How to Manage A Split Commute Day

How to Manage a Split Commute Day

Do you regularly commute to work or school on a regular basis?

Are you looking for tips to help you manage the nuances of a split commute day?

You may have perfected managing your time traveling from appointment to appointment, running various errands, and sitting in the office for extended periods of time.

But what about those split days, or days when you have a limited amount of time before you have to leave for your next appointment?

You want to do some work and you want to make the most out of your time.

And yes, you only have a brief amount of time available to you. So where do you even begin?

In this post, you’ll uncover some helpful pointers to guide you in these unique time situations.

No matter what you do, keep in mind that the name of the game is going with the flow of time!

Underestimate your time.

Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to overestimate your time when it comes to completing tasks.

And in some cases, like this one, underestimating your time can be just as helpful.

Underestimating your time creates a nice buffer for your activities.

You have some wiggle and breathing room to deal with preparations for your upcoming trip.

No more worrying if you’ll work over your allotted hours or get a late start on your commute.

Here’s how this would work: let’s say you’re working from home in the morning. You only have four hours in which to work.

If you were to underestimate your time, you could realistically plan to spend your time working for two-and-a-half to three hours.

You’ll be able to get some work done, without overly stressing yourself out.

Work within comfortable boundaries.

Is your work time limited? If so, then you may want to consider working on tasks with which you are comfortable.

The premise is simple: do your work without unnecessarily overextending yourself.

One way to do this is to work on easy, bite-sized tasks that can be accomplished without too much mental effort or energy.

Which rote tasks can you perform without too much of a hassle?

For example, you might decide to settle on filing, running reports, or deleting old emails.

Another way to work within comfortable boundaries is to divide your work into bite-sized portions.

Again, the idea is to complete some work, without undue stress.

If you’re in the midst of writing a report and need to read some background materials, consider reading two articles in a single sitting, instead of say, five.

Set a stop-work time.

Before you completely immerse yourself in your work, consider identifying a stop-work time.

This method ensures you’ll have enough time to wrap up your work and take care of other items before leaving for your commute.

Set an alarm or timer to go off at least half-an-hour to 45 minutes before you have to leave for your next appointment.

During this time, you may want to eat lunch, make a trip to the restroom, pack up your purse or briefcase, pull out your coat from the closet, and so on. 

Accept split days as split days.

One of the easiest ways to come to terms with a split commute day is to simply accept it as such.

A split day will always be different than how you normally work. So why bother to try and turn it into something it’s not? 

Adjust your work tasks, change your attitude, and just go with the flow.

If anything, consider split commute days as a gift: they make you appreciate the days when you’re not in-transit.

How about you? Whether you live in the city or country, how do you manage split days or days when you have to get things done in one location and then travel to another? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!

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About the Author

Rashelle

Rashelle Isip is a New York City-based productivity consultant who helps successful entrepreneurs and business owners manage their time and energy so they can reduce stress, work less, and make more money in their businesses. She has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, NBC News, The Washington Post, NPR, and The Atlantic. Get her free guide, 5 Unexpected Things You Need to Organize a Work Notebook, by clicking here.

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