The discussion centers on the significant amount of time individuals spend commuting, with one participant noting they spent approximately 330 hours, or 13.8 days, in their car over the past year, equating to 3.8% of their life. They reflect on previous commutes where this percentage was as high as 12% to 18% of their waking life. The participant shares their experience of a lengthy commute of 47 miles, which could take between 45 minutes to over 3 hours depending on weather conditions. They now enjoy a much shorter commute of 12 minutes to their office and 20 minutes to university, highlighting the benefits of reduced travel time.
PREREQUISITESThis discussion is beneficial for commuters, urban planners, psychologists studying work-life balance, and anyone interested in optimizing their daily travel and time management strategies.
Ivan Seeking said:While doing some tax stuff, it came to my attention that I spent about 330 hours, or 13.8 days in my car last year. That would be about 3.8% of my life.
There was a time when it was more like 12%, or 18% of my waking life.
In my previous employment, I used to drive 47 miles door-to-door between home and office. It could take as little as 45 minutes, if I drove >70 mi/hr most of the way (on a hilly and winding parkway), so that was a minimum 1.5 hrs/day for about 230 days/yr. If it rained or snowed, it could take 1.5 - 2.5 hrs one way. The longest commute home was on a night when it snowed, then rained, and a landslide closed the parkway. So I and others ended up driving across a small country road that was flooded. I called my wife after the third hour (soonest I could get to phone - before I got a cell phone) to let her know I was still trying to get home. I got home an hour later to find the house had started to flood.Ivan Seeking said:While doing some tax stuff, it came to my attention that I spent about 330 hours, or 13.8 days in my car last year. That would be about 3.8% of my life.
There was a time when it was more like 12%, or 18% of my waking life.