New Beginnings

I haven't posted on this blog for several weeks, and the primary reason has been due to some added pressure being placed on me at my day-job, or, more appropriately, what is now my FORMER day-job.

So it is a new beginning, as of 1 December. And I'd like to use this as my processing point because it is difficult to process the feeling of freedom and the feeling of feeling absolutely lost. As is the purpose of this blog, it is about life and how to live it (and sometimes how not to live it), so if this resonates with you, please comment and tell me.

I won't go into detail. Ultimately, being set free is a good thing. What matters is that I no longer have a structure set upon me vs. developed by me for my optimal purpose.

So here are the circumstances: no steady income stream; my insurance runs out at the end of the month (Merry Christmas!); my wife left her job at the end of September and we are both living an unstructured existence, and at times, we are at each others' throats. 

So, what to do? First, EVERYONE needs structure in their lives. Its what get things done. I've developed a duration-based schedule for now, to ensure I'm doing things that need to be done each day (e.g. Work on the blog for 2 hours each day, housekeeping for 2 hours each day, working out for 1 hour each day, etc.), which gives flexibility to fudge blocks of time to deduct from one day and apply it to another day. That has helped. But now I am deciding that I need more structure (and imagine that! I HATED being structured and yearned for a non-structured existence. But the reality is that I hated having a structure foisted on me without my full cooperation and participation). 

I've decided to make my apparent unemployment my job, complete with time to get up, shower, drink tea or coffee, etc. There is a comfort in knowing that neither my subconscious nor my wife have to ask me "what's your plan for the day?" I have it all in hand, and I will share a sample daily plan in a later entry.

There is the obligatory search for work--to seek out de minimis a part-time, benefits-laden gig to help me gain more traction in making this blog work monetarily and in a self-actualizing way. My career is that of a writer, and very few have a comfortable life relying solely on their craft. But I'm not too proud to work a "menial" job if the benefits are there. In my humble opinion, the front-line, the laborers, the line cooks, the gardeners, the ditch diggers, all who make the final product or do the actual service are the most honorable of anyone in business. They should be compensated accordingly, but that is an issue best addressed by the masses. Once the unemployment funds run out, then its time to scramble for more disposable income (of course Uber and Lyft come to mind for that, for flexibility and quick earnings).

And there is time to dedicate to blogging--to learn, to grow, to network. So I have my work cut out for me for now. It's been 2 weeks since I "left the business" (as my former employer so liked to position departures). But before I end this entry, here are the things I reflect on to keep me motivated: 1. My former direct-report team so loved and respected me that they didn't pull any punches with the leaders who announced my departure, and they pooled their resources to give me a really sweet, heart-warming gift that told me that everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) that I did as their leader was the right thing and the good thing; 2. Sleep is really, really good. And having 8 hours of sleep each day makes me feel truly ready to conquer the coming day; 3. Catching up on reading that doesn't involve the latest flavor of management self-help--right now I'm re-reading the Autobiography of Henry VIII. It's really as good as it was when I first read it 20 years ago; 4. No excuses to NOT work out and /get some sweat going. After all, my calendar is pretty clear.

More to come, everyone. This is an evolving existence midway through my life.