My best commute was for the first few years of full-time working. A friend was moving in with his fiancée and offered to set me up to sub-let his apartment, as my lease was ending. I jumped at it - the apartment building was next door to my office building, and I could literally go home for coffee break (and often did).
For a bit over two years back in the 80s I was in Sydney, living in Kirribilli and working at Circular Quay.
Commuting was walking 200m to the Jeffery St wharf, catch the ferry, 200m to my desk no lights, no cars, slight wash. 15 mins from front door including getting my morning latte and the lift ride.
I used to have a 7 minute walk to work, which was just enough time to smoke . I figured the walking negated the cigarette.
Well, playing with the cat IS part of your primary job duties (as cat servant); the office part is just your freelance work.
No cats here, and the birds a) live on another floor, and b) are convinced I’m out to eat them, so they are unlikely to get in the way of my otherwise-similar-to-yours commute.
Y’all blew it…should have failed to respond, made OP wonder if the world ended while they weren’t paying attention…
Um … It takes five brisk 30 minute walks a week to really be cardiovascular/lungs effective, but 7 was better than zero. LOL
Tru dat! 
And in another 9 months, I’ll have put the freelance work behind me, and can devote my life to serving my feline overlords!
One of my previous jobs, there were a bunch of lights on the route, but it wasn’t uncommon to have a no-red commute, because most of them were along an extremely well-traveled route, where all of the lights were demand, and only stayed green for the cross streets for the minimal time needed. There were only a couple of lights off of that road, so if I got those green, the rest probably would be, too.
And I commute by bike, so I’m mostly immune to the effects of other traffic. Well, except for when I have to make a left turn without benefit of a light.
One other neat trick I pulled several times, especially on the way home: If it was raining out, I only needed a lull of about five minutes to make it all the way home dry, even though it was a 30-minute ride, because the prevailing winds were at my back (though if it was raining in the morning, I was usually against the wind).
Okay, I have to ask you this, and that’s only because my gaming friend tells me this and I don’t know if I should believe it. Does your cat ever get jealous of your time to the point where it will actually harass you at the keyboard and interfere in your work?
I ask because, when my friend sits down at his desktop and calls me to play, his cat will jump up and luxuriously stretch out right across his keyboard. He has to gently extricate his keyboard from under his cat and basically fight for space to play. Even when we start, his cat will sometimes take swipes at his track ball and, on occasion, pluck the ball right out of the device and send it bouncing across the room. His character has died on more than one occasion because, by the time he jumps up and frantically retrieves the ball, his character has been killed. LOL
I’ve worked from home since 1998. And now I’m retired from home 
My commute is a literal walk in the park - about twenty minutes door to door, mostly through a park that also has a working farm on it.
The ‘perfect’ commute is mostly weather-dependent, but strolling past springtime lambs and daffodils with the sun shining and the occasional sighting of a pheasant or a heron definitely sets me up for an enjoyable start to the working day. Fresh air, gentle exercise and wildlife to appreciate - perfect!
My dad had a pretty good commute starting in 1985. He’d go a few dozen yards to the bus stop for the County system, take that to the Metro Station and take the Red line to the DC/Maryland border and then go into the building on top of the station. The building was even named after his company. So once he got on the County bus, he was out of the weather for the rest of the trip.
The only time I get all green lights on my commute to work is when I get a text and tell myself I’ll read it at the next red light.
Which reminds me …
I used to live one high-rise away from the regional bus line’s stop that took me to the light rail station that took me to the airport. Our company offices where I clocked in were about 50 feet from where the train stopped at the end of the line in the airport. Both train stations were covered but open air, so not quite as cushy as your Dad’s gig, but close.
I totally use that system to hack the Universe.
I tell the Universe that I really, really need to send a text or make a short note to myself at the next red light. It’ll give me miles and miles of green lights in response. She’s a cast-iron bitch, but sometimes you can ride her like a …
I just wonder and worry how and when she’ll get even. It won’t be pretty; I’m sure of that.
I began this thread with a feeling of triumph. Now, after reading these posts, I’m jealous. LOL
My work commute is a 15 minute bike ride. I took the studded tires off over the weekend so this week’s commute will be so much quieter. It’s still a bit icy so I’ll have to slow down a bit and be careful on the braking. I’ve been bike commuting year-round for a dozen years now (I live near Spokane, WA).
Fortunately, no. He will want to be in my lap when I’m at my desk, but not on the keyboard.
But something about the sound the keys make when I’m typing really bothers him, because once I start typing, he almost immediately jumps down and goes somewhere else. OTOH, I can be on a long MS Teams meeting, and as long as I don’t have to type anything into chat, he’ll be a very pleasant lap growth.
ETA: But it’s totally believable to me that a different cat would think, “my human’s attention should be focused on ME, not on that keyboard,” and sit on it while the human is trying to use it. Having had several cats, more than one has had a habit of plonking him/herself down in the middle of whatever you’re doing or looking at. So totally believable.
Apologies for the bump, but…
Last night, returning from a night out, around 11.30 PM.
First time for quite a while.
j
Like those last few days going in to the office during peak COVID. I was one of the last people going in and more than a few times I was on the Beltway and there were literally no other cars in sight, in front or behind me.
It was bizarre, and amazing. 40-60 minutes in traffic became 15 minute all-out sprints with no stopping.
I have to keep a backup keyboard handy just for this reason:
The wrist cushion makes a nice pillow, apparently.