Originally Posted by Artkansas

Yes, I was surprised that with a multi-modal commute that it might take an hour longer to go home than to get to work.
Going to work, I ride one bus to downtown Little Rock, a half hour ride and then ride the rest of the way by bike, a 45 minute ride. Going home, there would be the 45 minute ride back to Little Rock, but going home would require two bus rides with a 34 minute wait between them getting me home at 7:14. Not quite 2 1/2 hours, but close. And, it would pay me to work late. Up to 45 minutes later and I would still arrive home at the same time. Going home, I could also do a shorter ride of 3.3 miles and catch a third bus and still arrive home at 7:14.

All my life, I had a commute that was over an hour long. Most people who work and New York City and don't live there are in the same boat.
Riding my bike all the way home should get me there at about 6:55. Strangely, Google Maps suggest that if I add a mile to my ride, using their route instead of the one I optimized myself, that I'll save 5 minutes in my commute.

As far as downtime, reading a newspaper, making calls are what I consider filler time. Thats busy-ness. It's not done because it will get me closer to my goals, it's just actions done because the body abhors quietude. Maybe I could meditate. But my real gripe is that so much time is going into transportation that it hurts the quality of life.

I was back on Google Maps this morning, this time identifying apartments closer to the jobsite. That's looking like it might be the way to go should I get the job. I found one complex close to shopping, with a bus line and a 3.3 mile ride to the jobsite. So that would be a 20 minute ride each way. 40 minutes travel total instead of nearly 4 hours or a net gain of 3 hours a day. That would be expensive. Moving costs, plus the fact that I'd end up giving almost 2 months of rent away to close out my current contract. It's probably still cheaper than pouring money into a car.