I recently noticed on the back of Austin’s Capital Metro busses a sticker that says that the bus is wifi-enabled and “why drive to work when you can surf?” type of motto adorning it here and there.
I’ve always thought about taking the bus – in fact, I used to quite a bit back in the early 90′s when I worked for Travis County. Back then, I needed to save money, plus I had a job that required a specific schedule (in by 8:30, out at 5), and the bus stops were very near my house and work. I would while away the time by reading and I must say I did more reading back then. I also was part of the ride share program where someone in a Capital Metro van came by your house to pick you up at a specific time. It’s a little easier and slightly more friendly than the bus itself; and the person driving the van got the van for free as long as they drove everyone to work each day. It was $10 a month and was great when my commute was horrendous.
Nowadays, I definitely do NOT have a specific schedule (IT work ya know), and sure, everyone can save a few bucks now and again, especially with gas prices where they are, but my biggest attraction to possibly taking the bus is the number of productive minutes I might gain. These minutes could be used for blogging, email, catching up on work, balancing the checkbook, paying a bill online, scheduling the day, or even personal stuff like playing a game, reading a book (note on link: not work friendly), or (gasp!) maybe even just relaxing, meditating or destressifying one’s self?
It’s pretty sad when I try to find another 15 mins here or another 30 mins there in a day. At least it is when I think about it. Back in the day, our days weren’t so incredibly packed with time-sensitive stuff, deadlines, schedules, and always-something-you-gotta-get-done. Maybe it’s why we’re so stressed. As we invent more conveniences that save us time (laundry machines, dishwashers, microwaves, TiVo/DVR, Roomba) we end up having less and less time. We as a race are genetically incapable of having sufficient idle time in our day. Well, some of us are anyway; some people have TOO much idle time.
Not only are the busses wifi-enabled, but the Park N Ride areas are as well. So I could get to my wait-for-the-bus place a little ahead of time, start the surfing/working/playing, get the bus and continue, and then I gain back, what, an hour of my day? My commute is typically between 25-30 mins each way. The only real issue are the times I need a car during the day or if I have an emergency or something. Is it worth the tradeoff? I mean, I could literally save a hundred bucks a month or more on gas, AND help the environment, AND get an hour a day.
I’m going to keep thinking about it.
Hmmm, you have some very good insight. Me and Peter are in complete agreement with you. You can catch up on email, eat a taco, listen some tunes. In fact, here’s one to add to your list. You can even dance to the tune on the back on bus. Turn up your speakers and get ready to jam! http://www.beatstreet.ca/mediaplayer.php?products_id=product|7469&track_num=1
Congratulations! I rate that song an 8*.
* I’m using a rating system that reflects how many seconds I let it play before I smash my PC speakers into oblivion
What?! You need to listen to it in it’s entirety. You know you liked it when you are 9. *still tappin’ the feet to the beat”
eeer, s/are/were
Its terribly sad that nobody writes quality music like that anymore. Back in the day, that song was the SHIZZNIT
Our lives have indeed become overwhelmed with too much in too little time. I learned several years ago to stop letting others manage my time, and I began to manage who could see me when, and manage the data that I was inundated with as well.
Believe it or not, you have the right to say no. I learned not to attend meetings where I provided no value-add, or there was nothing that I could get out of it. I learned to hanlde my email in such a way that I did not manage by email, but rather, organized into action, waiting and reviews. I had specific periods of the day where I took care of action items, review items and following up on waiting items. I use a customizable methodology on “getting things done”. I do not believe in mutli-tasking. I recognize that the time transfer it takes to move from one work item to another is approximately 15 minutes. I recognize the inefficiency of the same.
Now, I had all the same excuses that you are going to come up with. “My whole life is communication through email. I can’t ignore emails that come in, because that’s how my users/customers communicate with me.” “I can’t say no to meetings because they are required, whether or not I want to go or need to go.” “If my boss tells me to switch what I am doing right now, I can’t just keep doing what I am doing.”
This is not true at all. When an email comes in, I take a quick look at it, and handle it according to my methodology. When my manager requires that I attend a meeting, I either say no or yes. If he questions why, I tell him/her. When my manager wants me to immediately address something I am not working on, I let him or her know the impact of stopping what I am doing now and addressing the new priority. If warranted, I switch to the new task. Many times, resource managers do not understand the impact of constantly switching between tasks, and they don’t fully understand the real priority of what you are working on.
Further, the last place I worked (outside of being a consultant) required that I have a balanced life as part of my performance plan. I had to demonstrate it as well. I didn’t do to well, and I actually was put on a performance plan to work through the balanced lifestyle requirement. One thing that is scientifically clear is that when we don’t balance our life, we are actually much more ineffective and inefficient at work than we would be otherwise.
Our generation (GenX) prides ourselves on our work ethic and our abilities professionally. However, we are doing a disservice to ourselves and to our organizations by allowing ourselves to be completely reactive rather than proactive. You would actually be of greater value to your organization if you learned to say no, learned to manage who can see you when, who can talk to you when, and what you do when. Take control of your life; stop allowing your environment to control it.
The company will see a better ROI on employing you than you are currently providing.
Michelle, those points are spot on, and I should point out most of your suggestions represent a few big steps for me, so I will endeavor to implement them in tiny baby steps here and there.