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Comment by tegeek | Hacker News Reader

I've been in this situation for as long as I can think of. But lately I've found something which is working for the time being.

I don't use my car to commute to office. It takes 25 minutes via public transport (one way), so I use that time and build all the complex logic/data structure/algos in that time for my hobby project.

Cooking doesn't break my mental loop. So I keep thinking & solving things regarding my hobby project while cooking. (I also cook for my office lunch almost daily)

Most of the labour work (putting up CRUD forms or repeatable things, some graphics work etc) I do mostly on weekends when I don't have to use much brain but just keep moving things which are important.

Things are much better now than before. Even still my hobby project is slow moving but I can see it moving further.

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BART never has seats. So I waste about 2 hours a day standing and doing nothing of value :(. Very jealous you get to program then.

I like to fill my commute time listening to technical presentations and interviews. I can't say I've accomplished anything that way. But, it has expanded my awareness of current tech and practices far outside of my 9-5.

Currently listening to: Functional Geekery, Mostly Erlang, the Lean Startup conferences and Giant Robots Smashing into Other Giant Robots.

I think people sometimes underestimate the increased efficiency of simply switching from driving to public transit (if you're able to). Even if public transit takes slightly longer, you're winning.

40 minutes on public transit getting working done or 30 min driving, completely wasted time?

My experience is I am more focused while on public transit because I feel a sense of urgency. "I am gonna be interrupted in N mins and I need to finish X". It works sort of like pomodoro technique I guess. Utilizing those time slots is key to achieving side goals (or our real goals?) in a busy life. :-D

Same here. A combination of the urgency and complete disconnect from everything else (no internet, etc).

I find I get some of my most focused, solid work done on the L.

Thanks. Unfortunately public transit is non-existent where I live. I'd love to spend my commute time working on the project rather than hoping that a distracted uninsured driver doesn't smash into me.

I do enjoy thinking about the project while cooking.

Good luck on your project!

Obviously moving can be a big deal, but IMO you should seriously consider it. You have a problem with available time, and commuting by car is a massive time sink. It's pretty insane how much "human capacity" is wasted this way!

The grass isn't always that green on the other side. Commuting on the nyc subway is no place to get work done, just as stressful and/or boring as driving, and despite the numerous and comprehensive lines commute times are still as bad as many drives.

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