I recall there are some challenges faced by everyone but one person copes very poorly and sustains a heavier “casualty” in terms of quality of life.

For one example, in the last email I wrote that my friend SK suffered heavier, deeper pains (due to boss relationship) than I had with Venkat.

For another example, some office firewalls block blogging sites. Most workers don’t suffer, but I bleed all over the place, because I rely on blogging for learning, research, planning, problem solving, brain-storming, decision making…

For yet another example, I have suffered more pain from long commutes, more than anyone. It damages my quality of life. A BBC program reported that given sufficient adjustment time, most people can adjust to smaller homes better than they can adjust to long commute, but still we must adjust. Over the years I have been working on several solutions to cope with the hazards due to long commutes.

• solution: rent a room near office for a few months. I don’t mind the financial cost, but family life suffers.
• solution: work from home once a while. To maintain productivity, I had to upgrade my home equipment and create a more quiet corner with a bigger table …
• solution: if there are multiple office locations, then once a while request to work in a nearby location, in a “hotel desk”. I did that in 2 jobs. Request is subject to approval. Some managers don’t like me so much and don’t approve so easily. I accept because I am usually unable to become a more likable subordinate.
• solution: convert part of the commute hours into work-out, such as brisk walk, slow jog, a few squats, a few bench-push-ups at waiting stations. Sometimes I can convert only 2 minutes a day on average, but it is better than zero, and it enhances my quality of life and reduces the overall cost of commute.

One of my recommended solutions is .. leave home/office either later or very early to avoid peak hours, and get a seat! A seat lets me sit down with a small laptop or a hardcopy read + pencil, and be productive.

• On every commute I would carry hard-copy reading material (not newspapers). Before the trip, I could print out important mails so I can get these mails memorized(if tech), analyzed(if strategic), replied(draft by pencil). More likely I would do coding practice on laptop, or read technical articles to improve competitive interviews. Some people use a smartphone to process office mails.
• I sometimes concentrate too long, and miss my stop, or my train. Fine. Risk accepted. Benefits outweigh the cost.
• This practice requires a seat on a train. In contrast, reading on buses has proven ergonomically unsustainable.
• This practice effectively shift one office hour into my commute, so I could do other things with that “1H saving”. I can spend 1H less in office. I can work out during office hours. I can do my personal things for 1H without guilt.

So today I used long commutes to illustrate a pattern — “Some challenges are unavoidable [1] and hits everyone, but I Suffer more than everyone, so I have to be creative, analytical, resourceful, and prepared to incur a financial cost in order to reduce that Suffering.”

[1] Unavoidable is a keyword. Is your 3-on-1 suffering avoidable if you change team or change company? To avoid long-commute, I am willing to accept a lower salary so as to live and work in the same city, such as Jersey City.