#172: Running for the Train

I can very much relate to these theories from Sasha; I walk to my internship every morning, and because I have to be there at a rather early hour, I've always found it best to wake up as late as possible to maximize sleep time.. which in turn means that sometimes just hitting snooze one or two times (maybe 4..) means I am behind three minutes. And then, I'm forced to make up for that time by speed walking and sometimes even spilling some coffee :) I feel disheveled, which is never a great way to start the day. This piece below makes me reflect on my own priorities and consider how they can be revamped to make my mornings (and hopefully days!) a bit less urgent, and more pleasant. Thank you, Sasha.

- Amanda

Running for the Train

As everyone in my family knows, I have a persistent, daily, absurd issue with running for the train.

Each morning, to get to work, I walk a half mile from my house to the train station. At a relaxed pace, that walk takes 12 to 14. Walking briskly, you can do it in 10-12 minutes. Most mornings I do it in 8-9 minutes, and when things get bad, I sprint to the train in 6 minutes.

Mind you, this is all while fully dressed for work. And it’s not because I’ve overslept: I wake up at least 75 minutes before the train, and often I’ve been up for as much as two and a half hours (to exercise).

But here we are in January, and, like any period after a proper vacation, I find that on the first day back I  leave the house “early” and stroll casually to the train. While walking, I inevitably remark to myself how enjoyable this is, not just because I’m not huffing and puffing but also because I’m not starting my day with stress and rush.

Yet, most of the time, by Friday of that first week I’m back to rushing.

There’s a quality that all our days acquire when we get pulled back into the thick of things. For me, that quality is “rushed.” You will have, I suspect, a different default vice than I do.

Of course, it’s obvious that my vice isn’t serving me in a productive way.

Though, strictly speaking, that’s not true—since I engage in this behavior day in and day out, it has to be serving some need. This need seems to be the belief in the importance of the few extra things I do before dashing out of the house, or maybe there’s a bigger story I’m telling myself about how cramming activity into every last minute will sum up to a more productive day or week.

And yet, just imagine if they changed the schedule and moved the train five minutes earlier. I’d adjust, instantly.

It makes me reflect on the qualities I let creep in to my days that don’t serve me: things that cause stress or worry or simply the theater of busyness, trade-offs I'm making that I could let go of.