How to get around Bangkok without losing half the day to traffic?

The rail lines are straightforward until your destination is not near one, and that is where people split into camps: river boats, motorbike taxis, or sitting in a car and accepting it. Each of those works brilliantly right up to the point where it does not. The airport-to-city leg is the one we have documented properly: https://meetlocale.com/guides/bangkok-airport-to-city Which combination ended up working for you, and where exactly did it fall apart?