
Ask HN: How can I reclaim some of my commute time? - icey
Right now I spend around 2 hours a day in traffic commuting to &#38; from work. I don't have a viable public transportation option to get back and forth from work.<p>I feel like I'm wasting 10 hours a week on autopilot. What do you guys do during your commute? There's got to be something that I can do to make better use of that time - audiobooks, or a tape recorder, or <i>something</i>.<p>What do you guys do to make use of long commute times?
======
garyrichardson
Here are my preferences:

1\. Move closer to work.

2\. Find a way to work from home as much as possible.

3\. When you do need to drive in, podcasts are much better than the radio.

4\. Find a car that you love to drive. This may be easier for me, since I
generally enjoy driving, even in traffic.

Now, I'm in a situation where I can easily move, it's easy for me to work from
home and I can afford cars I love to drive.

------
ax0n
I moved considerably closer to work and positioned myself nicely in relation
to the public transit infrastructure. 20-30 minutes driving, 45 minutes if I
ride my bicycle to an express bus stop a few miles away, 1 hour by bus using
the closest bus stop to my home and 1 hour if I go by bicycle.

This is awesome, because I have so many options available. If there's a huge
thunderstorm or a blizzard, I can walk a block to a bus stop and get picked up
by this horribly slow bus that takes all side-streets and stops at practically
every major intersection to pick people up or drop people off. But it beats
driving, and I can read, or crack open my laptop and do whatever.

If I want a good workout, I have a 14.5 mile bike ride to work, and I can pull
it off in about an hour, which is great cardio. In the summer time, I can get
2 hours of cardio, save money on gas and parking fees, and spend only an hour
more on my commute than if I drove to the office. I essentially get a two-hour
workout in one hour.

Then, in cold or rainy weather that's not terrible, I can ride my bike to the
express bus stop and get downtown in time to hang out with some friends over a
cup of coffee before work.

Moving closer to the office is probably the best thing I ever did for myself.

------
yan
Some podcasts are excellent. Check out radiolab.org

edit: I have family+friends 4 hours away and gf 2 hours away, so I spend a
huge amount of time behind the wheel as well. I download courses from iTunes
U, OCW or individual universities' web sites. I also follow a few podcasts.
The skeptic's guide to the universe is decent, radiolab is great. I'm half way
done through Yale's Bob Schiller's "Financial Markets" class, and its been
great.

~~~
arantius
I agree. I also listen to Planet Money and This American Life regularly. Both
great shows, but Radiolab is awesome.

------
matt1
Audiobooks.

I've listened to probably more than 20 in the last two years ranging from the
Count of Monte Cristo to all of Malcom Gladwell's work to Investing for
Dummies. It's a great way to make the most out of your commute because if
you're like me, you probably don't have time to read all of those in your free
time anyway.

You can pick up an iTrip
(<http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/itripauto>) for about $60 at
Target to use with your iPhone and audiobooks usually range from about $10 to
$30.

As a start, I highly recommend Bill Byrson's unabridged A Short History of
Nearly Everything, which I've listened to four times now (and counting!).

------
rg123
In addition to the ideas for what do to while driving, consider avoiding
driving during rush hour to cut down on the time it takes. Even if your work
schedule isn't flexible, this might still work for you. Depending on what kind
of exercise you're into, maybe you you can do the drive earlier to avoid rush
hour and then spend that pre-work time at a gym near (or, if you're lucky, on
site at) work. I've worked at companies that had on site gyms and showers. One
site I was at had a huge building complex large enough that just walking
different routes in it, including stairs, etc. was a viable exercise option,
and quite a few people took advantage of that, particularly when the weather
wasn't good enough to walk or run outside. You could do something similar
after work, too, depending on how desirable that is with respect to your
personal life - spending time at or near your work location while the evening
traffic gets past its worst. Doesn't have to be exercise - could be reading or
working on some personal programming project on a laptop at a Starbucks or
some similar place near your work. Maybe you could find (or start) a chess or
go club that meets some evenings near your work, etc., depending on what
you're into.

------
dabent
I'm in a similar situation:

1\. Podcasts - Venture Voice and The Moth are two easy recommends. You could
try to get old Radio GoDaddy podcasts back when they had entrepreneurs on.

2\. Audio Books - Audible.com/Amazon/Library/etc. are great sources. I've
managed to listen to quite a few.

3\. Satellite radio: I got a cheap XM set and rigged it up to my car a couple
months back. I haven't listened to terrestrial radio since. Just about any
music you'd want, plus news from all kinds of sources.

Edit to add Satellite radio

------
percept
That sucks. Any way to work a 4-day week? Or pry a telecommuting day out of
their cold hands? [Unless you're the boss, in which case strike that last
remark.]

