our programmer can figure out what’s going on. Sorry!
Cyan
May 2nd, 2007
BTW, Sanjeev - that is SO GOOD TO HEAR! I’m really happy the site is a good resource. We’ve got some other writers coming on board soon who are fantastic in their fields and offer different perspectives (productivity, finances etc) so hopefully we can offer some thoughts in other areas too
Cooper Strange
May 2nd, 2007
I have struggled with much the same thing. When I schedule myself (or even just somewhat schedule myself) I find I accomplish just as much (or more) than if I just worked every waking hour. And my wife sure likes it better when I schedule myself, that is, limit work hours and intentionally focus on some of the other, ultimately, more important things in life.
Richardson
May 2nd, 2007
I agree. Especially I think that one of the most important thing for poeple like us is SPORT. The human body just need move. Its not only only to stay fysical healthy but it also improves you concentration and inspiration.
If you are a freelancer in this brance and you dont do any kind of sport I advice you, START working out at least 3 times a week and you’ll see you feel much better and you gain much more hours of intensly concentrated hours.. That a promise.
I myself run for about half an hour each morning and work out in the gym 3 evening a week. Because of this, When im working, believe me Im REALLY working. steel conctration
Try it!
Eliffio Rodriguez
May 2nd, 2007
It´s an excellent article.
It would be nice too if you could write about how easy it is to “extend” your free time, to 3-5 or 8 hours a day and suddenly realize that you lost that day doing nothing …and it becomes worst when it repeats several days!
This situation is very common on freelancers, don´t you think?
anggi
May 6th, 2007
i really in trap … and your article really help me.
thanks
Kyle
May 15th, 2007
I too, fell into the trap. I don’t freelance, but work part time video editing….for an entertainment marketing firm 350 miles away.
The used-to-be commute hours quickly turned into extra time for sleeping in, and I didn’t know why my days were so short!
Thanks so much for the tips.