Little Chunks of Reality: Time And How It Might be Used Post-FIRE

Here’s a secret that I discovered, and that I think most of us understand at some level.

If you are working for money—whether for a paycheck, to build wealth, or to demonstrate the “value” of what you are doing, as Derek Sivers recommends—you will experience this to one degree or another.

In a market-based economy such as the U.S., a higher price is conceivably paid for real or perceived higher value.

(Note: Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying this is the only reality, and There are a lot of interventions in the U.S. economy, some You may approve of, some you may not, that make it less of a free market than many talking heads claim, but let’s assume it is generally one.)

Thus, if you are really good at what you do, and you understand how to leverage that, you can likely earn more and build wealth faster than the average person doing the same work.

But let’s put that aside for the moment and come back to today’s core topic.

Reality.

More specifically, the reality of time and how we “chunk” it into different uses.

It was roughly 2:30 p.m. today when I started writing this article.

I expect it will be published by around 3:30 or perhaps 4:00, depending on how much editing I need to do.

This is much later than I have written one of these posts since beginning my daily writing practice.

Well…I guess I have drafted a couple in the afternoon when I knew I would be traveling the following day, but this is the first one I remember intentionally writing as today’s post this late in the day.

Why so late?

Honestly, I’m not sure.

At some point, I simply decided I was okay with it.

In fact, I considered waiting until 3:00 p.m. to begin, but then my anxiety increased, so I stopped what I was doing and got busy writing.

Here’s a quick rundown of the day so far.

I woke up at 5:15 a.m. after a good night’s sleep but decided to stay in bed and doze a little longer.

I finally got up at 6:15, made some coffee, and read another chapter of the Woody Guthrie biography I started last week.

Apparently I’m either a slow reader or it was a long chapter, because the next thing I knew it was 7:15. I got dressed and headed out for the first of my three long walks that get me to 15,000 steps each day.

When I returned, I picked my five “Clear the Decks” tasks, did my Zeroscape tracking, paid my bills, balanced my checkbook, and headed out for my second long walk.

When I got back, I started tackling those five tasks.

One was trying on the new walking shoes I had ordered and deciding whether they were keepers or whether I should return them.

I decided to keep them, even though they weren’t quite as sleek looking as they appeared in the photos.

They fit well and actually look pretty good.

It’s a new brand and a new style for me.

Even if I had simply reordered my previous shoes, I still would have needed to try them on and make sure I got a good pair.

So…all good.

But stuff takes time.

The next task was assembling A reading lamp I had purchased to replace the two lamps I loved that had stopped working.

I had already assembled one Last night so I could read before bed, so today I put together the second.

I like them so much that I may order a third.

Then again…

Stuff takes time.

Stuff costs money.

Maybe I’ll wait a while.

TBD.

Next I cleared out some old mail clutter, including my ballot for the upcoming election.

I started reading through the voters’ pamphlet with the candidates’ biographies, backgrounds, and platform statements.

That raised a few questions for me, because I’m not a fan of some of the legislation that has recently passed in my state.

So I did a little Googling to see where some of the incumbents stood.

Uh oh…

Several of them supported legislation I Strongly disagree with, so they won’t be getting my vote.

I’m glad I took the time to educate myself.

But dang…

That took time.

And I still need to mark my ballot, seal the envelope, and either mail it or drop it in a ballot box.

By then I was already concerned about how much of the day had disappeared, so I decided that was a good stopping point.

Why does everything seem to have a second or third step?

Sure, I could have pushed through.

But jeez…

I wasn’t planning to drive anywhere today anyway, so it felt like a natural place to pause.

Next I read two chapters of a book that a friend asked me to write the foreword for.

I’m behind on fulfilling that request.

It’s an honor to have been asked, and I want to understand the book before writing the foreword.

So there you go.

I decided that reading one or two chapters a day will eventually get me there.

This is a good example of The Power of No.

Sure, I could have simply said, “Sorry, I don’t have the time.”

But I thought I did have the time.

And why would I take such a hard stance on protecting my time in this particular case?

Relationships take time.

Maybe that’s one reason we’re all so lonely.

Who has the time?

No one.

Yet somehow we make the time when it really matters.

It’s an interesting dilemma.

Then I completed the quarterly review and redeployment of cash into investments that I had started yesterday.

I assessed my cash position relative to my overall liquid portfolio and decided to redeploy in My ROth IRA and hold off In My Individual Brokerage for this account.

Bottom line…

The quarterly review is finished, and I’m happy with the decisions.

It was 12:45 p.m. when I wrapped that up.

Five tasks identified.

Five tackled.

Three completed.

Two ongoing…

In case you’re keeping score.

Next, I replied to a friend’s texts and then headed out for my third long walk.

When I returned, it was time for my daily 15 minutes of sunshine while the weather is nice.

It’s become one of my favorite little breaks.

Almost like a substitute for a nap.

Then it was 2:00 p.m.

Huh.

Time flies.

And I have a guitar lesson at 5:00.

Plus, We’re under a heat advisory today, and the electric company is asking everyone to reduce electrical use between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m.

Since I planned to cook dinner, I figure I had better get started by about 3:30.

Before sitting down to write this article, I also began my daily rehearsal routine.

That starts with some dumbbell and bodyweight exercises, followed by my vocal warm-up.

That took about 25 minutes.

That’s when I started getting nervous about writing today’s article.

Chunks of time.

Chunks of reality.

What value did I create today?

I’m not sure.

I don’t think anyone would pay much for it, would they?

And what about my song rehearsals?

What about going to an open mic?

There aren’t any nearby tonight, so I’m not going.

That means I could skip rehearsing.

But I Probably won’t. TBD

Still, this illustrates the point.

If today were tomorrow, I’d already be running late to get out the door for an open mic.

And I haven’t even showered yet.

Add another 45 minutes for that.

Yeah…

Today has been about chunks of time.

Chunks of reality.

I’m actually glad I felt pretty relaxed until about 2:30 this afternoon when I started worrying about getting this article posted.

If you’re constantly stressed and pushing yourself, what’s the point of reaching FIRE?

Still, it brings me back to the question I asked at the beginning.

What value did I create today?

I’m not sure.

I don’t think anyone would pay much for it.

But I don’t care.

I’m building a life I love.

I’m building a life that aligns with my values.

Yes, I’m on a Highway to Yeah.

But I’ve still got a long way to go before the next gig.