~~~
icey
I could work from home on some days if I really wanted to, but I've got a team
of people that get their direction from me which complicates things.

~~~
electromagnetic
Do you have the clout in your office to switch from a 5-day-8-hour week to a
4-day-10-hour week? The effect on your working day is negligible, especially
as it can often take you out of rush hour traffic and you'll likely leave and
arrive home around the same time (supposing you don't live in an area where
the rush hour is more like three-hours).

You then have an extra day, essentially a 3-day-weekend every week. This can
actually dramatically decrease costs, not only time wise and fuel wise, but if
you have children who have to go into daycare or to a babysitter after school
then it means lower childcare expenses. Not only that, but having a friday or
monday off means you can get groceries and such done during the day and well
out of the supermarket rush hours; you wouldn't believe how empty stores can
be even before a major holiday.

Swapping, not only yourself but your workers too, to a 4 day week could keep
you able to be there directing people, it'll at least take 1/5 of your wasted
commute time and it could potentially shorten your commute dramatically if you
commute time gets pushed outside of rush hour. It could seriously raise the
happiness level in your office, and thus the productivity ('a happy worker is
a busy worker'). Hopefully this is a suggestion that could work for you.

~~~
greyman
Did you try it yourself? I am asking because I was thinking about that for
myself, and I could do that, but then, if you work 10 hours + 0.5 hour (lunch)
+ 2 hours travel, then for those 4 days, you are off for the whole day,
basically. For example, when you leave home at 8am, you will return at 8:30pm.
In that case I would come home when my kid is already going to sleep. I am not
sure if that's better comparing to 5d-8h.

~~~
icey
There's an added benefit in terms of time for me. Most of my commute time is
due to traffic. Without traffic the commute is 25 or 30 minutes each way. If I
were to switch over to a longer schedule like this, my commute would probably
drop from 2 hours a day to 1.25 or 1 hour a day due to missing rush hour.

~~~
pasbesoin
In my last position, I worked a somewhat later schedule for precisely this
reason. My communte wasn't as long as yours, but it still saved me probably 15
- 30 minutes each day.

~~~
electromagnetic
I remember at one of my jobs, the commute for a 9am start took ~45 minutes.
The 9:30am start took 15 minutes. Instead of leaving at 8:15 and arriving home
at 5:45, I left home at 9:15 and arrived home at almost 5:45, usually 5:50.

------
thetrumanshow
Get this (unless you have a very small laptop, like a netbook) and put it on
your dash: <http://www.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=4205894>

Then, get this: <http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/landing/consumer.asp>
(DNS will probably fail in a noisy car, but worth a shot)

Dictate code on the road.

Edit: Be sure to configure a bunch of commands/templates in DNS so you can
generate blocks of helper code.

Edit: Potentially related video (haven't watched, just found it while
Googling) [http://revver.com/video/348539/driving-writing-with-
dragon-n...](http://revver.com/video/348539/driving-writing-with-dragon-
naturally-speaking-9/)

~~~
icey
This is an interesting idea, but honestly I'd probably end up rear-ending
someone if I did it.

However, have you ever tried programming using text-to-speech? It strikes me
as an experience that would be maddening.

