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Commuter Chronicles January 2006 | Volume 1 | Issue 1 |
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In this issue: |
Happy New Year everyone! My wish for you is a productive, balanced, and safe 2006 in your commute and your life. With this New Year, we are starting the newsletter devoted exclusively to the long distance commuter, whether you travel by public or private transportation, by land, water, rail, or air. We hope to give you ideas to make the commute better. But our agenda is far broader than that. In making the commute better, we hope you can release the energy to make your life better. We want to be on that journey with you. As we go on with the newsletter, we will introduce you to experts in the areas of health, nutrition, finance, transportation, etc. If you have a recommendation for someone who could add interest and value to our readership, do e-mail that name and contact information along. I also encourage you to pass the newsletter along to your companies, HR department, bosses, and co-workers. As some of you already know, my interest in commuters developed when I moved to the Poconos of Pennsylvania. Seeing so many fatherless (so I thought) families, I began to ask questions and found that most of the fathers were working an hour or more from their homes and unable to be involved in their children’s activities. Since then, I have come to know men and women, married and single, young and not so young who make this daily (mostly) pilgrimage to the Temple of Work and Success. Most have complained of the toll commuting extracts, some have begun doing something about it. Since this is the first month of the new year, it seems appropriate to look at our lives and see where we want to place our energy to make changes. In the health section, we have included the Circle of Life to help. In COST SAVERS, we look at where the commuter’s money goes (down the drain, you said?) and where it might be better spent. The FEATURE ARTICLE in this issue addresses some ways to use your commute more productively. I hope you find it useful. Please take time to visit our sponsors. They are supportive of me and what I wish to accomplish. You may find them useful. I will not recommend anyone I do not feel is top quality. Most of the time, no cost is involved. Finally, please visit Commuter-Assist.com from time to time. We are a young and growing web site and we value your input and support. Lately, links have been added. There is an article and more to come. Most importantly, we will be developing a survey in which your needs and wished may be voiced. Stays tuned for more and… reinvent your commute with the help of this growing community! Warm regards, Dr. M. |
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FOCUS - CIRCLE OF LIFE January is a good month to decide what you want to focus on and accomplish for the year. Remember that breaking goals into sub goals allows the reinforcement that comes with accomplishment and sometimes moves you more quickly toward that goal. If you would like the CIRCLE of LIFE, a device to help you look at each area of your life to determine where your focus might be put, send an email to info@commuter-assist.com with 'Circle of Life' in the subject line. |
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COST SAVERS No matter how much money we make, it never seems to be enough. Get a raise, spend more. The golden question to ask is where will you be in 5, 15, 30 years when you spend everything you make? Take ten per cent off the top every payday. Great advice, but where to get it if everything is going out? Patricia Lovett-Reid, Vice President of TD Waterhouse Canada, Inc., says, “Small savings, invested…and allowed to grow tax-free could make the difference in whether or not you reach your retirement goals.” Lovett-Reid suggests brown-bagging it three times a week instead of eating out every day. Skip the Starbuck’s and bring a travel cup of coffee or even better, buy packs of water at the grocery store. Much cheaper and much healthier. She also suggests public transportation, at least some of the time. All this can bring a nice little amount to your nest egg each month. Assuming $7 a day for lunch – can you really eat out for that amount? – she says you could save $720 a year, if you bring lunch from home just three times a week. Set up an automatic contribution plan to an equity growth mutual fund with an annual rate of return of 7.2 per cent and earn $73,229 by retirement, if you start at age thirty-five. Of course, a 2006 TD Waterhouse Investor Poll notes that investors say “they will need on average a nest egg of $894,000 to retire comfortably.” So start brown bagging it! |
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FEATURE ARTICLE - USE YOUR COMMUTE Two commutes a day, ten a week, forty a month, about 440 times a year. If you commute 45 minutes to work, that is ninety minutes a day, 1,650 hours every four years! You know those goals you’ve been meaning to achieve? Why not use this time to work on them! How you choose to use the time is as broad as your imagination. So much of our commuting time now is spent as a negative experience, that it drains us for other activities in our day. When we use our commuting time to benefit ourselves and make accomplishments, it not only will benefit us, but you will see positive impacts at work, home and play! Using the time to organize your day at work will help you to be more productive at work and less time will be spent away from home and play. The more you are able to achieve, the goals you have been putting off will no longer seem like clouds hanging over you, and will free you up to both mentally and physically. If you have things to do for the day call into the office (on speaker phone) and go over things that will make your day at the office more organized. If you never have time to write, bring a tape recorder and narrate your stories in your car. If you’re into exercise, isometrics (muscle contractions held for a count of 10 and repeated; do not do this if you are hypertensive or have a heart disorder) are well-documented to work in developing muscle. There are, of course, books on tape and even courses on various subjects. Why not take the time to enrich your life. The commute is also a great time to schedule the day or review how the day went. Whatever you choose to do, getting value out of the commute helps to change your attitude about the commute and relaxes you throughout the time because you are focused on something more interesting than counting the minutes or the traffic jams. So now, instead of a major block to living, the commute can actually become an opportunity to advance your life. Think of ten activities that you can do during your commute, and prepare some of them ahead of time. This way if you don’t feel like doing one, you have another ready to go, even if it’s just as simple as listening to your favorite music. You won’t always want to read or listen to music, so you might be prepared to work on a puzzle or compose a letter or song in your head. Your commute is as open to possibilities as you are! |
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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MONTHLY TELECONFERENCES! CONQUER THE COMMUTE: TOOLS FOR THE ROAD AND LIFE will be ready soon. Click here to email and reserve your copy of this new e-book today, you will also enjoy a 30 percent discount with your reservation. |
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Dr. Mastria is founder of Commuter-Assist.com, which publishes e-books, CDs and cassettes to help commuters get the most out of their commute and life in general. Dr. Mastria speaks, offers workshops, and consults to businesses. She also provides life, wellness, and business coaching to groups and individuals. To contact Dr. Mastria email info@Commuter-Assist.com or call 570-839-6394. All content Copyright © 2006, Dr. Marie A. Mastria, CLC, PCC / Commuter-Assist.com. All rights reserved. You may copy or send it to family or friends who may benefit from it so long as the format and credits are intact. You have permission to publish this article electronically, free of charge, as long as the by-lines are included and links are activated and maintained. A courtesy copy of your publication or link to website would be appreciated. |
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