Commonplace Journal - A Next Chapter
Life has been very strange lately, there’s no denying that. No matter where you’re reading this from, your life today is most likely somewhat different than it was a month ago, or two months ago. The global and widespread impacts from COVID-19 have us spending more time in our homes than ever before, perhaps more than the last few generations have. Nonetheless, we have been forced into a space to reflect, react, proact and consider what we’ve been doing, and how it impacts where we are going. There are a plethora of factors that go into what’s going on, what will continue to happen in the next few months and years to come, from astrology to government guidance, conspiracy theories to people on the front lines of life. No matter what the “why” is, the “how” is what we’re focusing on now. Some questions you might be toiling with:
How will we proceed forward?
How will we earn a living?
How will we make it through this?
How will life be when it goes to its new normal?
How will I be impacted from all of this?
How will the stock market and other markets recover from this?
How will I retire in 5 years, now that my retirement accounts have taken a hit?
How will my political views be impacted and change from this experience?
How will life be on a daily basis when _____?
How will we take greater control of our livelihoods, health and well-being going forward?
How will I spend my time differently than I did before this change occurred?
And so many more questions … what’s important now, no matter what boat you’re in while we weather this storm that’s been put upon the world, is to focus on what kind of life you want to lead from this point forward. There are a myriad of memes shared about, from herculean efforts during this time at home of writing novels, starting businesses, getting fit as a fiddle and learning new skills, to getting chunky and lazy and delving into way too many unhealthy habits. As with most things in life, there’s a balanced blend for most people. For me, it’s been a continuation of life’s rhythm before the quarantine and social distancing, aside from going out slightly less and thus, spending less money. We’ve taken some bicycle rides and walks, worked out in the garage, cooked more, eaten more, rested more, relaxed more … but not a severely drastic change in the time I have to focus on things I normally wouldn’t have time for.
Some big projects and ideas I have had on my to-do list for a long time:
Write a book. Okay, 6 books. I have a number of ideas that would make great page turners. Typing time is 28-40 hours per standard novel length book, so that’s not undoable.
Improve my website and put my coaching ideas and knowledge into consumable format. This is what I’m doing now, as a sort of brain dump of things my wife and I talk about and she says “you should write about that” and “you should really help more people about this.” So, here I am, putting my mind to work and my ideas and messages out into the world, more than I have been before.
Re-start my podcast and YouTube channel. Each of those avenues have some content, but not great production quality. Now’s the best time as ever to speak up and speak out, so expect more coming soon.
Put together a tool or guide or platform of sorts to collect referral information for businesses and websites. Example. I am a loyal customer of a company called M1 Finance, and when new users sign up, we each get $10 to invest. I don’t know about you, but I do appreciate referral money, rebates, coupons, discounts and the like. I also appreciate smart platforms like M1 Finance offers for investing. There are a lot of companies like this, so if you don’t feel M1 is your best option, please go with another. The main point is to invest and save, save and invest. Back to my original point - I know lots of apps and sites exist for coupon codes, but I think it’d be cool to share referral codes amongst friends and family, especially the ones that are mutually beneficial to both parties.
Get fit. I’ve put on 20 lbs since meeting my wife and had put on 10-15 lbs of emotional baggage weight before that. So, that’s 30-35 extra lbs I’ve been carrying around for a few years now, and it’s been a long standing goal to release it. But I’ve not. What I have done is accept where I am and accepted the fact that I will make an effort each day to move my body, eat somewhat respectably and inch towards being healthier and fitter than the day before. Sometimes we move forward, sometimes we don’t. Either way, it’s on my long-term list of goals to work on.
Start keeping a more formalized commonplace journal, or commonplace book. It was only recently that I learned this term, though I’ve been keeping this practice for several years in a very loose form. Now that I know what it is, I will be keeping a tidier, more structured format of a commonplace book in my handwriting, as well as using my blog space here for similar content.
Etc. You can make your own list from here, of what you want to do, achieve, accomplish, learn, master and experience in life. There are so many more experiences I want to have and share with my wife, and we will in time.
What’s important to keep in mind is the season we are in. Today, is the first day of Taurus season for this year. Grounding, practical, steady and productive progress is the name of the game here. Plodding forward one step at a time, building something sustainable, respectable and sensible for your life.
What are you building and working on?