In the midst of an unprecedented business slowdown that has the potential to undo what took me 5 years to build, I’ve been forced to alter my approach to the workday in a small, yet significant way. Even as I’ve committed to adapting my business for survival there is significantly less for me to do at the office and therefore, less urgency to get here. Rather than abandon the routine completely I’ve instead modified one aspect of my workday; the bookend commute to and from the office.
First, in an effort to stem frivolous spending, I’ve chosen to abandon the speed and ease of the toll road for the previously impossibly congested surface streets. A move that has at minimum reduced the pulse quickening blur of transit to a far more casual “stroll down the boulevard of life” pace.
Additionally, since my cars hybrid engine achieves much better fuel efficiency with slower accelerations, I’ve adjusted my driving style significantly to take maximum advantage of this feature. Where once a green light sparked an instinctive pedal to the metal impulse, I’ve now adopted a more gentle approach to the green light reaction by languidly easing the car forward at what might in different traffic circumstances elicit a cacophony of impatient horn blasts from my fellow not-quite-as-enlightened commuters.
As it were, there aren’t enough vehicles on the road behind me to warrant more than a rapid lane change and occasional quizzical sideways glance from those that have yet to recognize the therapeutic benefits derived from the the “Sunday Driver” approach to the daily commute. For me it’s a simple conceit that while the world around me strains against the sudden inertia of a society on pause, I find myself content in the zen of the unhurried.
Mannino Acid 