Theoriness | Sunny Spirit

Why Routines Are Often Unproductive

Routines are important in a lot of areas of life. For instance, you don’t need a checklist of things to do in the morning because you brush your teeth as part of a standard routine.

I do not live a routine-filled life. In some ways, I wish I had certain routines, like waking up and running, but that just doesn’t fit with my energy cycle (i.e. I hate mornings). I will add, though, that I did dance a couple Cha Chas this morning to wake up after a night of lesser sleep, and it did a decent job. Maybe that’ll be part of my morning routine.

Routines can also kill productivity. I’ll give you an example:

My friend Michelle came over to help domesticate my house a little bit–you know, make it seem less like Austin Power’s Pad.

Part of the deal was that in order to organize and rearrange things, I had to clean, with chemicals, my tax season “state of working.”

Understandable, but she came over earlier a day earlier than anticipated, plus the free time I was originally going to spend cleaning was consumed by starting my nonprofit and prepping for a great interview with the MSP Biz Journal reporter.

So I didn’t have time to clean everything. I mean, it was pretty darn spotless, but not perfect.

Well, she was going to put dishes in my sink, so I quickly disclaimed the imperfection of the left sink. The enamel of the left sink is thin, do it becomes discolored quickly, and I didn’t prioritize scrubbing it.

So I told her one of my life theories, one involving housekeeping:

There are jobs one does often. They’re done quickly and have a high impact. They are routine jobs. Scrubbing the sink is one of these.

But if one wants to make actual progress, he or she has to do nonroutine cleaning, which is what I did.

Notably, the routine cleaning will get done regardless of effort. Need silverware? BAM–dishes get done.

But if I want to make any progress at all, I start by doing nonroutine jobs. These are jobs I generally try to permanently defer, or they’re jobs for which I never find time. They are often the above and beyond difference no one will notice. Or they’re jobs I don’t particularly enjoy. These are tasks like organizing papers into where they actually go instead of placing them in a “file later” pile or dusting the shelves no one will see.

These are tasks like replacing your food into single serve containers.

These are tasks like making the bathroom mirror sparking clean instead of just wiped down (okay, that’s an often noticed plus).

By breaking routine, sometimes you can actually get things done. Now, a life of a million pieces seems completely random, but my routine is to point them all towards a single, unified purpose.

That is how I handle routines, or don’t handle them, or why I choose to keep a nonroutine life.

Why My Random-ass Investing Strategy is Better than Experience, Research, and Skill

Because I believe I should improve the world and finances of my friends, so I’m telling you all about my awesome investing strategy*:

A lot of people know what’s going on in the stock market. Me? I just don’t care, because it doesn’t matter. I mean, sure, I know things like “we’re in a rescission,” “we’re in a boom period,” and “Europe/China/Japan/Russia is doing great/terrible/having some civil unrest or other irrelevant event that’s making the Euro tank,” but most of that stuff only matters today.

I don’t invest for today. I invest for the long-term, like next week.

Many of you know that for the last several years, my investing strategy was pretty simple and static, “Buy the IPO of Tesla and hold it.”
As fun as it was watching the stock go up when Tesla has a great idea that it will do in 2025, it was also ridiculous watching the stock tank because Elon has a big mouth and bashed something not related to his industry, which just obviously makes the stock tank.
Either way, it was a good 1000% ROI. That story is done.

With all this cash from selling all of Tesla, I’m back to my “normal” investing strategy. It’s not so much normal or a strategy as it is a belief system and a set of concepts. Basically, the efficient market hypothesis, knowing that Wall Street is a spaz, the market is cyclical, and macro trends guide my investing. Let me explain:

Efficient Market Hypothesis

In short, the Efficient Market Hypothesis says that for all of the research you do, all of the things you “uncover” that is public information, is already known by Wall Street, and the stock price has already adjusted to reflect that information. Everything you learned about investing from college or that book doesn’t matter.

In Investopedia terms:
The efficient market hypothesis (EMH) is an investment theory that states it is impossible to “beat the market” because stock market efficiency causes existing share prices to always incorporate and reflect all relevant information.
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/efficientmarkethypothesis.asp

Obviously this is questionable as a big-wig investor will publish their opinion, and the market responds, at least in the short-term (the opinion, I guess, is new information).

