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by Ashley

Happy Monday! I hope you’re all starting out your week on a high note. It’s still hot as blazes in Arizona, but I can just sense that Fall is coming and I, for one, can NOT wait!!!

Anyway, you may recall that my kiddos recently started a new preschool (they go to the JCC). This was a tough decision for us as a family, as the cost is substantial and the facility is not near our home (it’s about a 30-40 minute drive each way, depending on traffic).

For the first few weeks they were attending preschool I would simply drop them off and then return back to the other side of town where we live, due to a myriad of reasons (once was because I had a dental appointment, once was for a vision appointment, once was to conduct a work-related Skype call, etc.). But within the past couple of weeks things have settled down a bit and I’ve settled into a new routine of sorts.

The girls go to preschool from 9am-4pm on MWF, so on those days I will dress in work out clothes, drop them at their classroom, and go immediately to the locker room to lock up my stuff (I bring a change of clothes, my purse, and a laptop bag to carry my laptop and work stuff). Sometimes I work out at the JCC gym on facility and sometimes I go right across the street to a beautiful “river path” (said in quotations because it’s a dry bed for 99% of the year…no real “river” to speak of), where I love to run. I’ll get a good workout in, then go clean myself up and change in the JCC locker room (which is somewhat awkward if I had run on the river path….walking into the JCC all gross and sweaty just to use their facility to shower/change. Kind of weird). At that point, I get to work!

I’ve been mixing up my work location. Most of the time I’ll start at the JCC (they have a library and lots of different seating areas with wifi access). Around lunch time I’ve been leaving. I’ll eat my lunch in the car, generally a peanut butter sandwich, a banana, and some pretzels or carrot sticks, or something similar. I’ll drive over to the local library and continue working there. Their wifi is spotty, but a lot of the work I do doesn’t actually require wifi as long as I’ve downloaded the things I need in advance (my projects eventually have to be transmitted through email, but they can be completed on my computer in the absence of internet connection and then emailed at a later time). A couple of times I have gone to a coffee shop, but then I have to buy a drink (generally in the $3-$4 range for coffee-shop prices), and although it’s a more comfortable work environment than the library (the library closest to the JCC is tiny and only has 1 table to work at), I hate to spend that money, which I feel like completely off-sets any gasoline savings I’ve earned by staying in the area all day rather than going home to work.

So that’s basically where we’re at. Of the 3 days the girls are in preschool, my goal is to stay in the area at least once or twice a week. There’s always one day when I need/want to come back home so I can tend to things around the house (like doing laundry or housework in-between work), but I think this is a comfortable arrangement for me.

Savings from Staying at the JCC

I found this fun website that calculates gas costs.

I put in our address, the JCC address, our vehicle information, etc. and was told that a round-trip cost comes to $5.58 in gasoline.

Then there’s also the time costs involved. If I were to make the full round trip in an hour (30 minutes each way), but I have to make it twice (drop off and pick up), we’re talking about 2 hours of the day being eaten up. However, I’d be committed to one drop-off and one pick-up regardless, so we’re really only talking about a 1-hour savings of time. But 1 hour is still substantial.

So the real savings comes to: $5.58 + 1 hour of time (valued at my hourly rate, which has never been disclosed).

Of course any of these savings are immediately discounted if I buy coffee-shop drinks, or if I were to eat out for lunch (so far I’ve always brought my lunch from home). It’s a tricky balance, but I think the decision to stay at the JCC 1-2 days per week and come home 1-2 days per week is a good balance of my needs.

How long is your commute to work? What’s the norm in your area?

It’s all relative, right? When we lived in Florida a 30 minute commute each way was standard. In L.A. 30 minutes is probably below-average. And here in Tucson 30 minutes is above-average.

What other public places could I work from?

Like I said, the public library really isn’t the most comfortable work environment – 1 table and no nearby outlets for my computer. Maybe I could/should just stay at the JCC all day, but it feels a little strange to just post up for the entire day (eating lunch and all). Of course, I could move around – maybe start in the library and then move to the art gallery. Or sit outside in the sculpture garden for a bit and then inside to the common area. The point is that there are options at the JCC. Any other (FREE) places to work that you would suggest?