Tomorrow morning, millions of people will drag themselves out of bed, through the shower and into the car for the commute to work. We have all experienced that vague sense that this is not the best way to be spending our lives, but we do it because it’s the price we must pay for our modern lifestyles. We endure the endless traffic congestion and the bulging blood vessels, and assume it must be this way to provide for our families.
Commuting is also expensive. I used to work around thirty miles from where I live, and this cost me around £150 a month in fuel alone. The total figure was probably closer to £500 a month when you add in the hidden costs such as maintenance, and the fact that I was putting an additional 15,000 miles on my car per year.
During our journey to work each morning we make literally hundreds of life and death decisions. Adrenalin and other chemicals accumulate in our bodies, and since we are not physically active we are unable to dissipate them via the normal “fight or flight” mechanism. We are often so used to this state of stress that we may not even be aware that this is happening. By the time we arrive safely at work, we are exhausted, compared to the smiling faces of our colleagues who live ten minutes down the road.
My commute used to add about two hours to my working day. This is a fairly typical number for most people – it’s about the same as spending an extra day and a half in work. Commuting robs us of time we could better spend with our families, relaxing or enjoying a hobby (remember those?). Sadly, exercise goes the same way – we feel too exhausted, the time seems too scarce and the effort too great.
So how can we escape this madness?
Ten years ago, when faced with an impossible commute or losing out on a fantastic career opportunity, I hit upon an idea. I found a room to rent in a quiet family home just five minutes’ walk from work. I approached the landlord and asked if he would consider renting it to me for just a couple of nights a week, on a pro rata basis. Since the landlord still got a reasonable income, and that I would barely be there, he agreed. When offset against the true cost of running the car for those extra few journeys, the arrangement barely cost me anything, and yet I found I had so much more time and energy. Spending a couple of evenings a week in my “home from home” turned out to be fine, I could even go back at lunch time and have a home cooked meal in front of the TV.
There is an increasing trend in the rental market for landlords to offer out their spare room on a Monday to Friday basis. It has a huge number of benefits over a conventional lodger arrangement, for one, it allows them to keep their home to themselves for the weekend. So accepting a long, exhausting commute each day is no longer your only option. You too could find yourself a cost effective “crash pad” and become a weekday lodger. It gives you the time to recharge your batteries and improve the quality of your personal, leisure and working lives.
Chris Gill is the founder of http://www.Fivenights.com, the weekday room rental service. Chris, formerly an IT contractor and long suffering commuter hit upon the idea of a “weekday home from home” service whilst staring at the wall of a B&B, a long way from home. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/stress-management-articles/how-to-cut-your-commute-to-five-minutes-a-day-1019044.html
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