I used to set my alarm for 5am to beat traffic into Atlanta, but now I just leave at 10am

For three years I woke up at 4:45 just to get that 5:30 jump on the interstate, only to hit gridlock by 6:15 in Cobb County anyway. Then I shifted my whole schedule to roll in after morning rush, and I shaved 45 minutes off my commute without changing a thing. Has anyone else realized that beating traffic is a total myth and just surrendered to your own rhythm?

2 comments

2 Comments

smith.anna14d agoMost Upvoted

That 45 minutes you shaved off is exactly what I see everywhere now. People treat "perfect timing" like some kind of personal virtue, like waking up at 4am makes you morally superior. My neighbor still brags about leaving for work at 6:15 sharp every day, but he spends 20 extra minutes just sitting in the same parking lot traffic that I avoid by leaving at 8:30. We've turned this whole thing into a weird competition where being miserable is some badge of honor. The older I get, the more I realize most systems people claim to beat are just designed to waste your time either way. You either fight the traffic or you adapt to it, and one of those is way less stressful.

wells.olivia13d ago

Exactly right. I've stopped judging myself by other people's schedules because it's all just trading one kind of waiting for another.