I have an on again off again relationship with coffee. I love to love it and I love to hate it. I have a bad habit of letting my coffee habit get the best of me. This all started in college with those sugared up coffee drinks that you buy from a major franchise in a bottle. Then I met a guy from Seattle at a summer job who taught me how to make some delicious concoctions on my own. This saved on money which was great until I realized that I could save even more if I cut the cream, sugar, and flavors. I spent some time at a wilderness camp in my early 20s and that's when I really got hooked. I was drinking up to 50 oz. a day!
Sidenote: the best time to drink coffee is early in the morning when there is a bit of a chill in the air. Take it outside and enjoy!
I've cut caffeine from my life a number of times for a number of reasons.I feel like I can't start my day until I've had one, or two, or three cups of coffee. On rough nights when the kid wakes up a lot or when I just decide to sleep in, this makes getting to work on time a struggle. I also use it as an excuse to not work out, shower, or basically do anything else until that first cup kicks in.
I know there are a lot of benefits and drawbacks to drinking coffee, but the best thing for me right now is to cut it. This should make my mornings easier, it should make going to sleep earlier easier, it should make hanging out with my one year old easier, it should make staying hydrated easier. This also helps the budget because I won't be buying coffee or filters. I also won't have to spend time cleaning the coffee pot or the spills on the counter or composting the coffee grounds.
Today, unbeknownst to me, is National Coffee Day and I quit. Well, I had a cup. And two cups of tea. But, tomorrow, I quit. Or... I'll have one cup. And one cup of tea. I'll do a slow progression of caffeine out of my life because I've had the headaches and they're no good.
I'll let you know how things went when I'm finally off. Wish me luck.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
A bit of a rant on social media
I love to love/hate social media.
I really only pay attention to two social media sites and one of them is more of a brain melter site. Buzzfeed and Facebook.
Borrowing a term I read on Mr. Money Mustache both sites have marginal utility.
(Side note: this is a fantastic blog that I've been following for a couple of months. He's inspired me to invest, put more down on my mortgage, and write this blog.)
I'll start with Buzzfeed because it's the one I use the least. Other than finding entertainment news, I feel like Buzzfeed exists to keep me distracted from doing things that matter, like writing this blog, getting my job done, cleaning my house... I feel that if I could just break up with Buzzfeed I would free up brainpower, but beyond that I would become a more positive person. Let me explain.
Buzzfeed has entertainment value. I will give it that. It has quizzes, videos, articles, top ten lists, you name it. Despite all the nice looking things there, it's just as bad as the nightly news. There is no avoiding the fact that violence sells. It puts negative, depressing news stories right in your face. For the same reasons I avoid other clearinghouses of news that make me feel bad, I should avoid Buzzfeed. I have, unfortunatly, read some of the most disturbing news stories I've ever read on this site and the mind has an uncanny ability to remember the worst.
If you subscribe the Low-Information Diet a la Tim Ferris, which I first read about in his book The 4-Hour Work Week, Buzzfeed is a no brainer.
Before I launch into my tirade on Facebook, let me point out that I've cut Buzzfeed and Facebook for Lent before and never missed either one the entire time. They both crept back in and before I knew it, I was fully hooked.
When Facebook started at my college, I was a senior and had no interest in the site. One of the few good ideas younger me had. The same holds true today. I've been on and off Facebook at least 4 times citing different reasons each time I quit and rejoined:
It's gotta be cool (joined).
I don't want to see my ex-girlfriends posts, pictures, mentions, etc. (quit).
I'm over her (joined).
I spend too much time here (quit).
I want to stay in touch with family (joined).
Wow, younger me sounds like an idiot. Did I really write that? (quit).
I have to manage social media for work (joined).
This leads me to where I am today. To manage a Facebook business page, a person has to have an account. So I do. I also hid every person who has friended me from my timeline (other than my wife) and I only use it for work purposes.
That doesn't stop me from thinking that social media unnecessarily complicate things. Beyond the obvious time and soul sucking scrolling people seem to do for hour at a time (think of all the other things we could accomplish!), social media sets up unrealistic connections and friendships. I don't care what people from high school are up to. If I did, we'd still be friends. It used to be that when you parted ways with someone, you did just that. If you ever saw the person again, you met up for drinks and caught up. But now you know all the minutiae about their lives already so you literally have nothing to talk about.
Other than my own personal biases, there have been studies done on how chronic Facebook users (and nobody ever admits to 2-3 hours a day of scrolling) tend to be less happy that everyone else because they end up comparing their lives to the best lives everyone else portrays on social media. Or they get angry about political posts or whatever else.
So, I will continue to avoid Facebook, work to remove it from my job, cut Buzzfeed, and refrain from signing up for other social media sites.
