The One-Drive Rule: How a Small Shift Changed the Way I See My Week

The One-Drive Rule: How a Small Shift Changed the Way I See My Week

The Moment of Change

Sitting behind the wheel of my car, staring into the glaring red brake lights of the car in front of me on the H-1 highway. The idyllic, world-famous Waikiki just several miles away to my left, beautiful green mountain ranges (think Jurassic Park) in the distance to my right. All pretty much forgotten as I’ve been sitting in traffic for the past hour, with another 30 minutes to go to my destination (a trip that without traffic probably takes about 45 minutes). I find myself remembering how nice it was living in Japan, where my commutes were longer, but because they were spent on trains and buses, that time was sacred time for peaceful reading, watching a show on Netflix I’ve been meaning to watch, or just resting my eyes and mind as I zone out.

Now replaced with the stress and anxiety of sitting in my car doing nothing productive. A loss of several precious hours of my 24-hour day…Wishing we had public transportation that was even half as good as what I experienced in Japan and Korea.

It was in that moment that I decided something needed to change. It may be impossible to completely eliminate cars from my life (maybe.), but all I knew was that I need to eliminate as much of this out of my life as possible.

I continued to ponder what the best way to do that would be – challenge myself to live without a car for several days? Only bike to work from now on? No more shopping unless it’s somewhere I absolutely have to go, and on the way? 

There were dozens of reasons and justifications I would think of for why it wouldn’t work. Every framing I could think of didn’t feel realistic or achievable. But then I finally came up with a framing that I could do:

Eliminate One Drive Per Week

Eliminating one planned drive per week was perfect for me. It allowed me some flexibility, but it also gave me some accountability to act: choose one place I need to go this week, but instead of driving as I planned, take a bus/bike, or figure out how to eliminate the trip altogether.

I’ve been doing this ever since, and it’s been amazing!

Why Eliminating One Drive A Week Worked for Me

The first week, I didn’t even swap the trip for a bike ride or a bus. I just… cancelled it. Looked at the errand I’d planned and asked myself honestly: does this actually need to happen this week? It didn’t. And that was the first surprise — how rarely I’d ever asked that question before.

That’s when the real shift started. Once I was actively looking for one trip to cut, I started seeing my week differently. I’d open my calendar and instead of just accepting what was there, I’d scan it with fresh eyes. Do I actually need to go to that store, or can I order it or can I just not buy it? Does that errand require me, or can someone else handle it who is already in the area? Is there a version of this that doesn’t involve me sitting on the H-1 for an hour?

The answers were more often “no,” “online,” and “yes” than I expected.

It also gave me permission to get creative in other directions. I started being more assertive about grouping work meetings on the same day, or suggesting Zoom instead of showing up in person. I set out my bike and moved my bus pass to the front of my wallet — just having them ready made it easier to actually use them. And occasionally I’d find myself pleasantly surprised: a route I assumed was impossible by bike and bus turned out to be doable, and although the trip itself took longer, the bus time turned into work time and the bike time turned into exercise! From that point of view, no time lost! All productive time, as opposed to sitting in traffic angry.

What I thought would be a small, manageable habit turned into a new way of looking at how I spend my time and energy. Not in a radical, throw-out-everything way — just a quieter, more deliberate one. One trip at a time.

And honestly? That’s what makes me think it might work for you too.

Think it would work for you too?

It’s my goal to eventually live completely car-free, and I feel like I’ve started to really take steps down that path. I don’t know if this framing works for everybody — but I figured it can’t hurt to put it out there.

So here’s my challenge to you: give some thought to your own week. Is there one trip on your calendar you haven’t really questioned? One errand that might dissolve if you just looked at it differently? One meeting that could move, merge, or go remote?

You might find yourself accidentally stumbling upon a healthier, less stressful, happier life…You never know what doors it might open for you. Just… not a car one. Keep those ones closed.