I have thought about taking a voice recorder with me just to dictate ideas
though.

~~~
thetrumanshow
"This is an interesting idea, but honestly I'd probably end up rear-ending
someone if I did it."

Yes, this idea works best for long stretches of road with little traffic. The
45 mile stretch of highway I drive on is isolated.

"However, have you ever tried programming using text-to-speech? It strikes me
as an experience that would be maddening."

Try downloading the evaluation version of DNS and give it a spin. I think
you'll feel the potential pretty quickly, especially if you try making custom
commands. The cumbersome nature of the speech-to-text interface may prove too
much, but it's worth a try right?

What is maddening to me is giving up ~2 hours of the most productive time of
the day. I was even desperate enough to try programming on a phone (a Peek
email device).

"I have thought about taking a voice recorder with me just to dictate ideas
though."

I've tried this as well, and it is not ideal. If you have ever sat down to
design something and within minutes you abandon the design to start coding,
you'll understand. Coding is the low-energy state.

------
bendtheblock
Podcasts. Lots of them. Get a wide variety (I have documentaries, language
lessons, venture voice, this american life, word of the day, historical,
social science, comedy etc.). If you're worried about iPod/iPhone space, set
it to just sync only the last 10 of each podcast. That way you always have
something available, no matter what your mood.

I take it you are driving, but for people that get public transport I would
plead _Do Not Read Newspapers_ \- they will only make you feel anxious,
depressed or angry at the start of the day. It's more enjoyable and effective
to read a book on a subject you want to learn about or something fictional for
escapism.

------
mk
I have around the same commute time. Lectures in the car don't work for me.
Language audio lessons such as Pimsleur were a little better but still require
a bit too much concentration. I can however listen to audio books and follow
along.

~~~
Skeuomorph
Glad I did a text search before commenting so I could vote you up for
Pimsleur: I found the Pimsleur language learning approach great for the car
when the commute is mostly on a freeway rather than a road with traffic
lights.

------
byoung2
I've had a 2 hour commute for about 5 years now, and over the years I've used
Pimsleur's language cds to learn Japanese and Italian. Today I just didn't
feel like driving, so I'm typing this while riding a commuter express bus.

~~~
khafra
Beware--some people may be better at multitasking than others. I've tried
Pimsleur tapes while driving, but didn't feel I could both adequately maintain
situational awareness of the road, and have the slightest idea what the
speaker on the tape just said--let alone repeat it with the correct accent.

~~~
icey
This is a good point; I already know I can't use the cellphone while driving
because it turns me (and most people I guess) into a terrible driver.

Pimsleur language courses are a pretty cool idea though. My Spanish has
deteriorated to the point of essentially useless (I was never fluent).

------
replicatorblog
For $20 a month you can get two books from audible. Their catalog is pretty
decent and it is a good way to keep on top of your read list.

I've also been enjoying the "How Stuff Works" podcasts. Their "Stuff you
missed in history class" is especially interesting. Lots of stuff from the
well known "Pompeii's excavation" to the esoteric "The great molasses flood of
1916".

~~~
electromagnetic
The great molasses flood? Try the great beer flood of 1814!
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Beer_Flood>

~~~
aarongough
Wow. Both of those events are incredible! I wonder how many large storage
tanks like that are in urban areas nowadays..

~~~
electromagnetic
Probably vastly more, but AFAIK most large storage tanks are required to be
inspected for structural weakness every so often.

The big concern for urban centres today are LPG storage tanks as they can
BLEVE. It doesn't usually require any structural failure, just plain bad luck.

>
> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__1Ym_F94CE&feature=relat...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__1Ym_F94CE&feature=related)

This was in north Toronto last year. IIRC a tanker caught fire at a propane
refuelling facility, you can actually see the shockwave caused by the BLEVE,
which was quickly followed by the massive fireball (not all BLEVE's explode,
it can happen with any heated liquid from superheated water in a boiler to
liquid nitrogen warming to room temperature in an enclosed vessel).

> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl-
> JgyQA7u0&feature=relat...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl-
> JgyQA7u0&feature=related)

This is a demo video, with a decent explanation for anyone who doesn't know
what a BLEVE is. It sometimes seems like the safety mechanism doesn't help,
but it really does by controlling the release of energy. Fire fighters usually
try to cool the tank rather than put out the fire (usually in these cases it's
too dangerous to get close enough to actually try to fight the preliminary
fire) as the longer the tank stays intact, the less dangerous the explosion
will be. If it doesn't vent at all, you eventually get this supersized and
with authentic flames:

>
> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGWmONHipVo&feature=fvw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGWmONHipVo&feature=fvw)

~~~
aarongough
Yeah, I actually live in Toronto and there was news coverage for days after
that explosion...

