It’s a fact: we all have to work. If you’re not lucky enough to work from home – business meeting in your pyjamas and the like – you simply have to either drive and sit in rush hour traffic, catch a bus and sit in rush hour traffic, or catch a train and be crammed in like a sardine in a minuscule tin. Either way, unless you work locally to your house and it’s spring and you walk to work casually with a breakfast bagel in one hand and a smoothie in the other with your sunglasses on looking like you’ve not a single care in the world… You gotta commute.
It can be really stressful at times, what with so many other people trying to get to work at the same and some not being as polite as you may be. Buses have been known to drive past passengers waiting at bus stops simply because they are too full, and when it comes to the Tube… wow. Don’t get us started. Trains are a massive culprit when it comes to making the morning commute a joke, especially when they’re delayed or worse, cancelled. The best thing you can do is distract yourself on the morning or evening commute.
Listening to soothing music is a great way to start. You could even listen to pod casts of comedians, poets, rappers or news feeds, anything to keep the noise out. Find yourself a seat or a spot in the corner of the carriage, make sure you’re not obstructing anyone or anything and just drift off in your mind. Make sure you have had breakfast or at the least, make sure you have snacks in your bag like fruit or cereal bars to keep you going because once you get hungry, you can get tetchy. If you’re currently reading a book, bring that or a magazine and you will soon learn to drown the sounds of other commuters. Try to let things go too; so what if someone is chatting on their phone? Unless they’re shouting or swearing, or discussing intimate matters, leave them to it. Their journey on the train or bus may be the only chance they have to speak to a friend on the phone.
If you do end up on the platform, stranded thanks to a delayed train, the best thing you can do is remain calm. It happens; it’s rubbish, but it happens. Don’t even think about marching to the ticket office, you’ll only get stuck in the melee of other ranty passengers wanting their money back. Just plan the best alternative route, then once you’re home safe later in the evening, go about getting your train delay compensation back. Don’t fill out long winded forms, you can now apply online and there’s even an app you can download too. Just remember that you’re not alone, the daily commute is pants for everyone, so just breathe and focus.