Analytical Diaries

I have switched my 10+ year daily one hour commuting routine by car for the life of a mobile nomad. Moving from a Mini Clubman to the Swiss public trains might not seem such a big change, however I do have to add an 8km bike ride to my commute twice a day. And while my blogger’s finger itched on the first day already I decided to wait for one week into my mobile nomad’s journey, before sharing my truly subjective experience:

The food, the bad and the ugly – there’s something to share for each of these aspects:

• The good – is really all about having more time. This may sound curious as I really spend 20-30 additional minutes per way but really the time is of an entirely different quality. Starting with the 25 minute bike ride – it’s really more of a wake-up call long after you thought you’d be awake already. It hasn’t really poured so far but only dripped a little bit but whether you’re wet or only damp likely won’t make that big a difference. Secondly I get to read and write a lot more – while you can listen to audio books and make telephone calls when you commute by car, the train time is definitely a lot more productive. The frequency of our blog entries will certainly benefit from this aspect. And the continuos 3G data plan access on the entire train ride is yet another positive surprise. I now arrive at the office having completed my first few client contacts and initiated 3-4 tasks throughout our organization.
• The bad – I really like my pocket rocket of foldable 10 gear 20″ Dahon bike, but I really do feel quite vulnerable amidst early morning city traffic. I guess it’s something to get over. Similarly I’ve never been able to exit a fully packed commuter train without hitting some poor lad with some bike extremity or rip a lady’s pantyhose after the fifth “excuse me”… As to the nomad’s toolset obviously running WebEx presentations in a public train is an exercise for your audience and your co-commuters more than one for myself. And when conducting a video-chat on board you can’t prevent some curious eyes and ears. Guess your average Private Banker will not adopt this practice anytime soon.
• The ugly – well it’s to some extent about adding some exercise to my daily routine. But as I tend to sweat quite easily – even though without the usual smelly side effects – my new routine is somewhat adverse to true business attire (speaking the 1% dress-code). Whether I’ll switch to the “change at work” community or simply start dry cleaning my suits more regularly I’ll still have to decide.

Another positive surprise was the financial aspect. While I had planned for a point-to-point monthly train pass I now am the proud owner of a Swiss GA (general pass providing usage of all of Switzerlands trains – and even some other forms of public transport). As the point-to-point pass would have set me back over 400 CHF each month, the monthly cost of the GA is only 305 CHF and can still be canceled after the first 4 months. Which by coincidence sets the duration for my first trial of being a mobile nomad.

Evaluating my first week I certainly weigh the positive side effects more important than the downsides. I do feel like my day offers more useful time and certainly the timeliness of the Swiss public transport plays an important part in this. So far I wouldn’t think of switching back to the car – let’s what I write once snow and ice claim my route…