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Quarantine Life

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I guess it’s been about a month since the quarantine started.

But I don’t think that term really makes sense. Quarantine. It sounds like you are thrown into the hole in prison. No contact with anyone, no sunlight, nothing to keep you busy… nothing but silence.

In reality, this period of isolation seems like a mild spring break vacation for a lot of people. We can come and go as we please.

I’ve been to the grocery about 5 times, I’ve been outside walking and running, I’ve been to a few different houses, I can drive wherever, and I see a ton of people out and about like nothing is different.

Luckily, my life is pretty much the same as usual, except for all of the truck shows being canceled, and this is probably the longest stretch of time in my adult life that I’ve gone without eating food from a restaurant. March 12 was the last time I ate at a restaurant, and March 11 was the last time I had Chipotle. If you know me, you know this is unheard of. I just don’t want to take the risk of getting sick just because I wanted the convenience of fast food. I guess it’s a good thing that I like simple meals that I can easily make at home, plus my girlfriend also enjoys cooking, so skipping restaurants for the time being isn’t a big deal for us.

This is also a great time to test your willpower. To abstain from something you’ve done so much in your life. Chipotle is one of those things for me. It’s funny how it’s just a restaurant, but it’s always been more to me than that. A place where I celebrate the good times, a place where I go to soak up the sad times, a place of familiarity when I travel to new places, and a place to share stories with others. So yes, I miss Chipotle, but I’ll have it again soon.

As far as work goes, I’ve been in the same funk for a couple years now. And this quarantine is no different. I still get work done. I have finished many projects over the past couple years, but I’ve been distracted way too much to stay consistent with things. Even this writing. I say I’m going to write every day, even if it’s just 15 minutes. But I usually write about my day in my pocket journal, which is fine. But I keep saying I’d rather publish more public things. But I never do it. So here I am, trying to do what I say.

I try to plan everything out, but that usually gets me nowhere real fast. I love writing, but I seem to only do it on social media, mainly Instagram. Nothing wrong with that, but why wouldn’t I write it here instead? This blog is indexed by Google and other search engines, plus it’s way easier to organize my thoughts on my own website instead of through social media. For example, if I wanted to find all of the posts I made about Chipotle on Facebook, that would be nearly impossible. But I could tag every Chipotle post on my blog with the “chipotle” tag, and instantly find them all.

It’s funny how I usually know what to do, I just don’t always do it.

I’ve taken on several website jobs, then procrastinated until the client asks what’s going on. I’ve setup pre-orders for things and didn’t deliver them on time, or at all (trust me, I’m going to finish that merch course). I’ve started reading new books, then drifted into other books, resulting in a stack of half-finished books. I go through my room and throw everything I don’t want anymore in a huge pile, super motivated to get rid of it all right then, then it just sits there for months collecting dust.

I write in my journal almost daily about how I need to do more podcasts, write more blog posts, do more online courses, shoot more photos, start a YouTube channel, finally give this Tik Tok thing a try (damn you GaryVee), etc. But I rarely do any of those things. Instead, I keep reading books and articles online, I research things to death when I probably won’t even go forward with a purchase of those things, I watch the news when I usually never do that, I plan vacations for the distant future, I start new businesses instead of focusing on the ones I already have, I play cards for hours, I talk on phone calls for too long, I stay up too late and sleep in (I still have the worst sleep habits), and ultimately I just find ways of distracting myself when I know what I should be doing.

So here I am, writing a damn blog post, because I’ve been talking about doing this for far too long.

The quarantine isn’t an ideal way of life, but it is what it is. So we can be upset about it and throw a fit, or we can do something about it. What am I waiting for before I actually start doing something?

I was debt free and nothing changed. Now I’m not debt free again, and I’ve said, “once I’m debt free again, all of this will be easier.” No it won’t. It was the same thing before I sold my house. “Once this house sells, life is going to be insanely amazing!” No, it wasn’t. I sold my house and life was the same. Even when all the stars align, your life is mostly the same as it was before. People (myself included) wait for all the luck in the world to be in their favor, for everything to be handed to them, and they think they’re magically going to change who they are as a person.

