Slower

I usually take the train to office. Here is a breakdown of the state of my mind during the journey -

• 10 min walk to station, stand on the right platform - active
• Less than 5 min waiting - mostly on auto-pilot
• 5 min train ride, mostly standing - active, looking out for the right stop
• 5 min walk to switch tracks - active
• 5 min train ride, mostly standing - active, looking out for the right stop
• 10 min walk to office - active

Quick predictable rides, fast walk, listening to an audiobook @ 1.5-2x. I actively and consciously drive most of the journey.

Contrast that with a bus ride to work -

• 5 min walk - active, but much less than walk to train.
• 1-15 min wait for bus - active, need to look out for and board the right bus. Can be minimize by planning ahead / looking at bus schedule.
• 15-30 min bus ride, usually sitting - mostly auto-pilot, hard to miss the stop, many more visual cues to work off. Very passive.
• 5 min walk to office - active

High variance. Duration of bus ride varies based on traffic, time of day, bus schedule. When I am on the bus / waiting for it, there is nothing I can do to speed the journey up. It's a passive journey, with few decisions, mostly done on auto-pilot.

Both journeys, if planned right, take roughly the same time.

My parents visited me recently, and my dad was curious as to why I took the train when the bus ride was so much easier!

Well, the bus ride killed my momentum, I felt sleepy at the end of it. The train ride switched my brain on for the day ahead. Built momentum, woke me up, thanks to all those mini-decisions I had to make.

That's what I told him.

But really? The more I think of it, the train ride forces me to flex my decision muscle early on in the day. I reach the office running, continue running because I want to use my momentum, and then I take the train back (still running), reach home tired, and sleep. Repeat.

If I can't sit calmly for 20 mins without losing momentum, perhaps I need to slow down. The more I reflect, the more I feel I was taking solace in the busy-work that taking the train offered. If I spent my prime morning time looking out for MRT stops, isn't that time lost to thinking about bigger problems?

I take the bus now. I walk slowly and deliberately to the bus stop, listen my audio book at 1x speed (I used to do 1.5-2x) on my trip to work. Then I walk - slow and deliberate to office. I arrive fresh, thoughtful and composed. On my way back, I sit and reflect. Let my mind wander.

Sometimes, you need to slow down.