How To Stay Calm In Daily Traffic

By Guest Author: Clayton Truscott

So how do you hold it together in traffic? What’s the recipe for not losing one’s marbles when getting to and from work everyday? Here’s six ideas:

6. Good Music
It’s said that music can calm savage beasts – even beasts that have been stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the I80 West for twenty minutes without moving. Having some decent tunes in the car goes a long way to deactivating explosive outbursts. Set your music to shuffle and enjoy what comes up – don’t try to change songs every five minutes, because you’ll be the one causing an accident sooner or later.

5. Audio Books
Most people don’t read because they don’t have time or because they fall asleep within two pages. In the car, you don’t have the luxury of either. If the radio is driving you crazy and you’re desperate to finally read War and Peace, why not invest in a few audiobooks to keep you entertained on the drive home.

4. Timing Is Everything
As insane as it seems, sacrificing twenty minutes of sleep to hit the road early will go a long way to quelling your road rage. If your route to work is busiest between 8 and 9 o’clock, leave at 7:40. At the same time, if the roads are clogged until 5:30 – 6 p.m., find something to keep you busy until the traffic calms down. If traffic is really starting to ruin your life, bring up the idea of flexi-time with your boss.

3. Find Alternative Routes
Take some time to find a quieter road to work.  Nowadays there are apps and websites that even do most of the research for you – Waze, for example. It might not necessarily be a ‘short cut’, but at least you’ll be preserving your mental health.

2. Cycle
If you can, cycle to work when the weather suits – or better yet, make it a permanent habit. It’s great exercise, environmentally sound, fun and (best of all) your bicycle will cut through traffic like a ninja sword.

1.  Learn To Love It
If you’re not in a position to kit your vehicle out with decent music and you’re on a fixed schedule that can’t be altered, all whilst living too far away from work to cycle or avoid freeways, there’s only one option here: learn to love the traffic. Working yourself into a spitting rage and honking at every car in your path will probably give you a heart attack.

Author’s Bio:
Clayton Truscott is the content director at i9media in San Diego. Born and raised in South Africa, learning to drive on the right hand side of the road and follow American road signs has turned him into an overly-cautious driver. He has a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing and has published articles in newspapers, magazines and online.
You can follow more of Clayton’s work at: http://www.aaaastorage.com/