Leaving Early May Cost You Time

markmcb writes "OmniNerd has an interesting traffic article demonstrating how leaving early for work may cost you time. Brandon Hansen uses a year's worth of data collected on his urban drive to and from work along with statistical analysis to show the effects of varying departure times and considering external factors like nearby school districts' schedules. In the end, a minor shift in his departure time results in saving driving hours equivalent to over a third of the vacation time given annually by his employer."

Comments

Re:What rush hour?

[pvt_medic]

very good idea, I had a boss once who did that. Was in at work at 5AM and was going by 1. Most people admitted thought it was the commute but like you, he found the real value of just not having anyone else around for the first couple of hours. Invaluable for ones sanity.

Re:What rush hour?

[Gojira Shipi-Taro]

I just wish that coming in earlier meant leaving earlier.

That's the entire reason (sleepcycle not withstanding) that I prefer the "later" strategy. A co-worker of mine gets in early (because he gets up early due to his wife's work schedule) He constantly bemoans the fact that he doesn't get recognition for the extra time, and has to stay to normal end-of-work because no managers are there nearly so early.

As the "doctor" says... "well stop doing that then..."

I don't consider it a time savings if my employer is the sole benificiary... I'd rather spend a few hours doing things around the house and go in AFTER rush hour if I got up that early anyhow. That way my saved time is MINE.

Re:Leaving Differently

[Lumpy]

This is not true in most metro areas. Espically in large metro areas the size of Detroit, Chicago,NY or other huge city.

I tried big time to find the windows of opportunity to make it in to and out of detroit without sitting stopped for 30-60 minutes because some idiot creamed himself all over the 696.

I found there are several windows, in the morning, any time from 6:00am until 7:39am you MUST be past Novi and heading into detroit or you will be screwed and late to work by a minimum of 1/2 hour because of the above mentioned idiot. Leaving for home has some very strange windows of opportunity. at 4:00pm to 5:00pm you are as screwed as if you left at 5:00pm. BUT, 5:15-5:30 is a window that will give you a clear drive. after 5:30 it's a parking lot again until 6:15 and then 7:00pm-7:00am finally, construction completely thorws everything off and those guys at the State love to screw with traffic. HOV lanes usually will not work well because big time congestion will spill over into the HOV lanes (Detroit does not believe in HOV lanes, I'm waiting for Hummer and other vehicles that get less than 7mpg and less than 2 passenger lanes in the state)

Anyone with a simple logbook and about 30 days of driving the same route modifying departure times by 10 minutes each day will get the data they need.

When school is out, things change so re-run the data collection... same for construction that takes 1+ years.

It is not hard to get the data. But it is fun to give a smug wave to the ass that blew past you at 90mph about 20-30 minutes ago as you pass him stopped in traffic because you chosae the correct lane to stay in while he keeps switching lane to lane. (speeding get's you nothing in metro highway driving, anyone that pays attention knows this.)

The only real solution is to work for an employer that is not moronic and allows work times to be shifted and also allows Telecommuting. IT blows my mind how many managers are so low IQ that they can comprehend that shifting 1/2 your IT department's schedule by 1 hour will make a huge difference in morale and even gives the department an advantage in serving the rest of the company..

No, Leaving LATE Costs You Time

[Shimmer]

With your family, that is.

The primary goal isn't to minimize the time spent driving (though that would be nice). The goal is to maximize time with your friends, family, hobby, etc. Staying late to avoid rush hour is pointless if you have somewhere you want to get to.