I commute from NYC to Washington, DC, every week. It's not so bad — and even my long Amtrak rides have surprising perks.

It's 5:52 a.m. successful Moynihan Train Hall. I'm balancing a instrumentality of consequence and my h2o vessel successful 1 manus while tightening the straps of a backpack that's weighed down by 2 laptops pinch the other.

It's the commencement of my twice-weekly commute betwixt New York City and Washington, DC.

I'm 5 months into this supercommute, and I tin practically traverse the Northeast Corridor successful my sleep. More importantly, I've learned really to move 8 hours connected Amtrak trains into 1 of the astir productive parts of my workweek.

This statement lets maine refine my profession successful DC without leaving NYC

At 26, I'm still early successful my profession and figuring retired which area of my manufacture feels astir for illustration home.

I moved to New York 4 years agone to broadly prosecute publishing and was moving successful manner publicity erstwhile a invited opportunity to pivot into world publishing came along.

As personification whose soft subject grade has been collecting particulate successful my puerility chamber closet, I was excited by the chance to do thing new, thing that would fulfill the research-loving portion of my brain.

The only catch, arsenic you mightiness person guessed, was that this profession pivot seemed to impact a move to Washington, DC. The full-time, hybrid domiciled required maine to beryllium successful the agency connected Mondays and Wednesdays.

If the only point opinionated betwixt maine and what I hoped would beryllium a career-refining opportunity was a twice-weekly agency requirement, and the truth that I wasn't fresh to time off the life I'd built successful New York, who's to opportunity I couldn't, successful the tone of early-2000s icon Hannah Montana, get the champion of some worlds?

Before accepting the role, I weighed everything from summons costs to the consequence of commuting burnout.

I knew I'd person to beryllium vigilant astir monitoring Amtrak flash income and readying my trips good successful advance, but by booking tickets 5 to six weeks ahead, I could support my train costs to astir $100 information trip.

Just arsenic importantly, having family successful Northern Virginia meant I could enactment successful the DC area betwixt workdays alternatively than making 4 longer train trips each week.

Spending up to $400 a period connected transit to activity mightiness look excessive to some, but erstwhile I considered everything this caller occupation would let maine to person while still maintaining my life successful New York, it felt for illustration a worthwhile surviving disbursal to commencement budgeting for.

I've made my train rides a productive portion of my workday

My commuting style is apt nightmare-fuel for type-A travelers, but aft making this travel truthful galore times, I tin confidently get from my flat successful Washington Heights to the Penn Station concourse successful nether 30 minutes.

This morning, that meant stepping retired the doorway for the subway astir 5:25 a.m. to drawback the 6:10 a.m. Acela to DC. The other 30 minutes of slumber the high-speed train affords is simply a uncommon treat, since astir Mondays I return the 5:40 a.m. Northeast Regional instead.

Once I'm settled into my spot (always a model seat, and coming a reserved array bay), I propulsion retired my laptop, not my 9-to-5 activity computer, but the 1 I usage for my freelance work.

As is communal for galore creatives, I've balanced remote freelance assignments alongside on-site, full-time roles for astir of my career.

When I started my caller occupation successful DC, I worried that a supercommute would make it intolerable to support my freelance activity alongside a full-time role. Instead, the other proved true: My commute created the dedicated clip I needed to make some work.

One advantage of being connected a train for up to 8 hours a week (about 3 to 4 hours each way) is that there's obscurity other to beryllium and not overmuch other to do. My commute has go a built-in artifact of uninterrupted, billable time.

For the adjacent fewer hours, acknowledgment to my phone's individual WiFi basking spot, I'll beryllium capable to activity done my inbox, edit a fewer projects, and nonstop invoices.

It's activity I would different person to cram successful aft an eight-hour workday, but instead, I get to tackle it while comparatively bright-eyed and bushy-tailed betwixt 6 and 9 a.m.

As Washington, DC, comes into position astir 9:04 a.m., I check Metro times to spot if the Red Line will get maine to the agency by 9:30 a.m. aliases if I'll request to telephone a rideshare.

For the adjacent 72 hours, I'm fundamentally a DMV resident, and connected Wednesday evening, I'll reverse my commute backmost to New York.

In immoderate ways, I get the champion of some worlds

I've travel to recognize everyone has their ain type of an unconventional work-life balance.

In fact, connected my very first time astatine this caller job, I rode the elevator pinch a coworker who commutes betwixt DC and New Jersey connected a schedule amazingly akin to mine.

For me, the long train rides are a mini value to salary for a domiciled that lets maine thin into the parts of publishing I've ever wanted to explore. Plus, I've recovered ways to maximize my routine, some successful transit and erstwhile I'm settled successful each location for portion of the week.

While I'm successful the DC area, I get weeknight dinners and mean evenings pinch my parents, who I'd different only spot a fewer times a year. I besides make clip for self-care activities for illustration yoga classes and agelong evening walks successful suburbia pinch our family dog.

And by Thursday morning, I'm backmost successful New York. I tin co-work pinch friends who besides activity remotely, opportunity yes to last-minute plans and day dinners, and still consciousness for illustration I'm surviving successful the metropolis I worked truthful difficult to build a life in.