The Unexpected Benefits of Commuting

by Katherine Kimball Adelberg, Head Editor, INALJ Michigan

The Unexpected Benefits of Commuting

Katherine Kimball AdelbergImagine that you have a job, but it isn’t as challenging or exciting as it used to be.  You recently finished your master’s degree, but you don’t have enough seniority to be promoted.  Then you find a position online that sounds intriguing in a city 50 miles away.  This would increase your commute from 15 minutes to 2 hours round-trip.  What do you do next?

I was in this position 3 years ago.  In exchange for a fantastic job that continually inspires me, I now drive 100 miles a day most weekdays.  Evidence indicates that extended commutes are hazardous to your health, but I’m convinced that leaving a boring, repetitive, stressful job added years to my life.

Adjusting to the new commute was difficult.  The first few months were exhausting, and I missed perks I had taken for granted, like running home during my lunch hour.  However, I did discover a few unexpected benefits.

  1. Experiencing the changing seasons.  Being on the road at the same time every day means I’m much more aware of the lengthening days in the summer and the darkening days of winter.  I also experience skunk and deer season in new and visceral ways.
  2. Arriving ready to tackle the important issues.  After 3 years, I know the highway like the back of my hand, giving me time to mentally review my priorities for the day.  Also, evidence suggests that we’re at our most creative when the mind has a chance to wander.  The initial idea for a successful statewide training I organized last fall came to me on the road.
  3. Getting to know your coworkers!  I ride share with another person in my division twice a week.  This gives me another sounding board and a place to discuss issues off the record.  We also joked that we gave each other a raise by sharing the cost of gas.  Your local transit system may have vanpools and other options available for frequently-traveled commutes.  This option was not the best one for me since I frequently travel around the state.  It’s amazing how well you get to know a person when you spend 4 hours a week with them!
  4. Making productive use of that time. I eagerly await the day I can clear out my Inbox on the way to work.  However, until Google cars become ubiquitous, working on the way to work will remain difficult for car commuters.  While I wait, I follow current events by listening to the news, catch up on reading by listening to an audiobook, or practice a foreign language (an empty car is a great place to work on pronunciation).
  5. Working from home!  My employer generously allows me to work from home on Fridays.  Telecommuting has enabled me to refine discipline and communication skills that are transferable to any job, including the volunteer position of INALJ Head Editor.  Working from home has lead to a more mindful approach to balancing the responsibilities of work and home.
  6. My car has never been better maintained.  Driving 400-500 miles a week means I never miss an oil change.  I’m looking forward to claiming these expenses on income tax return.

 

My commute time increased by nearly 90%, but it was a sacrifice worth making for an awesome job. Through a combination of ride sharing, occasional telecommuting, and embracing the possibilities, I’ve made my commute work for me.

 

 

Imagine that you have a job, but it isn’t as challenging or exciting as it used to be.  You recently finished your master’s degree, but you don’t have enough seniority to be promoted.  Then you find a position online that sounds intriguing in a city 50 miles away.  This would increase your commute from 15 minutes to 2 hours round-trip.  What do you do next?

 

I was in this position 3 years ago.  In exchange for a fantastic job that continually inspires me, I now drive 100 miles a day most weekdays.  Evidence indicates that extended commutes are hazardous to your health, but I’m convinced that leaving a boring, repetitive, stressful job added years to my life.

 

Adjusting to the new commute was difficult.  The first few months were exhausting, and I missed perks I had taken for granted, like running home during my lunch hour.  However, I did discover a few unexpected benefits.

 

  1. Experiencing the changing seasons.  Being on the road at the same time every day means I’m much more aware of the lengthening days in the summer and the darkening days of winter.  I also experience skunk and deer season in new and visceral ways.  
  2. Arriving ready to tackle the important issues.  After 3 years, I know the highway like the back of my hand, giving me time to mentally review my priorities for the day.  Also, evidence suggests that we’re at our most creative when the mind has a chance to wander.  The initial idea for a successful statewide training I organized last fall came to me on the road.
  3. Getting to know your coworkers!  I ride share with another person in my division twice a week.  This gives me another sounding board and a place to discuss issues off the record.  We also joked that we gave each other a raise by sharing the cost of gas.  Your local transit system may have vanpools and other options available for frequently-traveled commutes.  This option was not the best one for me since I frequently travel around the state.  It’s amazing how well you get to know a person when you spend 4 hours a week with them!
  4. Making productive use of that time. I eagerly await the day I can clear out my Inbox on the way to work.  However, until Google cars become ubiquitous, working on the way to work will remain difficult for car commuters.  While I wait, I follow current events by listening to the news, catch up on reading by listening to an audiobook, or practice a foreign language (an empty car is a great place to work on pronunciation).
  5. Working from home!  My employer generously allows me to work from home on Fridays.  Telecommuting has enabled me to refine discipline and communication skills that are transferable to any job, including the volunteer position of INALJ Head Editor.  Working from home has lead to a more mindful approach to balancing the responsibilities of work and home.
  6. My car has never been better maintained.  Driving 400-500 miles a week means I never miss an oil change.  I’m looking forward to claiming these expenses on income tax return.

 

My commute time increased by nearly 90%, but it was a sacrifice worth making for an awesome job. Through a combination of ride sharing, occasional telecommuting, and embracing the possibilities, I’ve made my commute work for me.

 

Naomi House

Naomi House, MLIS, is the founder and publisher of the popular webzine and jobs list INALJ.com (formerly I Need a Library Job) and former CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of T160K.org, a crowdfunding platform focused on African patrimony, heritage and cultural projects. INALJ was founded in October 2010 with the assistance of her fellow Rutgers classmate, Elizabeth Leonard. Its social media presence has grown to include Facebook (retired in 2016), Twitter and a LinkedIn group, in addition to the interviews, articles and jobs found on INALJ. INALJ has had over 21 Million page hits and helped many, many thousands of librarians find employment! Through grassroots marketing, word of mouth and a real focus on exploring unconventional resources for job leads, INALJ grew from a subscription base of 20 friends to a website with over 500,000 visits in one month. Naomi believes that well-sourced quantity is quality in this narrow job market and INALJ reflects this with many new jobs published daily. She has also written for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 LexisNexis Government Info Pro and many other publications in the past decade. She presents whenever she can, including serving on three panels at the American Library Association's Annual Conference in Las Vegas; as breakout presenter at OCLC EMEA in Cape Town, South Africa; as a keynote speaker at the Virginia Library Association annual meeting; at the National Press Club in Washington DC; McGill University in Montreal, Canada; the University of the Emirates, Dubai, MLIS program and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Naomi was a Reference, Marketing and Acquisitions Librarian for a contractor at a federal library outside Washington, DC, and has been living and working in Budapest, Hungary and Western New York State. She spent years running her husband’s moving labor website, fixed and sold old houses and assisted her husband cooking delicious Pakistani food. She is preparing to re-enter the workforce and is job hunting. Her husband is now the co-editor of INALJ, a true support!  She has heard of spare time but hasn’t encountered it lately. She pronounces INALJ as eye-na-elle-jay. 

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