Commutes are getting worse, but I'm here to help

Rush hour is turning into every hour. The fight for fully remote jobs is dead, but many employees have won a flexible schedule, and a 9-to-5 no longer necessarily means being at the office from 9 to 5. With no standard arrival or departure times, non-traditional commutes have left traffic and trains congested at all hours.

The distance people travel is also rising: in 2024, 9.3% of workers traveled an hour or more to work, up from 7.7% in 2021, a trend likely to continue as young people seeking affordable homes move farther from metropolitan hubs. As a card-carrying suburban commuter with a roughly 80-minute trip that includes a car, a train, and a subway — and with two little ones at home and a spouse who also commutes — I know the value of commute-maxxing.

First, prepare the night before: outfit picked, work bag packed, gas tank full, and put the work in so mornings leave less to chance. Learn the ebbs and flows of your route.

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