Commuting is not complicated. It may, in fact, be as straightforward as something can get. I propose that the only way to screw up a commute is by violation of one or more of these four commuter commandments:
Rule #1: Get to where you're going on time.
Rule #2: Don't participate in car accidents.
Rule #3: Don't earn a moving violation.
Rule #4: While keeping the first three rules, do something you want to do.
These rules are almost to the point of being self-evident, but because this is the only the second RYCB post and I have virtually no equity with you, reader, I'll explain myself to the hypothetical skeptic.
Rule #1 is essential for a successful commute because you exist in a world where opportunities don't always hang around until you're ready to take them. In this context, your opportunity to keep your job may be eroded by failure to obey rule #1. Rule #1 can be kept or violated in degrees, obviously, as only making it halfway to work counts for very little, whereas showing up 10 minutes late earns only minor demerits.
Similarly, I don't see how anyone can say that rule #2 is disposable and still be a human being. We're just going to accept the premise that other people are real and have the same rights to life, liberty and property that you do. They don't appreciate the consequences of having your vehicle and their vehicle, body, restaurant,etc., occupy the same space any more than you do. Also, perhaps you've won the powerball, and are only going to work for personal fulfillment, but people like me work primarily to make money, and we can't afford to crash every time we commute. At my current salary, and assuming that I could continue to buy used 2001 Hyundai accents ad infinitum at the price I paid in 2007, I could economically afford to total my car every 25 workdays if I had no other expenses. Of course, I do have other expenses, believe it or not, and (to the benefit of society) I would probably be dead within a matter of months if I got in that many wrecks. It's best to just not crash if you ever have the choice. Good thing you typically do.
Rule #3 is basically catching the runoff from the first two rules. If you're trying to get somewhere by a certain time, stopping to have a law enforcement guy run your license and relieve you of your day's wages is not going to help. And, chances are that if you find yourself in violation of rule #3, you've been doing something that could lead to violating rule #2. Bad driving follows what's called a Taleb distribution, it pays seconds when it works but costs days and hours when it doesn't. Wikipedia told me this so it must be true.
Rule #4 is debatable, it's your life, right? Maybe you *do* want to be missing out on opportunities, maybe you *do* want to be hearing radio ads or dwelling on your failures. Who am I to convince you otherwise? But as for me, as long as I'm not committing a travel foul by screwing up one of the first three rules, I want to be putting my time to use somehow. Hence the blog. In our next posts, we'll start getting to more of the tricks of the trade that myself and others have discovered.
