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I’ve only ever done long commutes. Sixth Form days, I used to walk two and a half miles to get there. My first uni was in Derby, and used to drive from South Notts, taking about an hour (between the drive and the massive walk between where I parked and where the campus actually was). At my second uni in east London, I used to get the bus and then DLR, taking about an hour and a half each time. My first job down there was a 45-minute drive away. My last job would take me an hour and 15 minutes to get to and from each day.
It’s a mess.
Throughout all of those periods, I was using music to distract me. For a lot of that time, I was kind of working – researching music was part of my old roles – so I could be kind of productive. But when I look back, all I see is wasted time. It actually causes me pain to know that I could be creating something tangible at times when I’m basically sat doing nothing at all.
In my later days (the nearly two years I was at my last job), I eventually made it a habit to write ProbablyBusy.com posts to and from the office, but prior to then, with all of that driving, I couldn’t get any value out of the time I was in motion.
There are definitely downsides to working from home – especially when you have to look after two young kids at the same time – but the benefits massively outweigh them. I’ve already said that I don’t really care for balance right now; it’s not the time for it. If you saw the length of my to-do list, you’d tell me to just get on with it too.
I endured it but I never got used to the process of commuting each morning and evening. It hit me how much I hated it once I got to London (especially once I couldn’t drive), and it never got easier. I can’t explain how much difference it makes no having to travel long distances to get work done. Most of it is literally at the dining table, or one of the rare occasions when they sleep at the same time and I get to go to my office.
I’m certain that no one is into commutes, but when you’ve seen what life can be without them, there isn’t a chance I can go back to that. It’s fair enough when we’ve got a purpose to be out every now and again, but it’s not the same routine every week. Far from it, in fact.
So yeah – long live this lifestyle. Forget long monotonous journeys. It’s bad enough that my barber is half an hour away from me.