# What To Do With My Time During a 5 Hour Commute **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 20, 2015, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343 "2015-08-20T13:21:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/21 "2015-08-20T16:30:44Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I would look into motels near work, try to find a cheaper one where you can spend a night once in a while to help with the insane drive time. That should save close to 5 hours of driving, plus save on the gas and car expenses which will help offset the cost of the room. I think this is a great idea. It depends on the type of driving, too. If it’s mostly highway, and 60mph+, you might be OK if it’s just a couple of times. But if you have to do it regularly, four or five days a week, I’d definitely look into a motel/hotel and spend at least a night or two there. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/22 "2015-08-20T17:48:25Z")
It used to take me an hour and a half to go to my office. I did some of my best thinking then. It helped that it was only 10 minutes on the commuter train to get home (plus 15 minutes at each end). ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/23 "2015-08-20T18:19:48Z")
If you already know a second lanuage, there are podcasts where they read the news slowly in different languages (slow news in Spanish, for example). It’s a great way to brush up if you’re rusty. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/24 "2015-08-20T19:11:55Z")
Heartily seconding learning or brushing up on a foreign language. It’s fun to shriek at other motorists in a language they don’t understand. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/25 "2015-08-20T19:37:51Z")
Our library has tons of books on CD. I’ve enjoyed most of the CD courses I’ve listened to from The Learning Company also, especially Robert Greenberg’s music courses. Get ones that don’t really require DVDs - I had one on math and music which really depended on the visuals. They have sales every so often, and some of them stand up to repeated listening. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/26 "2015-08-20T19:55:42Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > Get a hand free phone, call a real estate agent and move closer to your workplace. Another option is find a cheap crash-pad in town for two nights a week. Find a cheap student-ish housemates situation, or maybe find a relative, friend, or coworker nearby with a spare bedroom. Particularly coupled with teleworking, this can make living far away from work fairly doable. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/27 "2015-08-20T23:03:43Z")
You could network with various headhunters/recruiters during your commute to help you find a job closer to home. Or network with realtors to find you a home closer to work. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/28 "2015-08-20T23:44:51Z")
This might be a little off topic, but have you calculated the costs of that much driving and compared it to other alternatives? ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/29 "2015-08-21T00:08:23Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > One of them isn’t that it never occurred to them to move closer. Have you ever heard of a field position? I have had several. When I worked on POS systems, I had a very large service area. How do you move closer to work when you might be working anywhere within 70 miles? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/30 "2015-08-21T00:27:33Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Have you ever heard of a field position? I have had several. When I worked on POS systems, I had a very large service area. How do you move closer to work when you might be working anywhere within 70 miles? I think you must have misread my comment. ---
**Author:** ![RememberMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@RememberMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RememberMe)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/31 "2015-08-21T01:28:52Z")
Thank you everyone for all the great suggestions! To address a few points that were brought up: Why don’t I find a cheap place close to work? The cheapest place would be just about the same as the gas I would spend. Also, my new job will require a lot of travel. I already planned on spending 2/7 days at my home(the weekend) and can count on another couple of days throughout the month where I would not have to show up to the office. I would be essentially paying for a room where I would only be spending half my nights. In addition, I just really want to see my family more than just on the weekends. There will be a newborn soon, and would like to not leave my wife with the 3 kids all to herself all week. About relocating my family: We have a beautiful house and have put a lot of work into it, plus we really like the community. Not that we couldn’t be happy elsewhere. Also, my new job will only be temporary (3years MAX) and I will be trying to cut that even shorter. There is a possibility that I will be there for less than 1 year, so that is one point in favor of not relocating the family. About finding a job closer to home: I am in the military. My ‘headhunter’ has determined that I have spent enough time where I am at. I have analyzed all the possible courses of action, including living out of a camper, buying a tiny house, etc. Financially, it is about a wash, so it really came down to is driving 5hrs daily worth the time I get to spend with my family. The answer is yes. Right now the learning a different language is at the top of my list, and augmenting with news/podcasts in that same language. ---
**Author:** ![XaMcQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/f9ae1b/32.png) [@XaMcQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XaMcQ)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/32 "2015-08-21T02:28:49Z")
Audible has added a lot of the Great Courses, and iTunesU has college courses available for free. Learn History, or Philosophy, or whatever interests you. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/33 "2015-08-21T02:35:46Z")
I commuted 220 miles/day for about two years. Mostly I used the time to unwind so by the time I was home, had been to the gym I wasn’t even thinking about what had happened at work. After that I moved to a different job that had a 50 mile commute, Long commutes aren’t bad as long as you have something to do. For me it was talking to people to catch up after years of being gone. Right now I would suggest audio books they aren’t cheep but it will allow you to “read” a book a week and that will allow you to pick up what you’re missing by commuting. On a side note there are definitely reasons to commute that far. I was living by the California coast when I was commuting 220 per day and once i moved to Bako I developed a smokers cough withing in a year. It would have been work the 4 hours per day to keep my health a live somewhere nice. Once I only live an hour from the office I never considered moving to the slum that I worked in and all of my coworkers stayed at my house on the weekends. Enjoying the time you spend at home is paramount even if it’s only 100 hours per week. That being said I love my 15 minute commute and I’m hoping to move in the next year to only have a 5 minute commute, working in a place that doesn’t blow has a lot going for it. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/34 "2015-08-21T05:38:19Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > It’s not really a great idea to “do” too many things while you’re driving. I’d recommend focusing on the road so you don’t get into an accident, and then once you get home looking into places you can move to so as not to have such a ridiculous commute. ↑ ↑ ↑ This 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![RememberMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@RememberMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RememberMe)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/35 "2015-08-21T14:15:15Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > ↑ ↑ ↑ This 🆒 I may be mistaken, but I think it was implied that I wasn’t asking for suggestions on dangerous and distracting activities to do while driving. I mean, learning how to crochet was at the top of my list until these suggestion came in. Maybe you don’t ever use the radio when you drive, but that would put you in a very small group of drivers. Books on tape, listening to foreign languages, talking hands-free, talk radio, all are reasonable and minimally distracting activities to do while driving. Ya must’ve posted your reply as I was posting my follow-up because you would have seen the reasons why I am deciding to commute the long distance. Wait… nope, you just didn’t bother to read my reply. I appreciate the constructive feedback anyways… ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/36 "2015-08-21T14:39:39Z")
Perhaps rather than listening to a book you could write one. I would go for dictation over actual typing perhaps. [dictation while driving](https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+write+a+book+by+dictation#newwindow=1&q=how+to+write+a+book+by+dictation+while+driving) ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/37 "2015-08-21T15:07:04Z")
In a previous career I had to train towards a qualification, and part of the training package was on an audio CD. Even when not driving, at lunch for example, I’d sit in the car and listen to it (this was before MP3s). The ‘goal’ of passing the qualification was enough to listen to very mundane audio on taxes, and I suppose any listening you do would need some final target to keep it engaging. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343/38 "2015-08-21T15:28:05Z")
> [@RememberMe](#): > > Right now the learning a different language is at the top of my list, and augmenting with news/podcasts in that same language. Yes. Make a schedule - Monday and Wednesday, language learning. Tue-Thu, podcasts. Friday news. That way it’ll take you longer to get bored of any one thing, and you’ll have time to process the language. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-my-time-during-a-5-hour-commute/728343.md?page=1)