That brings me to my second concept:

Wall Street Is a Spaz

I makes sense who Wall Street investors behave like they're in a Broadway drama — It makes sense why Wall Street investors behave like they’re in a Broadway drama

Wall Street responds to everything, usually pessimistically. Sure, everyone thinks it would be great to make money, but no one wants to lose money. Ever.
Therefore, whenever there’s news that isn’t fully-awesome good, the market will go down, if even for a bit. As a conservative, yet optimistic, Midwestern investor, I know everything in the Big City is just smoke and mirrors, but the reality is that a company is working hard to, um, enhance the return for its stockholders. Really, they’re all just trying to make it, to get bigger, and to make our world a better place.

So when I invest, I’m above the influence of a little neutral news here and there. Because remember, if it’s not great news, it’s probably bad news…. right?

Not really, and that brings me to my third concept:

The Market is Cyclical

When a stock goes up, it will go down. When a stock is down on it’s luck, it’ll get back on track. Obviously, there are a lot of exceptions to this rule, but it is the general trend. Unless there’s a Macro Trend or some really bad company-specific news, stock prices rise and fall. If you can’t deal with it, buy muni-bonds backed by a T-note.

Considering Macro Trends is important, and also brings me to my fourth concept:

Macro Trends

Macro Trends is basically the concept that means, “don’t do anything stupid.”

For example, don’t buy Blockbuster stock just because it is super cheap.

While Macro Trends can easily be a reason for inaction, they can also be reason for action.

An example of this which is just the opposite. During The Great Recession, bank stocks were cheap. Well, obviously, a good investment wasn’t all those banks that were having problems. While it’s true, you would’ve had a 5 year return that was 100%, why would you want an investment with such a low and slow return?

I invested in a lot of small banks. Mostly ones in the Midwest or the Confederate South. I’m not sure why that geographic choice–that’s just where the companies were located. But they were all down. I figured everyone was hard on banks, but these little banks didn’t do anything mean, so I bought them.

Generally, if I buy a stock, once it hits 20% gain, I sell it.

Weren’t you reading earlier? The market is cyclical. It might go up more, but I have just found that it takes a lot longer to go significantly above 20% than it does to get there. It’s a random stock: get in, make your buck, get out.

Superior By the Numbers

So let’s suppose you buy a stock, hold it for a month, and sell it for 20% gain. That’s pretty cool, since annualized, your ROI is 240%. Yay!

I am a conservative Midwestern bloke, so I do invest in small lots to keep it diversified. And I wait until I find a reasonable stock.

There is still some risk. The risk isn’t that your company will go under, but the risk is that your stock won’t move and you’ll be stuck with an ROI of 0% for a while. You need to be patient and wait for the price to move, and sometimes this takes a while.

Why wouldn’t you sell? Because the price could move tomorrow.

The Best Part

Investor The best part of this investing strategy is that it’s incredibly low maintenance.

By telling you all about it, I’ve just spent more time than I do actually paying attention to my brokerage account in a month.

Check in the morning, sell your big gainers, check in the afternoon, see if you had any movements, possibly sell.

Boom – you’re done.

That’s my strategy. You’re welcome. Happy Friday!

*I am not a financial adviser and do not render financial advice

Why the Lid Up Is (sometimes) Good

It’s an age old male/female issue.

I’ll start by saying that I automatically lower the lid. It’s not a big deal. My mom trained everyone.

Before I get to my main point, I don’t like double standards. If I have to put the lid down, then so should you. You want me to close it either because you don’t want to look before you sit and you’ve fallen in, you don’t want to go through the work of lowering the lid, or you don’t want to see how nasty the toilet is.

Since the first two are just from refusal to learn or laziness, respectively, in going to assume it’s because women are ladies and want everything to be prim and proper.

That’s fine. If you want the bathroom to look nicer, then lower the top lid too. I don’t want to look in the toilet bowl unless I’m using it. So on your high value of aesthetics, close the lid! It’s a double standard that bugs me. My toilet is cleaned everyday someone comes over. Yours isn’t.

Point is, women are gross and have double sstandard. This double standard has always bugged me. I’m saying it now. Women, you’re wrong.

