This post is about making lemonade from lemons and inspired by today's beautiful weather and how much I miss commuting into Manhattan.
When I was in Manhattan...
I had to drive 20 minutes to the subway and then hop on the N or W train for about 45 minutes. All together, my commute was about an hour longer than it is now.
When I was in Manhattan...
I used to read between 2-3 books every two weeks during my commute. Now the only time I get to read is right before bed and I am lucky if get through 1 book in the same amount of time.It is not uncommon for me to wake up with a string of drool attaching my mouth to the last the page I was on when I fell asleep.
When I was in Manhattan...
I utilized the bevvy of subway advertisements, graffiti and other signage as creative inspiration for logos, websites and other graphic design projects I was working on. Sometimes just seeing a unique color combination used in a totally unrelated advertisement was enough to inspire a winning design concept.
When I was in Manhattan...
I took full advantage of nice days like today. Instead of hopping on the train at the station right outside my office, I would walk 40 blocks to the last possible train station. In addition to the health benefits I reaped from these long walks, I also was able to pull design inspiration from random store signs, logos and other advertisements displayed throughout the city.
When I was in Manhattan...
I would often utilize my subway ride as a way of "cooling off" before responding to a difficult email. Many times after taking this time to re-read an aggressive email I realized that the intention of the message was not nearly as aggressive as it first seemed.
When I was in Manhattan...
I used to take great pleasure in watching people learn what is meant by the bodies "stretch reflex". On the subway, this reflex was demonstrated by the person that kept dozing off only to awaken temporarily (and embarrassed) when their head dropped too far, and their neck muscles contracted violently to keep their head from falling on the floor. It was like dinner-theater on the train.
Clearly, everybody has a different situation as it relates to their commute to and from the office. Whether you have a long walk, drive, train ride, bus ride or even plane flight, the question you should ask yourself is - How can I utilize my commute to work as an advantage?
Perhaps you can:
- Catch up on some reading
- Listen to an interesting podcast or audio book
- Get some exercise
- Find creative inspiration
- Decompress
- Explore new parts of the world/neighborhood
- Network with other commuters
As you search for your next office space, perhaps a little bit of a longer commute can actually turn out to be a good thing after all.
If you are an entrepreneur, start-up or small business, Openofficespace.com would love to hear how you take advantage of YOUR commute to work.
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I also ride the train to work every day. I like observing everyday people and how they behave inside the train. But I don't take notice of their "stretch reflexes." :-) And I usually sing to myself to pass the time. Haha!
Posted by: Blake Mitchell | 11/02/2011 at 05:55 AM