It doesn’t work like that.

You have to focus on your daily habits. Your consistent habits are the things that turn you into who you are. For me, I want to create things, I want help other people with my knowledge and skills, and I want to have great health. Just because we are told to stay home, doesn’t mean I can’t prioritize those things. Sure, some people have been workaholics for many years, and this is the first time they’ve gotten a break. They are relaxing, and that’s fine. Everyone knows what they need, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to any of this. We are all still figuring out how life works during a quarantine.

But there are plenty of others who have these big goals and aspirations that they want to accomplish, yet they are just watching Netflix all day and refreshing the news. That’s not helping anyone, and it’s pushing you further away from the life you say you want.

Figure out a simple routine that focuses on your priorities. We all have enough time to do the things we want. We all have different responsibilities, but we all have the same 168 hours per week, and you can think of several people who are crushing it out there. So what’s your excuse?

A basic daily routine for me could include an hour of creative outlet time (writing, photography, painting), an hour of helping others (providing a service like web design, offering private coaching, recording podcasts, producing online courses), and an hour of exercise (walking, bike ride, push-ups, hiking, jump rope). That’s only 3 hours per day. It might sound like a lot, but that still gives me 8 hours to work, 8 hours to sleep, time to eat, get ready, and a few hours of downtime. Of course you can tweak the numbers for your own situation. And if an hour seems too aggressive to start with, just do 15 minutes of each. Hell, do 5 minutes of each. Just get in the habit of doing it daily, and next thing you know, you’ll be so used to it that it would be weird to skip a day.

After writing that, it’s clear I know what I need to do, I just have to do it. I have written basic schedules in my various notepads for years, about how I would structure my perfect day. I think I’ve written about it a few times on this site too. But nothing sticks, because I don’t do it religiously. I’m not religious, but I need to treat this shit like it’s sacred. Nothing gets in the way. Nobody interrupts me. No other plans are too important. No excuses.

But nothing will happen if I spend days and weeks agonizing over the perfect routine. Perfection is an illusion. There’s no perfect schedule, for me, or you, or anyone. I think the issue is that I’ve tried too much, but I haven’t done enough. Stop trying, start doing. You either do or you don’t. There is no more trying.

So in closing, the quarantine life for me is very similar to my normal life. Yes, a lot of stores are closed, yes I’ve skipped all restaurants, yes I’ve missed all the traveling opportunities and all the events, yes I’m inside more than normal. But I can still make the best of my situation. Complaining about why this isn’t fair isn’t going to get me anywhere. I am lucky that I can do my work from anywhere, and I still have some clients sending me work, and I’m still getting online orders… so I have nothing to complain about.

I’m grateful and can’t wait to look back on this pandemic/quarantine/isolation period as one of the best things to ever happened to me. Will you say the same thing? I hope so. Maybe this will be the thing that pushes me out of my comfort zone and gets me to say fuck the fear. What’s the worst that can happen, right? I hope you are safe and healthy, and I hope you use this quarantine time to your advantage.

Sell Your Shit and Live Your Life

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I used to become attached to things. By things, I mean random possessions that I thought I needed. I had to give up money to own these things, or they could have been gifts I received. Either way, I used to put too much value on many of the things I own.

These days, I’m more focused on living the kind of life I want, rather than owning the next newest gadget. Sure, it’s cool to hook up that new big screen tv and be the first one on the block to have it, but at what expense?

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”

The average guy works a 40+ hour per week job, has a nice car, a good house, several of the latest electronic gadgets, eats out several times every week, and has a mountain of credit card debt. He has all of this while never making an effort to really do anything about it. How do I know? Because this guy used to be me.

