According to The US Census Bureau, the average worker in the United States commutes 26.1 minutes each way to work. That means a 5-day-a-week commute sums up to:
- 4.35 hours weekly
- 200 hours yearly
- or approximately 9 days are spent going back and forth.
Due to the current Coronavirus (COVID-2019) pandemic, millions of people worldwide like myself are now working from home. My commute time is approximately twice as much as the average American on a good day. That means I now gained 9 hours since all of my workloads moved online.
My goal is to take full advantage of newfound time. In addition to getting more rest and exercise, I have been using the time sharpen my current skills by reading more and spend even more time learning online with Lynda.com. I even joined a few more online educator groups where we share resources and strategies to help our students and parents better transition to online learning. As I increase my learning, I encourage you to do the same. There are seemingly endless "howto" and other informational videos on Youtube. You can even take approximately 450 free Ivy League courses for free if you desire. My point is to make the best use of the time that you may have now gained while practicing social distancing. As a parent, I know that my children are watching and sometimes imitating every step I take. I want them to see me learning as we get smarter together as a family.