I have no idea what that looks like, but I’m going for it
Most of the time, the passage of time is routine.
On a daily basis, we go to work, get home and have supper; then we might sit and watch TV. We might discuss our day with our significant other.
If we’re blessed enough to have kids, we help them with their homework. If we can.
Everyone’s routine is different. The point is that not much changes from day to day.
We had a big change in 2022.
We moved over a thousand kilometres east from Ontario to Nova Scotia. With the birth of our second grandchild in May 2022, we felt that it was time to be close to them. Seeing them on Facetime, or just twice a year wasn’t cutting it.
We’ve been in Nova Scotia since October, and it’s been awesome. The town we live in is smaller than what we’re used to, but it’s right up our alley at this stage of our lives.
And we see our grandkids in the flesh about three days a week. Fantabulous.
If I was writing my story, I would call 2022 a significant year in my life.
1966- the year of my birth
1995- the year of my marriage
1995- our first daughter
1997- our second daughter
1999- our son
2019- our grandson
2022- our granddaughter
Sure I could add graduations and anniversaries, but I think you can tell that family is what I’m about.
But I also have dreams and goals.
I like to write, and I have a book series that I’m working on. It’s slow going because I haven’t hunkered down and got to it. I have the first one on Amazon, where sales have been slow. Again I haven’t done any advertising or self-promotion, so it’s not surprising.
I also have a t-shirt business on Spring.com with designs or messages that highlight the importance of fathers in our lives. Again sales have been slow. I did run some Facebook ads, but I have now been restricted from advertising. I’ve tried to contact them to find out why but I haven’t heard back from Meta. It’s been over a year.
When I say 2023 is going to be the year I make it, I mean it’s the year I work on my hustles more seriously. I have stories in my head that I want to get out on paper. Yes, I want to make extra cash. But really, I want to leave something for my grandkids to read.
My maternal grandparents did that for us. They both wrote memoirs about their lives in apartheid South Africa, and their stories have been invaluable. They have given us the knowledge of where we came from and what we have to live up to. If someone did a story on the descendants of ZK and Frieda Matthews, they would be impressed.
So it’s time to stop wasting time.
It’s time to be intentional about scheduling time to work on my stories and business.
Spending time with my wife isn’t wasting time. It’s the hours after work that I spend watching TV. It’s the time before work that I spend on my computer watching Youtube or news shows. That doesn’t move me forward.
Here’s my new schedule:
- Start with morning devotions
- Workout- I have a small home gym. I’ll work out in the morning or evening, depending on when I start work.
- Spend 1–2hrs/day on writing and/or creating new t-shirt designs. More on my days off from work.
- Spend time with my wife.
These are not in order of importance, so don’t slam me for placing wife-time at number 4.
Also, my grandkids are in there somewhere.
Hopefully, I can keep to this schedule. It’s easy to start but hard to keep up with it. If I fail one day, I won’t lose heart. I’ll get back on the horse and start again.
Success happens if you do something toward your goal every day.
Here’s to a successful 2023.
If you care to, take a look at my T-shirt store.
https://www.daddyveestees.online
Find my book on Amazon here,
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0B297BPK8