I honestly can’t say I’m not all of those things anymore, but I’m definitely not coasting through life like I use to be. I have hated a lot of my past jobs and was too afraid to do anything about it. Until one day, I was fired. Technically I quit, but regardless, an unexpected life change was happening before my eyes.

At first, I was terrified. I did everything I could to get a new job. Then I slowly discovered… I didn’t want a new job. I wanted to work for myself. No… I HAD TO WORK FOR MYSELF! There was no way I could go back to another job where I knew I’d eventually be unhappy again.

It’s amazing that it’s been almost 7 months since that day. I never thought I’d go this long without a standard full-time job. I am grateful to have such a great group of family and friends who kept believing in me. As well as following amazing people online who are doing what I want to do… living life on their own terms. (Talk about inspiration!)

Anyways, I’m a different person these days. I do even more random things than I used to do, I sell my stuff to pay my bills if I need to, I am downsizing my monthly bills as much as I can all the time so I don’t have to rely on finding as many new website clients, I will be selling my house as soon as I can because I’d rather rent a small apartment than deal with all this useless space, and I’d rather do what I want when I want instead of clocking in and being told what to do.

Sure, many people say this kind of life isn’t for them. They might be right, but I have to argue that their current plan probably isn’t as safe as they tell themselves. Yes, you’ll likely be getting your regular paycheck every week or two as long as you’re a good employee and kiss enough ass. But everyone is replaceable. Sorry to kill your ego, but I 100% believe that. That’s why I have been working on side projects for as long as I can remember, although I never thought I’d ever get “fired” from a job and really become replaced.

What I’m getting at is, I’m probably living a life right now that isn’t what you want. That’s ok, I’m not doing it for you. I’m not ever saying you should do what I’m doing, especially if you’re happy in your current situation. But if you’re not, make a change. Make it now. “If you just keep coasting through life, you’re just trying to reach the end.”

Back to the possessions, I try not to put any value on any of my stuff if it doesn’t add value to my life. I have well over a hundred tshirts, I wear probably 20 or so a lot, and I probably have 50 that I’ll never wear again. A few years ago, I would have been sad to see some of them go, even if I sold them. These days, I’d be happy to see my list of possessions shrink even if I’m giving stuff away.

What I’m saying is, I strongly believe in minimalism. I define this as getting rid of everything that doesn’t matter to make room for everything that does matter.

On the other hand, take some of the things I own like my computer, my camera, and this iPhone. They help me do my work and make money or make my life easier. They provide value. I can justify these things and prove why I need them. There is no way I can make a valid excuse why I need 20-30 hats when I only wear 1-2 on occasions. Let’s not even mention my Randy Johnson baseball card collection!

In August of 2011, my friend and I made a 36 hour round trip to trade my old truck for a new one. There really was no reason for this, other than the fact that I thought this new truck would make me happier. I kept the new truck for almost a year. Just before my birthday this year, I traded that truck for an old hot rod station wagon. Why? I know I’ll be able to get more money for this than either of my old trucks. I’d rather sell things I don’t need to pay off debt to be able to live the life I want. Think about it, if I have a $10,000 vehicle just sitting in my garage while I’m paying several hundred dollars every month on credit card bills, I have to work that much harder. If I sell the car and pay off those credit cards, that’s less stress on my plate. And living on my own terms means more to me these days than having the most badass car on the block.

A couple things I’ve learned:

  1. There will always be someone out there with something nicer, better, or newer than what you have. It seriously makes no sense to keep up with the Jones’. You’ll likely never win that battle and no one really cares if you somehow manage to win.
  2. You’ll never be happy if all you do is exchange time for money. Working all those hours to buy all that shit to impress all those people who really don’t care means nothing. No amount of money will completely satisfy me. Time means so much more to me. This life is short and I’d rather look back on all my amazing memories than look back on my massive collection of worthless possessions.

I know this post was long and kind of went a few different directions. So I think I should pull it all together with a couple of quotes:

“Know your values and priorities, and build your life around them. If the most important things in your world are family, friends, and fun, you will likely never be happy working a 60-hour work week, no matter how much money you earn.”

