Where you live and your commute time can have more of an impact on your time management challenges than just the obvious number of minutes involved. First take a look at the ever-lengthening time involved in commuting. The Transportation Research Board states that the average round-trip commute is 51 minutes, and almost 10 million American are now driving more than an hour to work, up 50% over the last ten years. 3.5 million of those are traveling more than 90 minutes each way.What that means, besides needing more income to pay for gas and for the suburban house, is that higher incidences of stress and high-blood pressure are resulting, along with heart attacks, strokes, and ulcers. Also, Georgia Tech researchers recently discovered a direct link between commuting time and obesity (for every 30 minutes of commuting, your risk of obesity rises 3 percent). Combine these two things and now you have higher incidents of health-related issues and absenteeism which affects production for employers and work load for employees. As you struggle with work/life balances, whether as an employee or employer, do not forget to include these other factors regarding health issues into that balance. Sometimes time management calculations need to be looked at from several angles.