Today, marks the one month anniversary of my resignation from the corporate cube. Geez, that went by fast.
Within this past month, both my happiness and output have increased. See, I didn’t exit the corporate world to avoid work, I exited the corporate world to have greater flexibility on how I work. The mornings of snoozing my alarm clock three times and getting dressed began to wear on me. I became so miserable with the wake-up call, walking to work became extremely frustrating. See, 16 months ago when I moved a few blocks from my office at Grand Central, I thought life would be a breeze. A 10-minute stroll to work and lunchtime nap on the couch didn’t sound too shabby. While it was far better than traveling from Harlem on the cold 3 train which the MTA seems to deliberately make an ice box, it still had its dull moment of waking up to the corporate schedule. You know the schedule where you need to prep at least an hour and a half or two to get out the lobby…yes, that one SMH!
With the departure from the corporate cube, I can now awake at the time of my choice. The concept sounded amazing until I came head on with my next opposition…the SUN. Where I currently reside, we get lots of that bright energy source and it gleams at 7AM SMH. At 7AM, I am presented with two options, I can either awake or I can force myself back to sleep. Typically, I can muster another hour but by 8:30AM time, the sun wins and I must abide. My current battle with the sun is equivalent to a kid trying to get some extra Zzzs on a Sunday morning with his mom in his ear to get up for church. It’s a dispute that cannot be won.
Once I awake, I proceed to my work area which is a few steps away on the couch. It’s such a relief to bypass the 1 hour grooming process to get out the door. If I had to shave, make that 2.5 hours. I recognize that is a lot of grooming time to some but you have to realize, being bald ain’t easy. Typically my days start with contacting leads looking to rent apartments and making sure my contractors are aware of any repairs to be made. There may be a few administrative tasks that require completion but for the most part, my core landlord activities are finished within 1.5 hours of wake-up, and another hour or two is sprinkled throughout the day. Thereafter, I have the freedom to do as I please. I could camp out by the beach for several hours or frolic around town but that’s not me. I love to work or as I look at it, overcome obstacles and challenges. Given such, that’s what I do although on some days, I’m like screw this work life and head to the beach with shirt off, legs stretched, drink in hand 😊.
Around 4PM, I usually get hungry and am ready to eat. I listen to my body and put on clothes to walk to a nearby restaurant. Eating at 4PM is a stark contrast from eating breakfast or snacks at 10AM and thereafter eating lunch between 1PM – 2PM, yet it suits my current situation. I believe one’s appetite adjusts to when they want to perform an activity rather than having to perform an activity. After lunch I come back home, take a nap and then awake. After I awake, I’ll do some more work, get in some exercise and then do more work or digest educational content outside of real estate and business. When nature calls, I’ll head to the nightlife or escape from my apartment so I realize that I am no longer in NYC. The next day the process repeats itself as now there is very little difference between the weekday and the weekend.