When I walk to work I walk in the most efficient way possible. Here is why:
1) I derive no value from the transit between my home and my office save the time at which the train is moving me
2) Moving in the most efficient manner may afford me less transit time, which as described above in undesirable.
These are the following steps I take to ensure that I am traveling to my work and home in the most efficient way possible.
1) I move in straight lines from corner to corner, trying to cut the angles off the best I can.
2) I take multiple routes home in an attempt to find which is quickest. Although in the short term this does not afford me the most efficient time, in the long term it does in possible cases of snow/accidents/detours etc because I am able to adjust, meanwhile ensuring the shortest route everyday.
3) I enter the door of the subway, where it is closest to the stairs where LET OFF when I exit. This is a complicated process because it involves memorizing the locations of all the staircases on the line. The reason I do this is
a) When waiting for the train, this is dead time (a time in which your time is wasted without motion or purpose) and so in order to minimize dead time you can position yourself in the train car where it lets off to the stairs you will use upon exiting the subway
b) This is unless the train has just arrived and you may miss it in an attempt to get to your desired position. Then it is just best to board the train and train the 15-45 seconds of positioning for the five minutes of waiting caused by missing the train.
4) The train doors open in about the same place everyday. I like to find the center of that spot usually marked on the ground by the obvious pattern of being walked over consistently. Wear and tear. Then I will stand with my feet spread about shoulder length apart. This is to maximize my personal space without actually looking ridiculous. People will not intrude your space with your feet apart, and this will allow yourself the best look for seat closet to the exit.
5) When I take the escalator, I try to move two steps at time, though on some days I will do three. If somehow another train, or there are people ahead of me, I will take the real stairs, because they a quicker on average, due to people who have conversations on the stairs.
6) Crosswalks are stupid. I cross efficiently when cars are not there. I am convinced jaywalking exists to protect drivers from hitting pedestrians and getting sued.
7) My building has 4 elevators. They have tricks to make them move faster.
a) The elevators on the North wall will move after you push the stop button in and release it out.
b) The elevator on the southwest wall goes when five people in it. You can trick it by running your and through it four times (since you were the fifth when you entered)
c) The Southeast elevator�s trick still eludes me. I avoid it at all cost, since it is the spawn of Satan. Often I will reach in and send it to the basement so that no one else has to deal with it.
I understand that my desire for movement efficiency is not normal. Most people in their daily lives do not both to think about this sort of thing. I think that for me it came from when I was a distance swimmer.
I was taught about how movements in my hands is certain motions would improve my time and improve the speed I moved in the water, creating more �aero/water-dynamic� movement. I would get resistance when I was looking for push and none when I wanted speed. My arm would extend, with a vertical twist in the wrist with slightly open fingers, which would move into a specific cupping motion that would move close along my body down into the denser part of the water and then shoot off my hip. I would swim close to the water jets on my way down, and further to the right on my way up. My time dropped nearly 50 seconds when I applied the techniques, and since then, I have always valued efficiency of motion.
But while I value it, I understand that there is a place for it, and life is not about efficiency. It�s just those moments in which you are moving through time with a destination; why not minimize your travel time? Does anyone really value the extra 4 to 5 minutes on the train?
Even if they read, wouldn�t you rather be home and have that option, or the option to do something else?
I would like people to weigh in on this.
