Rush Hour(s)

I've discovered something strange in my area.

Most people dread rush hour. It's when everyone clocks out, disconnects, and heads home. When I first started with Budget five years ago, rush hour in my area (New Jersey) was roughly from 05:00PM-06:00PM, with the final bits of congestion thinning out by 07:00PM. How do I know this? I've done the same commute to and from work just about every day of those five years. Honestly, it was easy to tell.

But this has changed. The rush hour has started to begin at 04:00PM (not too long ago really), and often, runs late into 07:00PM. Heavy traffic and congestion around these times are inevitable, as everyone is starting to go home. But! I've noticed that rush hour is not only longer now, but more hazardous. People often hang in large clusters on the highway, put putting along. As I look into these vehicles, I see the same thing all the time:

Fatigue. Or stress. Think about it- I'm sure you've been stuck in rush hour traffic at least once in your life. Have you once seen a happy face? Or hell, an emotionally neutral one? People look hollow. Vacant. Drained. These people are just moving forward through time and space to their next destination, unthinking. Probably exhausted, too.

I suspect that rush hour has gotten longer for two reasons. One, we are working more. A shift in the rush hour time, especially the beginning, may indicate traffic from supplementary or odd-houred jobs (when compared to the usual 9-5). Approaching 05:00PM, traffic is almost stopped, crawling inch by agonizing inch toward home. It only gets worse as it gets later, which could indicate that people are working later now, leaving work later. Longer hours, multiple jobs.

Busy does not mean productive. People drive home on their cellphones, probably still connected to their job somehow. I've seen people drift to the side of the road and jerk back, implying driver fatigue. Car crashes, stupid mistakes, everything. We are too tried and we are trying to do too many things.

Think long and hard about what is slowly happening, and how we are moving forward. How long will an average work week, or a shift be in twenty years? What will be expected as "just part of the job?" Think about it.

We are Measuring Time Incorrectly

Business and humanity have evolved alongside one another for quite some time. Needless to say, the daily pace of normal and professional life has picked up considerably, yet we are still measuring time the same way. Therein lies the problem.

On planet Earth, we base our time on a 24 hour day with a seven day week. 28, 30, or 31 days in a month, 365 days a year. We base all of our business hours on these measurements of time, and all too often, there is NEVER enough time anywhere, any day. People work themselves sick (or to death) as we toil under the constant watchful, unwavering eye of time.

Why don't we just measure it differently?

Look at the world how it is. With all the fast paced careers, people working multiple jobs, business owners. Those who are employed have no choice but to work and balance their personal lives, all the while still trying to enjoy it, but all too often? They miss the mark. What if...we had 35 hours in a day? What about sticking with a 5 day work week, but adding an extra day onto the weekend? What if a month was 40, or 50 days instead?

Imagine all the extra work and life that you could fit into your life? What if we just...had extra time!? Would you sleep? Spend more time with your family? Explore education? Hobbies? All I'm saying is change the way we measure time, but keep the same pace.

Unlikely as that may be, we are only restricted by time because of how we measure it. When you have free time, think about what I've wrote. How will you measure time? Or better yet, how do you? Think about it.