Ditch the traffic, of course. But by all means, KEEP THE COMMUTE!

When the viral menace of 2020 clamped down, schools closed, after-school activities dried up, and ‘Work From Anywhere’ became a thing, our family car began to collect dust in the driveway. With excuses for driving everywhere instead of walking exterminated like so many bugs, I stopped driving and started walking.  I soon realized that a walk before and after the work day, was developing into a kind of deliberate and restorative form of commute.

A regular car commute can be soul-smothering.  But, if you start to peel away the negative layers of traffic, air pollution, danger, wasted time and money, the essence of a commute provides something very important.  It serves as a structured emotional and intellectual transition, a stretchy void between home life and work life, which can actually be pretty enjoyable in most parts of Southern California.

750 miles walked so far, and this 20 minute physical margin around the work day has become, for me, a guarded ritual which is here to stay.  The personal commitment, the routine, and the kinetic movement combine to get the creative engine going way before I hit my desk.

If you have ditched the car commute, and work from home, or at least closer to home, consider creating a commute for its own sake.  Your new workplace may be steps away from your unmade bed, but before you sit down to your work, a purposeful walk outside creates a window for alertness, contemplation and mental clarity about the project, the goal or the pitch before you dig into it. It ensures 200 minutes per week of vigorous activity for heart health, without even really trying.   As a bonus, you will be wearing pants and shoes before your first meeting!

Ellen Goodman has said, “Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to a job that you need, so you can pay for the clothes, car and the house that you leave empty all day in order to afford to live in it.” 

Nothing is normal any more, and that can be ok. Take that time, money and energy back, IT’S ALREADY YOURS! Gift it to yourself and enrich your creative and intellectual power.  If the commute mindset takes hold in your life like it has in mine, you will enjoy the results in your well being, your creative productivity, and your stunningly toned calves.