Hate it, or despise it – you cannot possibly ignore traffic jams! There are very few people who have finally made peace with it! For the rest of us, here are a few ways we can beat the traffic blues and make the most of that time!
- Observation Time:
We know you are busy and there is usually no separate time to manage stress, so what can be better than to monitor yourself while being in the stressful situation itself. Observe everything around you, what do you notice? What do you feel? Is this a reality you can escape? Make peace with the environment by observing your breath. Just focus on your breath, count your breath and keep the count. Till you get distracted and keep coming back to the count. It will come with practice but by 7th day of this practice you may feel lot calmer and less prone to anxiety before stepping out of your workplace in to the maddening traffic!
- Gratitude Time:
Gratitude has the potential to change our life condition. The more we thank, the more we receive. That does not mean am asking you to thank God for the traffic jam! Certainly not, but can we look at this time to quickly look all the good things that happened to us. Things which if would not have happened would have made our day more difficult. For i.e. the projector got installed just before the presentation. Thank god or the IT person for managing it well in time. While it works to make us better human beings, the outward manifestation is improved social camaraderie and better teamwork!
- Checklist:
If you have too much to do when you get home or to work, switch off the ignition, keep looking at the red light. As you look at the red light, make mental notes of things you will get done first and what can you push for later. Nano planning is like a mental pat that you are ready to take on the day or the evening and manage your time better productively.
- Fuel up:
Do you carry dry fruits, fruits or healthy knick-knacks every day? If not, you really should! It might turn out to be a good habit as it can prevent you from binging at your work place or over eating at home. Healthy foods to fuel up during traffic can keep you energetic for your work, party, or workout and also helps you keep a track of your food habits.
- Work on your Mental Agility:
You are already really annoying, and you obviously think that working on mental agility is practically impossible! Do you remember mathematics? Left side of our brain is responsible for the logical, pragmatist side of us. Simple additions are a great way to keep your mind stimulated and actively engaged. I typically add the numbers on car plates.
- Detox through Music:
Music has this magical power to detox our brains off all the clutter. It immediately shifts our mental state to a new dimension. This is a great hour to tune into music of our choice. Music that peps us, give us peace or has the power to make us feel energetic.
We usually like talking on the phone, busy trying to think how disgusting the infrastructure is, how the day was, how stressful life is, etc. If we practice the above mentioned things, the burden of traffic may or may not disappear but our attitude to this BIG stress-causing factor will improve dramatically and traffic may no longer be a part of our daily stress.