The Main Point

Aside from my tirade, I’ll assert that there is an appropriate situation to leave the lid up.

I do it only for the benefit of women. That sounds contra-women’s intuition, I know, but let me explain.

In public restrooms, I try to always remember to leave the lid up.

Public toilets, for whatever reason, have an opening between the left and right side of the sitting lid. I leave it up because I know some little kid (or let’s face it, some man-child) is going to think, “Wow! An opening just for me,” and will think he can aim. Let’s face it, he can’t. So he ends up messing up the seat.

So I leave the seat up in public, unisex restrooms so ladies don’t have to sit on lids that, unbeknownst to them, is caked with dry urine (hover much?).

Yeah, I leave the lid up (sometimes) because I’m considerate. Your welcome.

How You Can Improve Your Winter Driving

People are very unsafe drivers in the winter. I’m here to tell you how you can improve your winter driving.

First of all, we can all agree, the problem is those stupid kids. Or those stupid guys. Or silly gals. Basically, everyone except me. And you if you’re not ever in winter accidents or end up in the ditch.

ditch

I’m going to tell you about how I drive in the winter, at least when it’s wintery out.

Focus

The very most important thing I do is focus. When the weather or roads aren’t perfect or the road, I always focus on driving. My Google Maps is set to drive everywhere before I leave.
My music is off.
I’m gripping the wheel solidly.

focus

You might saw that I’m a little intense.

I drive very safely.

Consrvative

It’s very simple:
When the road looks wet, I just assume it’s icy. I drive incredibly slow.

One time, I knew I could stop in my little car, so I drove “normally”. Someone else was following me. I went to stop at the stop sign; they couldn’t stop or slow down, and they rear-ended me.

That was over ten years ago.

When I drive, I maintain absolute control:

I assume that I won’t be able to stop in an emergency; this means I give a lot of space between my car and the person in front of me
I assume that I won’t be able to go if I need; this means I don’t assume I’m going to be able to move out of anyone’s way quickly and therefore don’t get into a situation where I need to “blast” to safety, a strategy that is useful in the summer when you have a little car
I assume no one else will be able to stop; this is very vital to staying safe. Today was icy, and if you were watching me drive, you’d notice I don’t look at the stop sign when I’m stopping. It’s like watching your feet when you dance – it’s going to be where it is. When you’re dancing, at least if a gentleman, you’re looking out for other people. By assuming no one else can stop, it makes me very slow at a stop sign, since I wait until the other person comes to a complete stop before I go. Driving how young, stupid people drive, or many people, really, they don’t stop until they are almost at the stop sign. Even in nice weather, I apply the brakes early.

Basically, I drive like an old man in the winter.

old man driver

Why My Little Car is Better than Your Big Truck in the Winter

I know a lot of people, and they all deceived into thinking that their big truck/SUV is safer than my little car. They’re all very wrong for many reasons. Let me tell you why.

Collapsable Design

I mean, sure, if a big truck/SUV collides with my car, my car will be totaled, guaranteed. That’s precisely how they are designed.

A modern compact car is incredibly safe. The outside of the car will be absolutely destroyed. It’s is designed to take an impact and to direct it to the entire rest of the outside of the car. This means the inner cabin is not touched.

Okay, you’ll just have to trust me on that. Engineers are smarter than you and I, so they can figure out how. At least Japanese (Honda) engineers. Your truck/SUV is fine, too, but the purpose of this section is to say that no, car owners won’t immediately die.
But I have real talking points that aren’t just things I’m making out of air.

Confidence

People in big trucks/SUVs, generally, think they’re invincible.

They speed; they are aggressive, and just generally drive like a holes. If there’s not a way to pass a car, don’t tail them. Remember, if they need to stop, they’ll stop faster than you, you’re totally liable. I know if you tail me then rear end me, my plan is to make you liable for as m much as I can. My neck is really messed up from you rear-ending me.

The reason I have no pity? You were in a hurry because you didn’t plan for the weather (read “planned poorly”). If you plan poorly, accept the fact that you’ll be late, and it’s all your fault.

You think this is your vehicle:

Responsiveness

M my car is tremendously more responsive. It has way less momentum. Let’s imaging it’s all ice outside. Sheets.

Neither of our vehicles will stop by applying the breaks.

