People generally don’t like long commutes because it takes so much time from your day.. I get that.

(Jeffrey Czum / Pexels)

I get that people just want to go home after a long day at work or school, looking forward to seeing their family, friends, or loved ones and spend time away from the stresses of the day.

(Steven Arenas / Pexels)

Some people say if they could teleport home, they would. *Snap* just like that. They would save so much time.

But I think my question is, what have you been doing during your commute?

Did you know that there’s an unexpected beauty and value in long commutes? That I think is a better perspective of managing time while on your many transfers back home.

As someone who commutes from Delta to Burnaby, beyond, and back again almost every day, I know what a long commute feels like. It feels like time slows down, especially if it’s hella traffic or even when you can’t sit down because the bus is full or both.

Whew, that’s rough. I felt that. You felt that.

Instead of just stressing out on the commute, and doom scrolling on my phone. Yes, everyone doom scrolls on their phone while on transit, I take a second, listen to chill music, and..

(Artem Malushenko / Pexels)

Take a breather. I box breathe to take air in, as I reflect on the things that happened today. What I said, what I shouldn’t have said, was I being polite, rude to someone, did I get to do all the things I needed to do for school today, or no? Long commutes give me the time to provide a dedicated period for introspection, because I know that when I get home, there’s not much time for that because of chores, cooking, cleaning, etc.

(MART PRODUCTION / Pexels)

Also, it’s for productivity too. Most days I don’t get to do my personal stuff at home, so I tend to do most of it in transit. Duolingo, Journaling, BIble Study devotions, and more. I can listen to my favorite podcasts, and listen to music people recommend to me. It’s truly a time for myself. I think it’s the only time I ever get to listen to full albums really.

All in all, long commutes are great! It lets me do stuff otherwise I couldn’t do anywhere else for some reason. I know it’s weird but it ain’t bad for me.

You should try it out. Unless you have a quick commute or you’re driving, then I don’t know why you read this in the first place.