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Health & Fitness

No Need to Text: Making the Most of Your Time Sitting In Traffic

Traffic on the Westside is a sad reality. However, we don't have to waste our time while we are in it. Here are a few ideas to consider next time you are stuck in a bumper-to-bumper nightmare.

The other day, I was driving on Sunset Boulevard, making my way to San Vicente, to get a delicious, steaming hot Americano at my favorite coffee shop, , when I happened to have the good fortune (NOT!) of following a driver who made a full and complete STOP at a GREEN light at the intersection of Sunset and Kenter Avenue!

I pulled behind him, waited a few moments, and had to honk my horn to get him to GO. After a minute or so, I could see him dangerously weaving in and out of lanes just ahead of me, back and forth over the lines. I could see him TEXTING the entire time!

With the Sunset Boulevard Bridge causing uncomfortable delays in the normal commute from the Westside to the East, we have all found ourselves in need of distraction while waiting for the car ahead of us to go.

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This extra time has got me thinking: what else can we do in the car to keep ourselves sane and safe, keeping our eyes on the road, while driving our Westside streets, often in more traffic than we planned for?

Texting is not an option! Here are some ideas to consider:

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LISTEN TO MUSIC. Not just any music. YOUR music. The music of your youth. The kind that brings back fond memories. It will make you smile. You may even sing.

LEARN A LANGUAGE. There are numerous language programs you can purchase, like ROSETTA STONE, to play in your car, via CD or your ipod. What a fantastic use of your Stop-n-Go time. After you learn that conversational Italian, you can spend other traffic delays planning your next vacation abroad. rosettastone.com

LISTEN TO OUR LOCAL NEWS. I have listened to KNX News AM 1070 since I was young. If you are in a lot of traffic, you may hear the cycle of news stories more than once, but think of how informed you will be during your dinner conversations that evening! losangeles.cbslocal.com

INVEST IN A SATELLITE RADIO SUBSCRIPTION. It is a bit of a luxury to pay for extra radio stations in your car when you get so many for free, but, if you do, you will be amazed by the selection of great (safe) distractions, like MARTHA (on their EVERYDAY FOOD hour, I usually get my recipe for that evening’s dinner), CNN HEADLINE NEWS, CLASSIC VINYL and DEEP TRACKS (often playing “MY” music), numerous sports stations, gavel-to-gavel coverage of the latest criminal trial on HLN and even ELVIS RADIO. siriusxm.com

Traffic on the Westside is a sad reality, especially with the never-ending construction around the 405 Freeway, but we don’t have to waste our time feeling bad about it! Use your time to SING!

Do you have other ideas of how to safely use your “in traffic” time? I’d love to hear about them!

Tracy is a regular contributor to the Brentwood real estate and community blog, Brentwood Lifestyle Real Estate Voice.

Post originally featured on brentwoodlifestyle.losangelesrealestatevoice.com

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