Commute
Will I Make It on Time? How to Plan Your Commute Around Your First Meeting
Decide when to leave by working backward from your first commitment: meeting time, minus the time you need on arrival, minus today's travel time, minus a buffer. Check traffic and weather for your route 10 to 15 minutes before you plan to leave, when there is still time to react.
Most people leave "around the usual time" and check traffic in the car. That works until the morning it does not: an accident, rain, a meeting that moved to 8:30. Here is a way to stop guessing.
Work backward from the meeting, not forward from habit
Your usual leaving time is built for an average day. Your first meeting is not average: it has a time, a place and a cost if you are late. Plan from it.
The leave-by formula
Leave by = first meeting − time you need on arrival (parking, coffee, setup) − today's travel time − buffer
Example: a 9:00 meeting, 10 minutes to park and get upstairs, 35 minutes of travel today (usually 25), and a 10-minute buffer means you leave at 8:05, not your usual 8:20.
- Buffer: 10 minutes for a normal day, 15 to 20 for rain, the first day after a holiday, or a meeting you cannot be late for.
- Travel time: today's, not the average. That is the number that changes.
What to check, and when
| When | Check | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Evening before | Tomorrow's first meeting and where it is | Moved meetings are the most common surprise |
| On waking | Weather for your route and destination | Rain adds travel time and changes what you take |
| 10–15 min before leaving | Traffic on your route | Late enough to be accurate, early enough to react |
Meetings somewhere else
The trickiest days are when your meetings move you around: office in the morning, client across town at 2. Check the weather and traffic for the meeting location at the time you will travel, not for where you are now. This is where most "I didn't know it would rain" moments come from.
Let the answer come to you
Doing this math every morning is tedious, which is why most people do not. In Brifco you set your commute once: destination, the days you go and the time you usually leave. Your show then tells you whether a closure or a jam is on your way, adds the weather and traffic for meetings with a location, and puts it in plain words, like "There's a jam on the way to your 2 pm, leave ten minutes early." You hear it while you get ready.
Brifco reads your day to you in a few minutes: calendar, weather, commute and your news. Now on the App Store.
Download on the App StorePacked day ahead? See how to plan a day of back-to-back meetings.
Frequently asked questions
When should I leave for work?
Work backward from your first meeting: subtract the time you need on arrival, today's travel time and a 10-minute buffer (15 to 20 in bad weather).
When should I check traffic before leaving?
About 10 to 15 minutes before you plan to leave. Earlier is less accurate, later leaves no time to react.
How much buffer should I add to my commute?
Around 10 minutes on a normal day, and 15 to 20 minutes for rain, holidays or meetings you cannot be late for.
Hear your day instead of reading it
Brifco turns your calendar, weather, commute and the news you choose into a short spoken show, ready at the time you set. It’s on the App Store now, with a 3-day free trial.
Download on the App StoreKeep reading
Written by Feliks Gorišek, co-founder of Brifco. Before Brifco he spent years running IT projects in banking and payments.