I read this article in the SMH yesterday about long commute times to/from work. In highschool my commute time was about 45 minutes to get to the North Shore. My first job out of uni was a 1 hour commute time further up the North Shore. Then I moved to the North Shore and now I am commuting 1.5 hours to go to my job out west (yes I understand the irony of it all).
It definitely does take its toll – I’m waking up at 6.45am (probably not that bad for most people but I am the worst morning person ever) and don’t get home til 6.30pm at the absolute earliest. Once I get home I have to cook dinner and after eating and cleaning up, it’s suddenly 9pm and I need to be in bed by 11pm to be able to get up at 6.45am the following morning. I’ve been needing a large coffee before I even step foot onto a train in the mornings, but I’m hungry by the time I get to work. I have lunch as normal and I’m absolutely starved by the time I get home after work. I get a sore butt from sitting on a train for 3 hours every day (in addition to sitting at my desk for 9 hours). If CityRail fails me at any step along the way (quite likely), it pushes my commute time out by 20 or so minutes. One morning I had a physio appointment at 8am and I didn’t get to work til 11am. I don’t go to the gym anymore because by the time I get there after work it would be 6.30pm at the earliest, so I wouldn’t get home til 8pm.
Ok enough complaining. My point is, if it’s affecting me, it’s affecting other people (as evidenced in the newspaper article). How do people get around this?
I bought myself a colour-screen e-book reader so not only can I read books but I can watch tv shows on the train/bus. I have a smartphone so I browse the internet/facebook/ebay. I listen to the radio when I’m not in a tunnel. I stand up halfway into the trip so my butt doesn’t fall asleep. What do you do on your commute to work/uni/school to pass time?
Asos dress, Mimco bow cuff, Swarovski ring, Longchamp bag
I feel your pain! I used to commute 1.5hr each way each day, but unfortunately it was by car – so I couldn’t entertain myself on the way (unless you call traffic entertaining). This does mean I don’t have many tips for you – but I got to the point where the job wasn’t worth the commute so I looked for another job. A fairly big move – so not suitable for all situations, but I just wanted more time back in my life.
Meg I’m beginning to reach my limit with this and assessing what’s important in life. I’m currently on a contract which ends in Feb so I’ll rethink things then!
Me too, I am currently commuting 1.5 hrs one way everyday by 2 buses. it sucks but I’m used to it now. I’m lucky that my bus to work carry the same people every day and I have a colleague that rides the same bus as well so I usually sleep through that 1h bus ride if I’m really sleepy or I just browse around the web using my phone. I’m also currently doing another degree so I try to read my subject notes in bus (rarely happens though)
Wow I can’t believe you have the diligence to study! Good on ya 🙂