I really only pay attention to two social media sites and one of them is more of a brain melter site. Buzzfeed and Facebook.
Borrowing a term I read on Mr. Money Mustache both sites have marginal utility.
(Side note: this is a fantastic blog that I've been following for a couple of months. He's inspired me to invest, put more down on my mortgage, and write this blog.)
I'll start with Buzzfeed because it's the one I use the least. Other than finding entertainment news, I feel like Buzzfeed exists to keep me distracted from doing things that matter, like writing this blog, getting my job done, cleaning my house... I feel that if I could just break up with Buzzfeed I would free up brainpower, but beyond that I would become a more positive person. Let me explain.
Buzzfeed has entertainment value. I will give it that. It has quizzes, videos, articles, top ten lists, you name it. Despite all the nice looking things there, it's just as bad as the nightly news. There is no avoiding the fact that violence sells. It puts negative, depressing news stories right in your face. For the same reasons I avoid other clearinghouses of news that make me feel bad, I should avoid Buzzfeed. I have, unfortunatly, read some of the most disturbing news stories I've ever read on this site and the mind has an uncanny ability to remember the worst.
If you subscribe the Low-Information Diet a la Tim Ferris, which I first read about in his book The 4-Hour Work Week, Buzzfeed is a no brainer.
Before I launch into my tirade on Facebook, let me point out that I've cut Buzzfeed and Facebook for Lent before and never missed either one the entire time. They both crept back in and before I knew it, I was fully hooked.
When Facebook started at my college, I was a senior and had no interest in the site. One of the few good ideas younger me had. The same holds true today. I've been on and off Facebook at least 4 times citing different reasons each time I quit and rejoined:
It's gotta be cool (joined).
I don't want to see my ex-girlfriends posts, pictures, mentions, etc. (quit).
I'm over her (joined).
I spend too much time here (quit).
I want to stay in touch with family (joined).
Wow, younger me sounds like an idiot. Did I really write that? (quit).
I have to manage social media for work (joined).
This leads me to where I am today. To manage a Facebook business page, a person has to have an account. So I do. I also hid every person who has friended me from my timeline (other than my wife) and I only use it for work purposes.
That doesn't stop me from thinking that social media unnecessarily complicate things. Beyond the obvious time and soul sucking scrolling people seem to do for hour at a time (think of all the other things we could accomplish!), social media sets up unrealistic connections and friendships. I don't care what people from high school are up to. If I did, we'd still be friends. It used to be that when you parted ways with someone, you did just that. If you ever saw the person again, you met up for drinks and caught up. But now you know all the minutiae about their lives already so you literally have nothing to talk about.
Other than my own personal biases, there have been studies done on how chronic Facebook users (and nobody ever admits to 2-3 hours a day of scrolling) tend to be less happy that everyone else because they end up comparing their lives to the best lives everyone else portrays on social media. Or they get angry about political posts or whatever else.
So, I will continue to avoid Facebook, work to remove it from my job, cut Buzzfeed, and refrain from signing up for other social media sites.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Why do you have to go and make things so complicated...
Thinking about the immortal words of Avril Lavigne, I've really started thinking about all the things in life that have become complicated. Whatever happened to simple? There once was a time when people didn't carry smartphones around with them everywhere they went. Cars used to be used sparingly. We cooked our own healthy meals. We could buy peanut butter at the store without having to label read, price match, or decide between 15 different brands.
People look at me like I'm weird when I tell them that we don't have cable TV or that I enjoy biking to work when I can. Sometimes I feel judged when I don't indulge in the same creature comforts as others because I don't find value in them. It's amazing the pity people take on me when they hear about the TV thing. Netflix passwords get handed to me, cable usernames and password get forked over... it's amazing! People can't stand to think that I might be deprived of something.
I'm going to try to start living more simply in the areas that I can. I'll take suggestions, advice, and hints from anyplace I can find them: Other bloggers, friends, family, readers... anyone! When I feel like I've come upon a nugget of truth I'll try to implement it and write about it.
Wish me luck!
People look at me like I'm weird when I tell them that we don't have cable TV or that I enjoy biking to work when I can. Sometimes I feel judged when I don't indulge in the same creature comforts as others because I don't find value in them. It's amazing the pity people take on me when they hear about the TV thing. Netflix passwords get handed to me, cable usernames and password get forked over... it's amazing! People can't stand to think that I might be deprived of something.
I'm going to try to start living more simply in the areas that I can. I'll take suggestions, advice, and hints from anyplace I can find them: Other bloggers, friends, family, readers... anyone! When I feel like I've come upon a nugget of truth I'll try to implement it and write about it.
Wish me luck!
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