The space between

Do you ever just miss sitting in traffic?

The last job I had that required a commute was a little over 3 years ago.

I would walk to the bus stop while listening to a podcast, hop on for the ~10 min ride, and hop off for a 2-block walk. It was a nice way to start the day — made better by the coffee stand about 20 feet from the drop-off.

On the ride home, I’d do the same thing in reverse, listening to a podcast or reading a book.

Want to know a secret?

I kinda miss that commute.

Now, you’ll have to rip the option to WFH from my cold, dead hands, but…

A recent study conducted by Kristie L. McAlpine (Rutgers University) and Matthew M. Piszczek (Wayne State University) argues that there IS a silver lining to commutes — the positive “liminal space” we get to occupy when we’re shifting between work mode and home mode.

And that space can give us time to mentally step away from the stress & expectations of work-life AND home life and recover.

(Of course, some commutes are stressful AF and don’t give us the chance to unwind, especially for those of us who get road rage 🥴)

Matt Lyman even shared a similar sentiment when I chatted with him last month. Remote work can make finding the line of delineation between work and home super difficult, causing extra brain strain because we never really leave our workplace.

It’s an interesting dilemma — without commutes, we get more time to do things that relax us in theory, but with the forced reality of commutes we actually get that time to ourselves to detach.

To commute, or not to commute? That is the question.