Category: Writing

The abundance of apps available in the world showcases the amount of diversity we crave (and exhibit) in our lives.

What was there first? Applications on the early computers were rudimentary at best. Word processors, calculators, databases, etc. Now, the computer, the phone, the television, and a number of other devices all have connectivity and advanced application options.

As things continue to change and advance, it’ll be possible to find just what you’re looking for in an app tailored just to you.

A field report’s purpose, typically used in the social sciences, is to describe the observation of people, places, and/or events and to analyze that observation data in order to identify and categorize common themes in relation to the research problem underpinning the study. The content represents the researcher’s interpretation of the meaning found in data that has been gathered during one or more observational events.

Well, that’s a pretty technical way of saying that you use it to record data about observations and make inferences. It’s a scientific inquiry.

And the field report could begin as a humble, little notebook. Just something you jot down ideas in. The things you see. The noises, smells, and sensations. What you feel.

Listen, look, and think. Not just requirements for field reports, but for living a meaningful and present life.

One thing we often omit in financial decisions is opportunity costs. It’s a popular concept in business planning, but not so much in personal finance.

Yet, the principle is transferable. The textbook definition of opportunity cost is: “the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen”.

In other words, when you spend money on one thing, you no longer have it to spend on something else. And each thing you choose is any number of other things you can’t.

It isn’t so much that you have to think about all of it all the time, but it is something you should at least be aware of. When you’re making financial decisions.

And just like that, it’s another month. One month of solid posting on my part. But one month of the year suddenly gone.

I mean, personally, 2022 felt like it flew by much too fast. And now, already, 2023 is roughly 1/12 of the way over. At what point does the speed stop speeding?

This shortest of months gives us four weeks to accomplish what the other months give extra days to achieve. So, hold on tight, hike up those pantlegs, and get moving.

After a month of daily posting, I think I’m becoming more consistent in my writing practice. Not necessarily better, but I’m showing up every day to write.

During the week, when I’m set for twelve+ hours, it’s most important to adhere to routine. Because that’s where I could lose it. A little lack of sleep, a long day, and if let my thoughts drift – boom. No writing done.

So, adhering to the routine is key. And that’s more or less the way I’m intending to stay throughout this year.

Something that I haven’t been doing for a while is the daily check-in. It hasn’t been because I don’t have something to report, but rather it’s a lack of discipline and adherence to routine. It’s always a lack of discipline and adherence to routine.

I’ve written before about the limited decision capital we have on a daily basis, and this of course plays into it a bit.

To encourage me to do check-ins, and really even write, it’s imperative that along with the time set aside to do so, there’s a place where it can be done as well. Time and place. Both are important when crafting routines.

Every beginning is an opportunity. A chance to grow, to learn, to explore, to reinvent, to create. And there isn’t really anything like January when it comes to beginnings. It starts a year. For most of us, that may as well be a lifetime!

How many of us head into a new year with expectations about what the following year is going to look like?

Not me.

And yet, it’s so easy to get discouraged in January. To give up resolutions. To fall short, even though you’re just getting started.

But if we’re prudent, we’ll get to discover the joy of taking those first steps again, and seeing where they’ll lead us.

To push through, to make, to invent. To bring into existence what wasn’t there before.

Life. Art. Connection. Friendship.

The act of creation is beautiful, laborious, and time-consuming.

The alternative is stagnation.

For at least the past five years, I’ve been lamenting the number of emails I receive. That elusive inbox zero that so many efficiency experts talk about, but I never seem to achieve.

And, surprise, I haven’t still. Bet you thought I’d say that I made it!

Unless I delete every email and just start from scratch, it’s just not going to happen. But I am slowly, slowly, working my way through. Unsubscribing to specific newsletters. Marking and deleting junk as soon as I see it. And I always try to get to a response – when one is needed – within forty-eight hours.

Maybe I’ll never make it to inbox zero, but at least I’m on the right path.

The biggest tool you can add to your toolbox is usefulness. You won’t always know everything. But if you’re willing to help, showing up early and consistently, then you will be noticed.