Regardless of length or method, the daily commute can be rather stressful. Whether driving, riding or biking to work, commuters can only control the duration of their journey to work to a certain extent. Outside factors like roadwork, gridlock, marathons, mechanical problems, visiting politicians, parades, accidents, and your obnoxious fellow commuters can unexpectedly turn what should be a 20 to 30 minute trip into a grueling multi-hour saga. And since commuting is an unavoidable fact of life for most US workers, it’s also a significant form of unavoidable daily stress.

If your commute has been pushing your anxiety buttons lately, you should give this Greatist article read. It offers on in-depth guide on how you can make your daily commute less stressful. Its tips range from the relatively small to be holistic.

For example, if stop and go traffic has you feeling hot under the collar, consider taking a train. As the article points out less stressed out and have a better mental outlook than drivers. Alternately, it recommends making the drive to work a little less fraught by using the time to listening to an educational podcast, audiobook or to use a smart phone app to learn how to speak in a different language.

You’ll be surprised how doing something as simple as giving yourself something to do on the right in will have on your mood.

Read the full article here: http://greatist.com/health/how-to-commute-better