I’m sort of obsessed with efficiency. I like to take the stairs because I think elevators usually take too long, not to mention they’re stuffy and you have to be around people and their germs and yuck.
I also usually park further out because, in my experience, you don’t have to deal with those pesky people as much if you’re parked far away from them all. I once made the mistake of parking close to the grocery store and then almost got hit by a guy backing out who was not paying a damn bit of attention to the other car (me) also backing out (first, I should add.)
Anyway, this really isn’t about parking or elevators or how I’m easily annoyed by the general American public. It’s about how I am currently in the throes of a very scientific study to determine which entrance is the most time-efficient for me to use at work.
You see, I have an option for two entrances and for the past two years, have primarily been using one, but now I’m curious to see if all this time, the other entrance is actually more efficient. Have I been wasting precious seconds out of my day? I don’t know. Let’s discuss.
Door #1: The door I use
To get there: It’s a straight walk from the crosswalk, then one right turn, and two flights of stairs.
Once inside: There’s only one metal detector, but this (usually) isn’t a problem, as it’s a less-used entrance.
Final journey: The stairs are close to the metal detector and are closer to my office.
Door #2: The door I don’t use. (Yet?)
To get there: It requires one extra crosswalk, but it’s usually green or I can jaywalk. From the second crosswalk, it’s a direct, slightly curvy, uphill route to the entrance (but no turns) and there are no stairs.
Once inside: There are two metal detectors to choose from, as this is the main entrance to the building.
Final journey: The stairs are also close to the metal detectors, but drop me off further from my office.
I walked to Door #2 this morning and it took me 04:47.3 minutes. Tomorrow I’ll use Door #1 and time it and see which is more efficient, once and for all!
Then, in the name of science, I’ll time myself exiting the building to see which route is more efficient. After all, leaving work is the most important thing, right?
I love this. But I am a direct marketing type person, so I really appreciate the value of split testing.
Anyway! What I really want to tell you is that, when we lived in our apartment, we were equidistant from two main roads that both led to the hospital. My husband used the southern road because it has only one stoplight – otherwise, just several four-way stop signs. But then one day, after TWO YEARS of using the southern road, he used the northern road, which has tons of stop lights and lots more traffic. And it was SIGNIFICANTLY faster.
Crazy! He’d wasted so much time in those two years! I wonder if you will find the same thing, that the seemingly worse option is actually BETTER!
Please do update with results. 🙂
This just makes my nerdy heart so happy. I also have a Thing about efficiency…mine is specific to running errands/appointments and how best to organize them so I don’t backtrack. I HATE backtracking.