August 1, 2001	Volume 1, Issue 31
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Enjoy Your Commute

by Rick Brenner

You probably commute to work. On a good day, you spend anywhere from ten minutes to an hour or two — each way — commuting. What kind of experience are you having? Taking control of this part of your life can make a real difference.

ost of us commute in our cars, doing fairly routine things like steering, accelerating, and braking. We have a lot of brainpower to spare. By concentrating fully, and taking only a few white-knuckle risks, you can probably reduce your commute by 5% or so. That seems hardly worth it, when balanced against the increased risk of collision and injury. So what can you do instead?

The obvious choices are radio and music, on tapes, CDs, or MP3s. Here are some less obvious choices:

Commute with other people

Commuting with one or two friends — people you enjoy — can be most rewarding. The opportunities for humor, fun, support, and compassion are endless. If you're concerned about getting "stuck" day after day with someone you've grown tired of, arrange it as a once-weekly or once-monthly gig, which gives you enough space between times to keep things fresh and interesting. And it lets you team up with other people too, on other days.

Learn while you commute

Listening to tapes, CDs, or MP3s of professional books and training programs can convert your commute time from a black hole to a high point of your day. If you're learning new skills, and if the program is interesting and well done, you'll actually begin to look forward to your commute.

Hang up your cell phone

Telephone conversations are best when you can give your partner in conversation your full attention. Listening to a tape, CD, or MP3 as you commute is different — you can always pause the tape or backtrack if you need your full attention for the world around you. But you can't pause another person, so if your driving demands your attention, the person you're talking to feels your inattentiveness.

Find entertainment you enjoy

Talking on your cell
phone while you drive
isn't just dangerous.
It's disrespectful —
people can tell
when your attention
is divided.

High quality entertainment, especially humor, can be a valuable defense against traffic snarls and the worries of the job. Look for entertainment that captivates you. If your mind wanders to your worries, or the rude drivers around you, your entertainment isn't doing the job — find something else.

Carry a pocket tape recorder

If you think of something you want to jot down, speak it instead into a pocket tape recorder. It's much safer and more convenient than a note pad, especially if you're driving.

Go for variety

Variety keeps you tuned in to the world around you. Vary your route, departure time, and transportation mode. If you usually drive, take the train once in a while if you can. If you usually take the fastest route, try a more scenic one.

Looking over this list, I feel a twinge of regret that my own commute is so short — 38 seconds. But it's just a twinge, and it passes quickly.  Top    Next Issue

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See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness for more related articles.

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Public seminars

Person-to-Person Communication for Project Managers

When we talk, listen, send or read emails, read or write memos, or when we leave or listen to voice mail messages, we're communicating person-to-person. And whenever we communicate person-to-person, we risk being misunderstood, offending others, feeling hurt, and being confused. There are so many ways for things to go wrong that we could never learn how to fix all the problems. A more effective approach avoids problems altogether, or at least minimizes their occurrence. In this very interactive program you'll learn a model of inter-personal communications that can help you stay out of the ditch. In those moments of intense involvement, when we're most likely to slip, you'll have a new tool to use to keep things constructive. Read more about this program. Here are some upcoming dates for this program:

• Des Moines, IA: February 16, Breakfast Meeting, Central Iowa Chapter of The Project Management Institute.
   
• Des Moines, IA: February 16, Lunch Meeting, Central Iowa Chapter of The Project Management Institute.
   
• Houston, Texas: May 8, Monthly Meeting, Houston Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
   
• Houston, Texas: May 9, Monthly Meeting, Houston Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
   

The Race to the South Pole: The Power of Agile Development

On 14 December 1911, four men led by Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. Thirty-five days later, Robert F. Scott and four others followed. Amundsen had won the race to the pole. Amundsen's party returned to base on 26 January 1912. Scott's party perished. As historical drama, why this happened is interesting enough. Lessons abound. Among the more important lessons are those that demonstrate the power of the agile approach to project management and product development. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Download to
  your calendarSt. George Banquet Hall, Kitchener, Ontario: March 6, Dinner Meeting, Canada's Technology Triangle Chapter of the Project Management Institute. Register now.
   

Human-Centered Risk Management

Most of us can assess technological risks, but risks related to human behavior tend to resist our best efforts. This session provides a framework for evaluating risks related to the behavior of individuals, teams, organizations and people generally. Human-centered risk differs from technological or market risk, because objective evaluation requires acknowledging personal and organizational limitations and failures. Since some of those limitations and failures might apply to the people assessing the risks, or to their superiors, there's a tendency to deny them or to explain them away. Our approach examines capability, organization, context, risk mitigation, and workplace politics. It has tools for guiding the assessment and management of human-centered risk, and we show how to extend these tools to suit your situation. You'll learn how to identify sources of risk in human behavior; recognize systemic and individual barriers to acknowledging risk; assess the effects of organizational turbulence; determine the risk associated with inappropriate internal risk transfer; estimate the effects of team dysfunction, toxic conflict and turnover; and measure the impact of workplace politics. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Download to
  your calendarMITRE, in Bedford, Massachusetts: March 20, Monthly Meeting, Boston SPIN. Register now.
   

The Race to the South Pole: Ten Lessons for Project Managers

On 14 December 1911, four men led by Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. Thirty-five days later, Robert F. Scott and four others followed. Amundsen had won the race to the pole. Amundsen's party returned to base on 26 January 1912. Scott's party perished. As historical drama, why this happened is interesting enough, but to project managers, the story is fascinating. Lessons abound. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Columbia, Missouri: May 17, Full-Day Workshop, Mid Missouri Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
   

Project Management in Fluid Environments

Most people now work in environments that can best be characterized as fluid, because they're subject to continual change. We never know what's coming next. In such environments, managing — teams, projects, groups, departments, or the enterprise — often entails moving from surprise to surprise while somehow staying almost on track. It's a nerve-wracking existence. This program provides numerous tools that help project managers who work in fluid environments. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Columbia, Missouri: May 17, Monthly Meeting, Mid Missouri Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
   

The Politics of Meetings for People Who Hate Politics

There's a lot more to running an effective meeting than having the right room, the right equipment, and the right people. With meetings, the whole really is more than the sum of its parts. How the parts interact with each other and with external elements is as important as the parts themselves. And those interactions are the essence of politics for meetings. This program explores techniques for leading meetings that are based on understanding political interactions, and using that knowledge effectively to meet organizational goals. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Rochester, New York: May 24, Professional Development Day, Rochester Chapter of the Project Management Institute.