Commuting has saved me more than money.

One thing people are often surprised to learn about me is that my commute to work is about 75 minutes each way.

What surprises them even more is when I tell them I actually enjoy it.

I've been doing this commute for about half a year now and whenever I tell someone how long it takes me to get to work, they usually look at me like I've lost my mind. And honestly, I get it. A lot of people hear "75-minute commute" and immediately think about all the time being lost.

But when I first found out how long my commute would be, my reaction was actually pretty different. I remember thinking, "That's 75 minutes where I can do whatever I want."

And that's exactly what it's become.

Some days I'll spend the commute listening to a podcast. Other days I'll work on my business, think about my finances, plan out my day, or do a Duolingo lesson or two.

It's become this little pocket of time where I can focus on things that matter to me without feeling like I'm being pulled in ten different directions.

The funny thing is that I could technically do all of those things at home too. But at home there are always distractions. There's laundry to do, something to clean, something to organize, a video I'd like to watch, or a dozen other things competing for my attention.

On the bus, none of that exists.

I'm simply moving from one place to another, and because of that I've found that some of my most productive moments happen during my commute.

The ride home serves a slightly different purpose. That's usually when I catch up with friends, reply to customers, check messages from loved ones, and reconnect with people after a day of work. By the time I get home, I've already started making that mental transition away from work and back into the rest of my life.

Would I take a teleportation machine if one existed? Probably. But I also think I'd immediately try to find another place in my day for the things my commute currently gives me.

Because somewhere along the way I stopped seeing my commute as time spent getting somewhere and started seeing it as protected time. Time to think, time to focus, and time to work on things that are important to me.

And honestly, that's worth a lot more than I expected!