Work Food Ratio
Since I started traveling this year, I've occasionally calculated the ratio between the time I needed to work to the time I enjoyed a certain food.
For example, going to a nice restaurant in Málaga together and enjoying two hours there also meant two hours of work to pay for it. The work-to-food-ratio was pretty exactly 1:1, but it was worth it because it was very enjoyable.
When drinking a cappuccino in Portugal, the price usually equaled around 5 minutes of work, so depending on the duration of enjoying the cappuccino, the ratio was 1:1 – 1:3.
While still traveling alone and eating boiled potatoes and eggs with salt and herbs for breakfast, the cost was amazingly low and the process slow and enjoyable and the ratio easily went to 1:10.
Now in India, the ratio is still something that's interesting to me, but it also doesn't seem exactly fair to only look at the duration of enjoyment.
A tea for example comes at the cost of 20 seconds of work but it's easily enjoyed for 5 minutes, so the ratio goes up to 1:15.
A coconut, if expensive, comes in at one minute of work, but can also be emptied in one minute. Eating the pulp will take a bit longer, so the ratio again reaches 1:3 – 1:5.
But does that mean I should always go for tea instead of coconut in the morning, just because it's cheaper and because I can't drink it as fast as a coconut?
Certainly not because the coconut water also has a positive effect long after drinking that's worth considering.
The specialty coffe on the other hand, which costs around three minutes of work and can be enjoyed over 10-15 minutes reaches a similar ratio as the coconut despite its higher price, but may have a more negative effect on the time after drinking.
All in all, it makes me happy to see this ratio going down. 1:5 is good. 1 hour of work for five hours of continously drinking coffee is very acceptable, besides the fact that I wouldn't do that.
For activities like driving my car, the ratio is comparatively bad. Only fuel cost considered, it's 1:2 – two hours of driving for one hour of work. All costs considered it becomes much worse: 2:1 – 3:1...
It only makes sense as a means of transport and as a pleasurable activity combined.
Flying to India, on the other hand, was not more expensive. Considering only flight time, each hour of flying at almost the speed of sound cost only two hours of work. And considering all my waking hours in India (60 days x 16 hours), each hour spent in India cost me only 2 minutes of work. That's a 1:30 ratio.
Taking a bus between Mysore and Madikeri is a crazy good deal. If I count the experience of riding the bus for three hours, the ratio is already something like 1:60, but if I count being in Madikeri for a week, it's 1:800. It's a no-brainer. As long as I enjoy the ride, I can go as often as I want.
Essential oils are a bit similar. I might pay with 15-45 minutes of work for a 10 ml bottle, but the scent can accompany me for many hours throughout the next few years.