Mastering Time Management: The Importance of Scheduling Travel Time

In this episode of the Before Breakfast podcast, host Laura Vandercam addresses a common yet often overlooked obstacle to effective time management: the failure to account for travel time. By integrating commute and transition times directly into our daily schedules, we can reduce stress, improve punctuality, and gain a more realistic perspective on how our time is actually spent.

The Root Cause of Punctuality Issues

Laura notes that she is "fascinated by exactly why people are late to things." While unexpected emergencies do occur, the more frequent issue is that individuals have not "built all the constituent steps for getting somewhere into the equation." We often rely on our calendars to organize our lives, but these tools frequently fail to provide a "comprehensive amount of time involved in an activity." If a calendar only lists a 7:00 PM meeting without accounting for the journey there, it sets the user up for failure by ignoring the physical reality of moving from one location to another.

Two Practical Methods for Calendar Integration

To combat the tendency to run late, Laura suggests two specific strategies for blocking out travel time:

1. Incorporating Travel into the Primary Event

This method involves adjusting the start and end times of the actual appointment. For example, if you have a book club meeting at 7:00 PM that requires a 15-minute drive and 5 minutes for parking, you should schedule the event to start at 6:40 PM. Similarly, you should extend the end time to include the return trip. Laura emphasizes the importance of adding a note in the description stating "travel time included" so that you—or others with access to your calendar—do not accidentally attempt to leave earlier than necessary.

2. Creating Distinct Calendar Events

Alternatively, you can treat travel as its own entity. By creating separate calendar blocks for "traveling to," "the event itself," and "traveling home," you gain a clearer visual representation of your day. This approach is highly flexible; as Laura points out, if your plans change or you have back-to-back appointments, you can "adjust your calendar events to reflect how long it’ll take to get to and from these new locations." Even for movements within the same building, such as going to a different floor at work, scheduling five minutes for travel is wise because "you cannot be in two places at once."

The Benefits of a Realistic Schedule

Why go through the extra effort of scheduling travel? Laura argues that being the person who is "constantly running behind" is not only frustrating for you but also damages your relationships with friends and colleagues. Furthermore, even if you are typically punctual, manually inputting travel time prevents you from "feeling rushed." As Laura reminds us, "no one likes to be rushed."

Ultimately, the goal is to acknowledge that "travel takes time" and stop "pretending it doesn’t." By putting travel time on the calendar, your schedule is far "more likely to reflect reality," allowing you to make the most of your day without the constant anxiety of a poorly planned itinerary.