My Traffic Coping Hacks


Traffic congestion is a frequent source of stress, anger and anxiety — and this problem, isn’t going anywhere soon. Last week, I wrote about the cost of traffic that we are currently experiencing and now, I’ll share some coping strategies that we can use if we find ourselves stuck.

Spending hours stuck in traffic may take a toll on your health and happiness. Along with the potential for stress, it increases your exposure to traffic-related air pollution. It is now imperative to plan one’s commute or car trips carefully. Delays can play havoc with our emotions, affect our health and undermine tight schedules. While preparation may not guarantee that you get where you are going to on-time, but planning can potentially save you from feeling like a victim.

Protect Your Health

The best and most drastic solution is to steer clear of traffic congestion whenever possible. This can be a challenge if your commute to work or school passes through a high-traffic area. But keep an open mind about possible ways to reschedule or reroute your drive. You could:
Walk – it can give us a quick sweat or cardio and develop our physical fitness
Individual transportation – bicycle, skateboard (or electric equivalents)
Relocation – to save time and effort, one can decide to either relocate yourself closer to work or find work closer to your place; or you can go micro and search for a company that provides flexible work schedules; you can perhaps even pitch work-from-home or flexi work schedules to your manage – who knows, they may agree to it!

Reduce Your Stress

Once you’ve done what you can to avoid traffic jams, the next-best solution is acceptance and using perspective. Since you can’t control the bottleneck around you, you can choose to instead manage your reaction to it. Though letting go of things beyond one’s control.

Breathe - Inhale, exhale, repeat; this is not only a proven technique for relaxation but also simple enough to do for both drivers and commuters.

Planning

If you know you have a long commute or drive ahead, a pair of comfortable sneakers will make your feet feel much better than they would in your usual work shoes. Swapping your shoes at the end of a workday can be a signal for your body that it's time to relax. Planning your routes and corresponding alternatives can be a life saver as well. Using apps that track traffic is also an option too.

Welcome distraction, escapism

Our electronic gadgets like smartphones and tablets have provided a welcome distraction from the nasty traffic that has trapped commuters. These gadgets allow usto: stream/watch/download a tv show, movie, podcast or listen to music and audio books; you can also choose to play solo games or team games as well.

For drivers however, you can’t afford to do this could be a disastrous distraction since you need to keep an eye out for traffic lights, pedestrians crossing at will and fellow motorists suddenly changing lanes.

Utilize idle time for work or study

You can read a book or study while stuck on the road. Respond to emails, set-up meetings or call whoever needs to be called to setup things for your workday.

Instead of giving in to road rage, why not make your commute productive, happier and safer.

Do you have other coping hacks you want to share?

Also, the Cebu Content Creators will be doing some documentation and content regarding this; so please use #TRAFFICKAAYO ! :)


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My Traffic Coping Hacks My Traffic Coping Hacks Reviewed by Vernon Joseph Go on Monday, March 12, 2018 Rating: 5

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