I can see your point about LPG storage tanks. It's interesting how many
dangers lie all about us in the modern world but we either don't know about
them or simply ignore them...

~~~
electromagnetic
Large portable propane tanks can only be changed by licensed operators for
exactly this reason, because people negligently allowed valves to either get
damaged or corrode. This creates the potential for a BLEVE, which if it occurs
next to the house (which _all_ these tanks are inevitably placed) it can
either burn the house down or, in case of solid brick houses, has actually
destroyed the walls.

I know back in England an old house on the main road had a BLEVE from one of
these large tanks, it collapsed the rear wall and the interior structural
walls, meaning the entire place was torn down. Virtually every window on the
street, and the adjacent street, were shattered by the blast (including
vehicle windows). The fire fighters believed the tank had been damaged by a
falling slate roof tile, and the fence provided the fuel to cause the BLEVE. A
year or two later and the UK brought out a law requiring large tanks to be
changed by professionals, I believe Canada has similar regulations as well.

I only know I wouldn't want an explosion like that happening near a cottage
(where I've also seen a lot of the larger tanks).

------
jacquesm
Depending on the kind of transportation, audiobooks, or a kindle with some
good PDFs.

If you can manage the latter then you can look at what stuff gets posted to HN
that ends up on scribd, put them on your e-reader and you'll have your commute
fly by, you might have to take detours :)

~~~
icey
Does text-to-speech work in a reasonable fashion on the Kindle?

~~~
vessenes
Text to speech is surprisingly not-too-bad on the K2. I recently was reading a
book, and pretty seamlessly moved it over to speech while I did some laundry,
then picked up where I left off.

If you played with speech synthesis in the 80s or 90s, you'll still hear that
faint Swedish? accent, but really, it's totally usable in my opinion.

------
nbroyal
I don't want to hijack this thread, but I'm in the same boat. Does anyone have
any recommendations for podcasts or audiobooks that discuss/teach various
concepts in computer science or software development without being impossible
to follow while in a car?

I tried listening various lectures, but at some point it becomes too difficult
to follow because I'm unable to write down/work through anything as I'm
driving. I found a few podcasts, but the content was largely hit or miss.

Any suggestions would be awesome.

~~~
CraigBuchek
Not quite Comp Sci, but I like to listen to NPR's Science Friday podcasts. I
have to rewind a bit once in a while if I have to pay attention to traffic,
but it's nice to be able to listen to them, instead of "wasting" time
listening to the radio.

------
oakmac
The Teaching Company; sometimes I look forward to traffic.

------
mtrimpe
1\. Become a freelancer.

2\. Get a spacious car where you can work in the back,

3\. Get a high-speed UMTS/HSDPA subscription.

4\. Get a driver that earns at least 50% less per hour than you.

5\. Work from your car and bill the time.

~~~
vessenes
This sounds totally nausea inducing. I get a little ill just thinking about
it. Blech..

------
HeyLaughingBoy
I mostly listen to jazz or public radio, sometimes business podcasts. It's not
a waste of time: it's time to relax, especially the commute home.

Sorry, just saw you're in traffic. My commute is mostly on rural roads, no
traffic to speak of and much more relaxing than city/crowded interstate
driving.

------
JeremyStein
Listen to college lectures in the Great Courses series. Your library probably
has some. <http://www.teach12.com/>

------
byoung2
LA has vanpools...maybe you could look into that in Phoenix?

------
pepito
I work with my notebook and 3G modem. It works well enough to VPN into work -
wish I could do some paid work on the side while telecommuting :-)

------
ZeroGravitas
If you can cycle your commute then you're getting fit and can save on your gym
time (and membership fees).

~~~
davidw
I'm a huge fan of riding one's bike around. However, if it's one hour by car,
it's likely to be significantly longer by bicycle unless traffic is _really_
bad.

I'd probably look at moving close enough to where I could ride my bike.

~~~
tel
I don't know where the op is situated, but it's surprising how frequently bad
enough traffic occurs in Atlanta. Even what seems to be a decently long
distance (20 mi) can be covered on bike faster than that commute.

Hills and unsafe roads permitting anyway.

------
callmeed
It may not work for your company, but what about making sales calls or taking
support calls?

~~~
gcv
Please don't. It's dangerously distracting.

[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/technology/01distracted.ht...](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/technology/01distracted.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all)

------
hotpockets
What makes your public option unviable?

------
fogus
Audio books.

