Seventy percent of the time Swiss

Boarding an airplane on Monday morning, coffee in hand, yawning, flying to Zürich for a week of alternating between the customer’s office and hotel, then back in the air on Friday evening to reach base—my home in Warsaw for the weekend. That was the offer I was given a while ago, good money, challenging work. I replied “no, thank you”.

Mind you, I am by no means bound to where I’m living currently, even though I love it here. There are many other extraordinary spots around the world where I could see myself moving. It’s just this particular arrangement that wouldn’t suit me—torn Schrödinger-style between two locations, neither really here nor there.

It would’ve uprooted me from all the current affiliations I had here, in Warsaw—the TEDx people, startup communities, Toastmasters and personal relationships. On the other hand, my temporary Zürich tenure (or anywhere else for that matter) wouldn’t have let me get engaged in anything meaningful there, since these relationships take time to develop and produce results.

There would be also practical consequences to consider. Since I would’ve been spending only weekends here in Warsaw, I’d want to maximize my enjoyment of them, so I’d have to pay somebody to clean my apartment, do laundry and arrange for all the other chores to be done, so that I can rest, catch up with family and friends. And I likely would’ve been spending vacation at home, sick of all the traveling.

There are times in life when that sort of work mode could be acceptable, perhaps even exciting. Usually that’s when one is younger, has no spouse, little experience. With time one learns that things of value require time and commitment to build, often related to one’s personal presence somewhere for an extended period of time. We might be living in a digital age, but we’re still very much physical creatures.

I make software. And other things. Mostly in Warsaw, Poland, from wherever there’s an Internet connection, power outlet and fresh coffee. I love to read and learn how the world works. You should follow me at @mpaluchowski.

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