In bed with real options

7:00, the clock goes off. I know that I have an hour to get out of bed, take a comfy bath, shave, eat, read twitter and flip through the items in Google Reader, get dressed, pack my stuff and leave for the shuttle bus which takes me to the office. So what do I do? I slap snooze and nap for the next 10 minutes. I’m enjoying the comfortable warmness of my blanket and the cool air in my room. It’s perfect. I dream. 7:10, the alarm starts beeping again. Slap! For a few moments I think about all the stuff I need to do. Each task lasts for about 10 minutes, except taking a bath. It takes 20. I can reduce it to 10 if I take a shower only. The thoughts are getting blurry at this point and I’m dreaming again. All so peaceful. I’m skiing at my favourite resort in South Tyrol. The sun is shining, the air is fresh, music is playing around the restaurant. I’m feeling fine and not willing to give up this for anything.


7:20, and I’m slapping the button again. If I don’t get out of bed now, I will need to give something up. One of my options will expire. I can still decide what to skip for now, but I have to make the call. Chances are that I’ll continue my dream which is so dear to me, and I could get breakfast at the office. This thought came so naturally while sliding down that shady slope I love so much. You feel like you can see the whole of the Alps from here. From a window formed by 2 pine trees just on the edge of a cliff I can see several semi-busy villages in the valley enjoying the tourist occupation. The curvy and narrow roads leading up to the mountain tops are causing massive headaches to the inexperienced drivers who just cannot cope. It’s so different from our everyday city-lives. Stress just can’t exist in an environment like this.

7:30: oh that alarm is ruthless! I need to get to the end of my slope, I can’t just leave now. Do I have to give something up completely or is it enough just to defer things? Well, the only option that will vanish permanently is my current dream, the rest I can deal with later. I’ll just read the news on the bus, or during breakfast. Come to think about food, there’s a fine little pub just at the bottom of the slope I’m currently on. After taking several deep breaths of the alpine air, I start sliding. I’m navigating between faceless black and white people, but I don’t even care about them. This time it’s just about me, nature and the music in my ears. I think it’s Guano Apes - Lords of the Boards. What a perfect song for such scenario! And the friggin' alarm disturbs me at 7:40, right in the middle of the song. I still need to shower, shave and walk to the bus. Or do I? Since I live close to my workplace, I could just call a cab. Obviously this option costs me more than the free shuttle, but I can finish my favourite slope and can leave the flat 10 minutes later. Is this worth £7?

“And now I'm flying like an angel to the sun
My feet are burning and I grab into another world”

As the lyrics echo in my mind, I know that I’ve made the right decision and literally bought myself time to dream. I’m at the bottom. Feeling fine and fresh, and most of all happy. It’s only 7:45, but I know that I have 5 more minutes in which I can slowly start booting my brain. As the clock goes off at 7:50, I’m ready for action.

Sitting in the cab of course I think about the price I’m paying for the ride. It seems a bit expensive for 3 kilometres which I could’ve walked easily. I need to remind myself that this was the only option I’ve left myself with so that I could finish my dream. And *that* feels like worth it.

More about Real Options here: http://www.infoq.com/articles/real-options-enhance-agility