What if having less range were better?

It seems nowadays, everyone wants more range with their electric cars. It makes sense because there are notions of “range anxiety“.

On one hand, if you want to do a very very long road trip, certainly the more range you have, the better. However, realistically speaking, and thinking about our every day lived lives, how much range do we really even need?

I think the closest analogy we have two range for electric cars smart phone batteries. Do you remember in the early days of smart phones, your battery would barely last you a few hours? Everyone dreamed of having a smart phone that could literally last all day. Now, with modern day smart phones, it seems the norm for a smart phone battery to last through the whole day, sometimes even a day and a half. Yet, it seems nobody is really grateful of it, and we have quickly accustomed to this new normal.

And truth be told, it doesn’t seem that anyone is using their all day smartphone battery life in productive and virtuous ways. It just seems that people now just consume more Netflix, without having to bring along their charger.

Hidden upsides of having less range

In my personal quest to try to walk at least 30,000 steps a day, I have discovered a lot of interesting things within a few mile radius of Cindy‘s moms house. I have discovered all of these new shopping plazas, stores, and places that I want that were very very far, but now I have discovered that walking there is actually pretty easy.

It seems that nobody is happy where they are, and nobody really likes their own city or neighborhood. Irrespective of how interesting the place we live in, there is always a yearning to be somewhere else. But what if you could not drive anywhere? And that the only places you could get to or within walking distance of your own home? If that were the case, how could you live in an interesting, fun, and virtuous life?

Less range means more creative ways to imagine or use the things that you already have close by you.

For example, within walking distance, there are actually no really good coffee shops. Yet I have discovered that perhaps that’s not that big of a deal. I could actually make really good coffee at home already, and for me, the romanticism of having a nice coffee shop is more about the vibe of being around other people. But, what if I don’t need the vibes? Also what if I don’t need other people? What if I could just think my own thoughts, by myself, solo?

Creative constraints

Assuming that you had limited range, how could you best use the resources and spaces and more things closeby you?

Also, in the context of photography, how can you make the best possible photos within a 5 mile radius of your home?

Or, if you have a car, how can you best use your location or spaces, the best of what you got maybe within a 30 minute drive of yourself? What if you don’t really need to go that far in order to do fun and interesting things? For example, me and Cindy’s favorite hike it’s just a 30 minute drive away.

Cycle between your limited options

No matter how boring your own city or neighborhood, there are always more than one option. So I think in order to keep things interesting, just cycle between the options. As long as you have more than one option, you’re good.

The less range you have, the fewer distractions, and the more Productivity and Efficiency?

Let me give you example: if you need to drive over an hour to go somewhere interesting, you’ve technically wasted an hour of your time in your life in the car. However if you needed to drive less, even though the option closer to you were inferior, technically you would be more efficient with your time, and also this is your chance to be more productive.

For example, let us say you have two options: one option is to go hiking 30 minutes away, and it is a very good hike. Or let us say that you could drive an hour to go on the greatest and best possible hike. Is the extra 30 minute drive worth it to you?

Technically, extra driving time could just be the time spent on hiking more. And isn’t that the goal? Perhaps in order to become more effective in life, don’t try to maximize your options

So, maybe if you want to buy an electric car, you don’t need the electric car with the highest amount of range. Maybe there will be some hidden benefits of having less range, or the model with the least amount of range.