January 31, 2011

The Slow Lane

The year 2011 brings many changes for the Y Household. In all the commotion of the events of the past year, I have inadvertently strayed from a few of my key principles of daily living. Now is the perfect time to take a step back, get back to the basics, and slow life down.

Certainly, blog post frequency will take a hit. From this point forward, I am done the weekly schedule, and in theory, quantity will be replaced with quality. If you want to see more of us and Ezra, come down to sweet North Carolina and visit to catch up the old fashioned way. Spring is just around the corner, and the weather is beautiful here.

It's time to recharge and change the way I do things. While I'm not converting to minimalism [yet], there are many beneficial minimalist practices that I will definitely apply. Here are a few areas in my life that I will revisit.


Distractions

I spend at least eight hours a day staring at a computer while at work, often more than an hour or two in the evening staring at a TV, and maybe up to an hour throughout the day in aggregate looking at my iPhone. Work is required, but the TV and iPhone are definitely not. When I take out time spent driving, sleeping, and eating, I haven't left myself much time for everything else.

[This graphic illustrates how Americans spend their time. It is really telling.]

I plan on dramatically reducing my distractions so I can focus more on family time, reading [sports blogs don't count], praying, thinking, and relaxing. See Leisure below.


Finances

I will be honest and say that 2010 was the worst financial year on record. While we made the most money in one year to date, the problem was what we did with all of it. We forgot who it really belongs to. [Hint: it's not us.] Never again. A complete overhaul is already in progress. Off the bookshelf: The Total Money Makover by Dave Ramsey.

With the previous lifestyle we built, it will certainly be very challenging. We are excited to see what God can do. We will do more with less. We will be smarter. And He will make it work.


Faith

Bringing Ezra into the world has brought Jessica and I closer to God than we have ever been, but it's not for the reasons you might think. If you want to know our story, just ask us. Today, our relationship with Christ is affirmed and renewed, and Jessica and I are even closer to each other as a result.


Leisure

With all the freed up time, this year will bring loads of low or no cost entertainment. Once the weather gets better, you will find us spending most of our leisure time outside and at our local parks and trails. We will play more board games, cook and bake together, create our own entertainment, and work on simplifying our life.

1 comment:

  1. sounds like a perfect way to start a new family :)
    enjoy TMM by Ramsey; we are HUGE Dave fans!

    ReplyDelete