Public Transit.

If you live in a major metropolitan area (or especially if you are visiting one) you are likely to be taking public transit. To some this is one of the most unpleasant things one has to do in their day. Me, I don't mind, I just get a little annoyed with people. Here are a couple of ways to make your public transit experience better:

1. If you are not walking on an escalator, stand to the right. Likely there are people who ride the trains everyday who are trying to get to work, not the museum. This is especially true in a city like Washington, DC where every escalator on the Metro is two wide to allow standers and walkers. If you notice everyone else on the escalator is standing on the right, there is probably a reason.

2. If you are getting on to a bus or a train, let other people get off first. You are not going to miss your train, you are either going to get a seat or you aren't going to get a seat. In the grand design, taking an extra five seconds to get on the train is not going to matter. What you are going to do is slow down everyone, invade people's personal space even more than already happens on the train, and just make things more unpleasant for all.

3. If someone older or less firm than you needs a seat; give yours up.

4. Ride public transit. We are going to need it more and more as the price of oil rises. The more people who ride it, the more wide spread it will become, and the easier to use it will become.

Respond to Emails

If someone sends you an email to you that asks for a response or input. Give it to them. It is just common courtesy. It takes 5 seconds to respond, "Yes" or "No." It takes 10 seconds to respond "Friday at 5 would be good." Ignoring people's emails just aggravates them. If you really are trying to ignore them and don't want to hear from them, tell them. It will save you both down the road.

Do not make assumptions

Assumptions re-enforce stereotypes, lead to missed opportunities, and grave mistakes. They are hard to avoid making, but sometimes it is best to confront an issue head on and learn the truth before you take action on your assumptions.

It is also good to dispel people of their assumptions when you suspect or know they are wrong. It can be hard in the short-term but is generally best in the long wrong. When you do not have assumptions getting in the way, friendships and business partnerships can grow.

The Passing Lane is for Passing

If you are driving down the highway in the left hand lane (known as the passing lane) and not passing anyone, move over. Let the people who want to go faster than you pass you without passing you on the right where people least expect it and have a blind spot.

Along the same lines; if you are traveling in the middle lane and have cars passing you at high speeds on both sides, you are going to slow and creating a hazard. Move over to the right lane or speed up. You will save people a lot of frustration and possibly even prevent an accident.

Grocery Store Lines

So I was in the grocery store today buying maybe 7 or so things so I got into the single Express Lane. Immediately behind me a gentleman got in my lane with a full cart. This annoyed me even though I did not have to wait for him, but I felt bad for the person holding two things in line behind the gentleman with the full cart.

If you have a full cart, do not get in the Express Lane at a grocery store. All you are going to do is piss off the people who want to use the Express Lane and possibly get yelled at by more confrontational people than myself. The Express Lane exists for a reason. Be considerate to the other shoppers.

Hold Doors

Have you ever walked up to a mall entrance (or even worse a slow to come elevator) and have someone walk in just in front of you who lets the door close behind them just before you get to the door (or worse, let it close on your with a hand full of bags)? It is a little frustrating to deal with the door closing on you and even more frustrating to miss the elevator and have to wait 15 minutes for it to come (if you have never had to wait 15 minutes for an elevator I can give you some buildings to visit).

If you are walking through a door, just take a quick look behind you to see if anyone is behind you. You do not have to hold the door for them and let them go through first, just take a few extra seconds and hold the door until they get to it. If someone holds the door for you, do not forget to say "Thank you."

Return Shopping Carts

It is very easy to do; most grocery stores have shopping cart return stations scattered through out parking lots. There is nothing worse than seeing a great parking spot only to start to pull in and find it already occupied by 4 shopping carts. Just taking to the extra minute to return the cart would do a lot to reduce people's stress levels in an already stressful world.