Designing a better lifestyle doesn’t have to mean focusing on your long-term ideal situation. There are plenty of opportunities to change things for the better right now.
Here are 5 bulletproof ways to improve your lifestyle right now:
- Ditch your commute
- Move to a city or small town
- Take lots of time off, and then take some more
- Develop a life outside of work
- Judge yourself and erase limitations
Commuting to work by car is bad for your health and the environment. It’s a waste of time and resources. Why not ditch your commute and reclaim those lost hours? You’ll be happier, healthier and you’ll have more free time to do something meaningful.
There are a few ways to eliminate your commute. You can either move yourself close to where your job is, or get a new job close to where you live. You can negotiate a work at home agreement with your boss. You can quit your job and work for yourself. If all else fails, you can at least take public transportation and use the time to catch up on some reading or to meet fellow commuters.
I’m a big fan of both cities and small towns. The benefits of living in either are simple: urban density allows you to walk everywhere, thus leading to better health, more interaction with people, less time spent isolated in a car, and a stronger connection with your community. Suburbs are great for owning a big inexpensive house, but does that big house really fulfill you in the way a community can?
It always surprises me when people don’t use all of their alloted vacation time. What are you saving it for? I know that some workplaces give out 3 or 4 weeks, but silently pressure people not to use it all. That’s a shame. Use your vacation time to rejuvenate yourself.
In fact, why not use all of your time off, and then take a little additional unpaid time? You’ll be better at your job if you step away frequently. You may even learn something about yourself if you allow for some time to think about things other than work.
It’s easy to get sucked into the competitive nothing-else-but-work-matters attitude at some companies. I’ve fallen into that mindset before, and I have plenty of friends who are victim of it today. The sad thing is, giving up your self for a job benefits the company much more than it will ever benefit you.
Try developing a life outside of work. It will help you put some perspective on what really matters in life. Take up a hobby or two. Meet some new friends. Get some exercise. Join a club. Being a real person on the better side of 9 to 5 will make you more interesting and engaged in everything you pursue.
How would someone who cares about you and knows your true potential judge how fully you’re living your life? You should be asking yourself that question every day.
Judge yourself from an outsider’s perspective. Is your current life worthy of spending your precious time in it? What’s holding you back from doing what you really want to do? What would you do if you couldn’t fail? Erase your perceived limitations and start living life without regrets.
photo by eliot.
Great post, Corbett. These are all awesome ideas and I agree with them all. I’m at a stage in my life where I’m really focused on number 5. I’ve accomplished the others and now I’m just trying to keep myself in check daily as I work my way up to location independence.
Thanks!
That’s great, J.D. I’m also at number 5, and I find that it’s a daily struggle to keep reminding myself to expand my horizons and work towards worthy goals.
Number 1 is my biggest problem at the moment. I’m embarrassed to say how long my commute is!
I was there once too, and it eventually resulted in leaving the company I was working for. I’ve been able to walk or take public transportation to work ever since, and that was more than 4 years ago. Life has been so much better since ditching the commute.
Great post and great ideas.
I was able to negotiate number #1, but no #2 for me: I still like to spend a few months a year in a big city (London at the moment), somehow I am addicted. But I am still not sure I get the best of #3. Actually as I have a few (paid) days off still in backlog, I should so something today and schedule all of them for the next few months. Thanks for the reminder.
Renato
Good advice Corbett!
I would also add; Eat Healthy and Exercise. Without health nothing else matters.
I am all for getting out of the suburbs. There is no culture or energy in carbon copy houses and strip malls. I am definitely an urban person, but it is nice to be in a small town for a short time on a regular basis.
That’s a great point about eating right and getting exercise, John. I find that everything in life is made better when I get lots of exercise.
I agree with getting a job closer to home. Unfortunately, the economy makes it quite difficult right now. I don’t mind taking a small paycut (since I will be driving less), but I cannot locate a job even with that (most jobs are starting out way too low for me to make a move). Plus, I want to start my own business. So, I am more focused on that. I’d like working for myself.
Moving to smaller town. Agree. Going to do that when the debt is paid off.
And 3 & 4…definitely great points!
I’m sorry if I sounded insensitive about the current economy. I know the situation has made it very difficult for people to find new jobs lately. Also, I tend to believe that most people would be happier working for themselves. Best of luck starting your business. I suggest reading the E-Myth Revisited for tips on how to succeed in small business.
@John Bardos: Definitely agree that eating healthy and exercising should be part of the list. If you don’t pay attention to diet and exercise, enjoying the rest of life can be difficult.
#2 is the item that jumped out and smacked me. I live in a semi-rural suburb outside of a medium sized city. I’ve lived in my house 3 years and only a month ago met my neighbors for the first time. During that time, I lived briefly in a small town and knew all my neighbors on a first name basis within a week. The clumps of sterile, cloned, family containment units that define modern suburbs do nothing to help anyone feel like a human.
That’s a great example of the isolation that living in the suburbs leads to, David. I know I’m much happier living in a big city, even with all the “problems” associated with cities that people talk about.
Awesome post, Corbett.
#3 I just took a week off to roam the earth last week. It is a great way to evaluate life and ponder upon what is important to you personally, and at the same time enjoy a sampling of nomadic life.
Rasheed
#1: Try working out a telecommuting arrangement with your supervisor/company. From what I’ve studied, they’re gaining popularity.
#4: Definitely balance is always a key — not only to enjoyment, but also to possibly performing better at work (relaxation is good for the mind).
Overall, I think that the ideas are solid; however, some of these are pretty drastic steps that some people might not be able to risk, especially in this day and age. Don’t get me wrong — I’m all for them, but I think realistically that it would be quite difficult to implement (like relocating or quitting your job, as Money Funk mentioned). Maybe you can write a post on how to take these big steps in smaller steps?
Haha.
Hey guys, i think this post is really great especially on #1 since it really hit home.
Honestly I’ve been wondering whether I should move to a room close to my campus (5 minutes by foot) or stay at where I am in the suburbs (which takes half n hour to go to school everyday)
The things is I don’t like the environment around the room closer to campus. You have a traffic in front of your doorstep and you’ll have building as your view everyday. But yes, it doesn’t take much to go to school everyday. And i’ll be living in an apartment
on the other hand, the place where I’m staying now is fairly quiet with some greeneries around the house. But i have to waste an hour of commuting everyday. I’ve been so confused about this decision for weeks and I still don’t know what I should do
Any of you guys have any ideas? I’d really appreciate it.
DeyIrfan: I think it’s really just a trade-off between time and environment. Saving an hour everyday means saving 5 hours a week (Mon-Fri, assuming you have no weekend classes).
Of course, could you make your commuting time more productive? An hour is an awful lot — could you get some reading or homework done?
Is the change in environment very drastic? Would it be worth saving 5 hours a week? Could you live in a busier environment?
If I were you, I would probably move; I can’t seem to make my commuting time productive, and I figure it’d be more convenient for me to be closer to school (for example, if I need to go to a lab or visit the library it’s just a 5-minute walk). And if I ever forget a textbook or notebook at home, I can just go back and grab it really quickly. Haha.
Great post!
I think your underlying theme here is one of balance. When you pay attention to balance your work and leisure quality improves.