Everybody hates the early commute. It is one of the strong reason to push me to retire early. (See my post why early commute sucks) . In fact, due to that article, I have got a searcher who found my retire early blog who wants to know “what do you do when you dread the commute to work“. I think this is an excellent question that I will give you 5 ideas on.

Idea #1: Relocate

There are a couple of  ways to relocate so that you can avoid early work commute. First, relocate to somewhere near your current work place. Preferably within walking distance so that you don’t even have to take public transport or drive.

Another option is to relocate along a alternate travel route that has less people using it. A personal example is using the north east line combined with the circle line. When going to work, I now travel first from Clark Quay to Harbor Front and then change line to travel from Harbor Front to One North. This route has less people, especially when I am going home.  With Singapore having so many new MRT lines coming up, it is easy to find a place that you can take advantage of.

If there are two of you, then choose a location whereby one party can walk to the office while the other party uses a less crowded route. Doing so means both parties can avoid the early work commute and that leads to less quarrels about unfairness. 🙂

Idea #2: Sign up for private bus service

There are a couple of private bus services which fetch you to and from work. Think of them as your personal bus drivers. For a fee that is comparable to public transport, you now can be assured of a seat as well as avoid the morning squeeze. For my previous job, I need to travel from Woodlands to CItyHall. Using this bus service literally saved me from hours of standing and being packed like a sardine.

Idea #3: Arrange for a later work time

If your office allows flexible work hours, ask for a later or earlier starting time. This usually means starting work at either 730 or 10. If you work in these hours, there will be less people going to work with you at the same time, which means less crowd and less squeezing!

Currently, I start work at 930. Combing this with the relocate strategy allows me to stroll up and down the MRT cart, trying to find the best seat of all the choices now available : )

Idea #4: Change job

This is a drastic idea and one that I hope you only consider if you are already thinking about changing jobs. In this case, since you are looking for a new job, take traveling into consideration. All the ideas mention above apply here. Instead of changing your home location, time to change your office location!

By the way, a sales job offers the most flexibility. You can literally get out of bed at 10 and then start your day anytime you want. This is how flexible sales positions are but you need to pull in the sale numbers if you want to keep the job or to earn your living (for those based on commissions alone).

Idea #5: Mediation

Yes, mediate and make inner peace with yourself. If you cannot do any of the above and has to endure the morning commute, the best way is to make sure you are not frustrated by the actions of others. Why spoil your day for something you cannot control. Try mediation. It really work wonders for inner peace.