How I practice self-care on my commute

Working moms who work outside the home envy those who work from home most over one particular item: their lack of commute.

If your commute is anything like mine, you’re probably super stressed by the time you even arrive at work in the morning.

Oh, how I would love to see teleportation invented already, so I don’t have to drive to and from work on a daily basis. I waste spend about 3 hours on average every day on the road, thanks to the wonder that is Houston traffic.

How is a busy mom to cope with such a long commute?

Well, I try to use the time well so it is not a complete waste and so that I am at least enjoying myself somewhat.

 

 

Practicing self-care on my commute

Call Home

While maybe not reasonable on the morning commute, I tend to have a lot of phone calls on my drive home. But hey – do this safely! Hands-free Bluetooth devices, please! No holding your phone or texting while driving!

For a while, I was calling my Mom almost daily just to check in and have some mental sanity time. I also like to have calls with my husband at this time since we are typically both driving. It is a good chance to check-in and catch-up on our plans and to-do list since we have so little time together as it is.

Audiobooks

I have been listening to audiobooks, and they have really saved my sanity in Houston traffic. I love Audible and have a subscription so I can get one new book each month, or several at a time if I let my credits pile up. You can have a max of 6 though, so sometimes I binge purchase a series! The credits usually cost less than the books would, but if the audiobooks are on sale, I obviously don’t waste a credit.

I also have a subscription to Audiobooks.com, which is kind of like Netflix for audiobooks! Yes, I subscribe to both. There can never be too many audiobooks! Here I can listen to as many as I want but can only have two books downloaded at one time.

If you’re lucky enough not to have to drive but take public transit instead, you can read an actual book or an ebook. I had that opportunity for a time where I was going downtown to a client’s office 2-3 days a week and taking the commuter bus. It was amazing. I got to read actual books! With my eyes! And ebooks tend to be on the cheaper side so I would fill my Kindle with some free or cheap e-books with the help of BookBub.

Deep breathing

Sometimes being at a dead stop on the freeway is immensely stressful. Yet, there’s not much to do about it. So this is when I remember to take deep “yoga breaths” to clear my mind and ease the tension. Deep breathing (when I remember to do it) helps me arrive to work more centered and less frazzled. I sure do not enjoy being so frazzled all the time.

 

How do you practice self-care on your commute? I’d love to hear more ideas!

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This post is part of the 31 Tips for Working Moms series. See the rest of the posts here:

 

Check out this Infographic on how to make the most of your commute!