Think your Nashville commute is the worst? Study finds Clarksville has the longest commute in Tennessee
Imagine you're sitting on Interstate 24, bumper-to-bumper, with a bunch of drivers who haven't had enough coffee yet. This is your normal just trying to make it to work.
But this isn't Nashville. It's Clarksville?
Clarksville has the longest commute time of any other city in Tennessee, according to a study by FinanceBuzz.com. The study analyzed census data for the average commute times of more than 600 cities, including Washington D.C., in all 50 states.
So what does Clarksville's average commute clock in at? 25.6 minutes.
Compared to other states, that's not in the top or bottom 10, but pretty close to the middle at 29th.
The shortest, longest commute was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at 16.7 minutes. The longest commute was about 43.2 minutes in Poinciana, Florida, a town south of Orlando, according to FinanceBuzz.
How to make the best of your commute
Life happens. And sure, we can't control the traffic, weather or unexpected personal situations. However, there are steps we can take to make that time spent in our car feel not so mundane.
Easy listening
For LaTiki Reese and Krystal Tyrell, two Clarksville commuters, listening to their favorite artists, radio station or podcasts makes the morning commute bearable. For Reese, it's listening to Prince, but whether it be the High Priest of Pop, The Rolling Stones, or your favorite comedic or true crime podcast - listening to something which you enjoy can make the time spent driving into the office less stressful.
Plan ahead
Rushing to make that pot of coffee, figuring out what to wear, cramming your laptop and other devices into your work bag - it's an all too stressful, familiar scene. A scene which can cause us to run late, therefore adding that extra level of anxiety to the morning commute. Getting organized the night before can help make mornings run much more smoothly, allowing us to simply get in our car and make the drive. Try organizing as much as you can the night before that way there's no frantic rushing in the morning.
Shift your mindset
Yes, sitting in traffic can sometimes be agonizing. But those moments of sitting in a car offer something which shouldn't be overlooked - alone time. Driving into work in the morning can serve as a chance to organize our thoughts (while still paying attention to the road, of course) and practice mindfulness. In the evening, the drive can serve as a chance to decompress after a long or stressful day.
Diana Leyva covers breaking and trending news for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on twitter at @_leyvadiana
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Study: Tennessee's longest commute is in Clarksville, not Nashville
