Forced Focus

I haven't written in quite some time. I feel I should write out something just to see if I can squeeze some insights out. Writing has a way of doing that:

Life is good. My finances are in order and I no longer worry about money. I purchased a new car, have two rental properties and am slowly fixing up the house I am living in. It will soon be a really nice place to stay. I have a puppy, the promotion I wanted, a CAIA (and am working on level III of the CFA), money in the bank, savings for retirement, and a nice girl who is there for me. My biggest gripe has and continues to be the lack of a solid friend circle in Columbia. Everyone keeps moving away and I straddle multiple social groups in the city but don't have a natural social home. I don't like the "cool" millennials, not a fan of hanging with married couples, I'm tired of partying with college kids, don't fit in with the hipsters, and certainly don't have a place in the hood. This city doesn't have a lot of smart, working professionals (mainly because we don't have a lot of jobs that would retain these people). They have all left for NYC, Boston, Charlotte and Atlanta. Realistically, I don't see the employment picture turning around anytime soon and probably just need to accept this fact. Things could be more interesting if I were in a relationship (it seems like there are probably many more couples I could relate to), but for now, I don't have a lot of options. It feels a bit weird to type that because I am CONSTANTLY surrounded by people. I am an extreme extrovert and enjoy talking to people but have difficulty connecting. I usually just compensate for this by letting people tell me their stories. I ask lots of little questions about their lives or emotional questions about their family. Sometimes this is tedious or I come off as too prying. Overall, I suppose it exposes me to a much wider circle of people, but I do long for the days when I connect with people.
   Overall though, I don't really feel the same nagging sense of discontent that I had a few years ago. I feel relatively at ease with things. I am traveling a good bit which I enjoy, Angie is really kind, and I think having a pet really does help with my sense of being alone. Hard to beat having a constant companion.
   I guess in closing I need to work on building deeper relationships with a more narrow set of people. Probably need to apply the same medicine to my network  that I have applied to my closet, house and car. Just clean it out, declutter and keep what I really enjoy.

Productivity Boosts

I waste a lot of time. I am often aimless. I don't plan. I show up late. But I want to change. I have been trying to research how to be more efficient with my time. Here are the best tips I have come across.

• Get rid of clutter: Clean you room, your car, your desk. The mind is more settled and less distracted this way.
• Be more organized: It's easier to find and accomplish things when they are laid out. It's difficult to juggle multiple ideas at once. Put them on paper and make a plan. For work, put relevant documents in their place and categorize them. It wastes a little time up front but saves much more on the back end. In presentations, it's essential for communicating ideas clearly. 
• Plan your day and do it when you go to bed (and when you leave the office). You can sleep easy knowing you won't forget. Trello is a great tool for this. It also helps to add structure to otherwise aimless time. Try to map out fun things you want to do at least a week ahead so you don't end up missing out on fun things or just spending your time aimlessly because you didn't plan. 
• Work out in the morning: I am way more energized when I do this and my afternoons are much more carefree. 
• Make checklists and review them often. Your brain has a lot going on and it's easy to forget small things unless you are diligent.   
• Set Alarms and timers: When you do make plans, make sure to set an alarm so you don't miss them. If you are working on a task, set a time and assign a fixed amount of time to complete it. Let this be your deadline.
• Follow the 5 Minute Rule: If it takes less than 5 minutes to do it, then do it now (also a good rule for helping others).