Driving Stress

I am on a mission to remove stress from my life. 

via pinterest

  As I have been going through my days trying to pinpoint things that stress me out, one thing just jumped right out at me. DRIVING. I take the freeway every day to work that takes me 45 minutes each way. Driving in the city is just as stressful. Rude drivers, buses, construction, and traffic all add up to one big pile of stress for me.

 I also have a habit that causes me stress.  I have to confess that I am a clock watcher. That’s right, a clock watcher. One of the things that I would find myself doing is watching the clock in my van.  I would look when the light turned red to see how long would take for the light to turn green. I would do the same thing when being stopped by a train.  Problem Area

Ways To Avoid Stressful Driving Issues Might Be:

Don’t drive when kids are being transported to and from school.

Don’t drive on roads that have transit buses.

Drive around construction zones.

Watch traffic reports and avoid these areas.

Hire a driver (My Favorite)

The first four solutions take too much time and effort. Because I have not won the lottery, I can’t do the last one either.  :( 

After some research on the web, I went over my morning routine to check for other factors that could lead to driving stress.

  Morning Stress Factors:

Waking up late

Not allowing enough time in the morning

Not being organized 

Waking Up Late

I do not have set hours at work but I do like to get on the road early to avoid more traffic.  I get up after my alarm goes off the first time (most of the time) unless I am not feeling well. To make sure that I am not late, I set two alarms.  The first alarm is set 15 minutes before I am really supposed to be up and the second one is just in case I fall back asleep. This method has worked well for me over the years.  Moving on.

Not Allowing Enough Time in the Morning

I allow myself plenty of time in morning to do the necessary things before leaving the house. However, If I have a minute or two to spare before I need to leave, I try to squeeze in another “to do” so that I can cross it off of my “to do list”. I hate to waste time but trying to do too much in the morning has caused problems for me more than once.  Possible problem area.

Not Being Organized:

I am very organized in the morning. I pack all lunches and set out our clothes the night before. The coffee is ready when I come downstairs. I eat breakfast when I get to work. No problems here.

I can work on a few things but I have come to realize that my biggest problem is that I am letting driving stress me out. 

Via Pinterest

Plan of Attack

• Time permitting, only 1 “to do” item each morning. (No More)

• Put tape over my clock in the van to stop clock watching.

• Listen to calming music.

• Take deep breaths

• Relax

 

 

 

 Simplify Life One Step At A Time