“At the end of your life, what do you want… a bunch of stuff or a bunch of incredible stories?”

Thanks for reading my late night ramblings! On a side note, today marks the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A day in which this country changed forever. A day that proved just how fast your life can change. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who lost a loved one that day. Remember, life is short. You have exactly one life in which to do everything you’ll ever do. Act accordingly and stop procrastinating.

House Maintenance Sucks

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Almost 3 years ago, I was so stoked to have my own house. Little did I know, I dislike house work.

What it really comes down to is, I’d rather spend all of my time doing things that matter to me, things that are progressing my online businesses, or spending time with family & friends. True, I had reasons to want this big house/yard, but my life/views have since changed. Some of the things I hate doing, which are a necessity for a responsible homeowner, are:

  • Mowing the yard
  • Cleaning way too many rooms
  • Keeping my trees/bushes trimmed
  • Painting
  • Decorating an entire house that’s big enough for 2-3 families
  • Dealing with problems that come up that I’d rather a landlord deal with
  • Buying chemicals to keep the yard free of weeds, bugs, etc.
  • This isn’t maintenance, but I pay ridiculous monthly property taxes

One day, it would be awesome to rent a small apartment or house with a small-term commitment, then move every 6 months or year or two. I want to travel and experience a lot of different places and don’t want to be tied down to one specific location. And I have no problem dealing with the fact that I’m “throwing money away” by renting. I have no desire to own a house anymore, or own a ton of shit to fill that house up anymore.

This is the minimalist in me speaking, but I really don’t need much of anything that I currently own. My goal is to downsize a ton and be able to travel, move, or vacation very easily. Don’t even get me started on those people who have houses bigger than mine that are completely filled, garages completely packed, and storage units with even more stuff. Hoarders are everywhere and I’d like to think I’m not one, or at least I’m going down the path of getting away from it. Even collecting things is hoarding to me in most cases. The Minimalists even say organizing is often well-planned hoarding, and I agree! (However, I’m still holding onto my extensive Randy Johnson baseball card collection until he goes into the Hall of Fame. Then hopefully I can sell them all for a nice chunk of change!)

Hopefully I’ll be able to put my house on the market in a couple months and I’ll be able to sell it shortly after. I’m to the point where I’d be ok breaking even, just to remove all of these big bills from my life. That would help me continue working for myself and make the slow months a lot easier. Trust me, I’d rather struggle for bills on my own then live paycheck to paycheck working for someone else any day!

Desk Jobs Are Not For Me

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I’ve had several “normal” jobs over the past 15+ years that I’ve been labeled as an employee. But working for myself these past six months has taught me a lot of things. One of them is, I don’t think I could ever go back to a “regular” 9-5 desk job!

It is a little scary at times, not knowing if I’ll have money to pay my bills. But that’s what keeps me motivated. It’s all on me now. Before I thought I wanted to stay on the “safe path”, but really, anyone can be let go from any job, for any reason, at any time. I don’t see that as the safer choice, I just see it as a way to coast through life feeling bored, guilty, and/or depressed.

I’m not saying every job is horrible, and you’re gonna be miserable no matter what unless you work for yourself. Actually, it could be the complete opposite for you. But this is how I see it and this has been my experience.

In fact, I know several people who love their jobs. Jobs that are filled with monotony, routine, and doing what you’re told to do. Some people need that direction and order. Some people need the benefits for their family or the 401K for their retirement some day. Or maybe they simply really love everything about their job/career; the company, the product/service, their coworkers, the location, the hours, the atmosphere, etc.

In the end, you should always do exactly what you want to do. Most people will never do what you want them to do, so why should you cater to them. I mean, we’re talking about your life here. Do whatever it is that you’re passionate about. There’s always a way to monetize everything. But don’t do it for the money, do what makes you happy. But more than happiness, do what makes you come alive!