My car slows down faster from coasting. But let’s be honest, my car is noticeably slowed down from running over that bump, manhole, or snow. Or I can use those slight road obstacles to help me stear, because remember, our tires don’t do anything in the ice if they turn, etc.

Stopping and Turning

You’re thinking “I can stop – my truck is heavy.” Heavy things have more gravity.” I think you’re a very foolish person. You probably can stop better going up hill, maybe. It’s ice. You can’t turn, accelerate, or stop. Your car has anti-lock brakes. Good job. It’s irrelevant on ice. Your giant truck/SUV has a lot of momentum. There is only one kind of tire that has grip on ice:

Too bad tire chains aren’t legal in Minnesota. Your taxes are high enough in Minnesota, and construction is bad enough.

Acceleration

You can accelerate in your truck. Your truck compacts the snow, which becomes ice. Then your wheels spin. A lot of people think they will go by spinning their tires. Keep spinning!
Guess what? Your truck/SUV has four tires. My car does, too. That means that you have the same footprint to make a lot more mass move. It’s not going to do it very easily.
Also, while I’ve never seen it, I swear I’ll laugh when your spinny wheels grip the ground because they dig down to the ground, then your car is going to fly forward and crash or something.

My car, on the other hand, doesn’t need to grip the pavement. It can crawl across the power, and my lightweight car stays on top of the snow. Well, it’s not really on top, but I imagine it is. In reality, it takes a lot less force to move my car, which means I can ease into the snow.
I accelerate slowly.
It drives people behind me absolutely crazy. I’m always in control, even if I could go faster by compromising that.

While I’m totally an easy-going guy, when I’m driving (and only when I’m driving), I’m kind of a control freak.

I’ll tell you how and why in my next post.

Food Theory Dissolved

If something is shelf stable, it can stay in the cupboard forever. There’s a ‘Best By’ date, but it doesn’t really matter, right?

That’s what I thought too.

I had a box of scalloped potatoes that were perfect for dinner. They cooked wonderfully.

Little did I consider their ‘bes by’ date.

It turns out that it does matter on done things. I’m sure it seeing make you sick, but it tastes absolutely horrible (“rancid ” is the appropriate word, I amam told).

Turns out they were a little over their date and not like a five wine. And so the Shelf Stable Theory, by which I used to by everything in college so nothing went bad, proved to be untrue.

And yes, it is MLTN that those potatoes were from the apartment I lived in until I bought my house (2012), so check the dates on your food supply you’re saving for the end of the world.

Blast From the Past

When talking to someone for the first time in A long time, you should remember a few things.

For one, they will probably talk about when you last saw them. That’s pretty typical.

Further, they might make some mention of some prior shenanigans.

If this person wants to talk to you, they want to talk to you. That’s not always the case.

They’re not stuck in the past, but they don’t know anything about you and don’t have any more material with you (like a stand up comedian). But they’re bothering to try.

They’re probably talking about the past because that is the only thing they have with you. Give them some more material. Let them make you laugh.

What would happen if you both gave each other the present?

Going with it

Life being as crazy as it is, I’m glad I’ve developed an awesome skill at just going with it.

This is slightly different than going with the flow, which is very not type-Justin. I can do that when being social, and I’m great at doing it when someone takes the lead, and I actually like to do it.

People just don’t take the lead, and when people are being lame, they just need someone to show them otherwise.

I’m not here to talk about how I’m good at not being boring and having boundless energy.

No, I mean “going with it”. It’s different than “going with the flow”. Going with it is a skill for someone who wants to get things done. For my own business, I have everything exactly how I want it, and I like it because things work.

The biggest part of going with it is having a backup plan. And then having a backup for your backup. And making it so the biggest reason you’re experiencing down time is because you decided to write a post, not because of your IT issues.

stick man presents act now symbol

And to be able to do crazy pivots without having down time.

For instance, I was working. I just noticed that my computer wasn’t charging. It’s probably a power source issue, since both power cords didn’t work (and the charger for my phone is working and plugged into the same outlet, etc.).

So what do I do?

Naturally, I click a few times to start my local machine backup process. With two easy processes, the computer backs up all of my Outlook PSTs and the few machine-based files.

Once I do that, they’re just hanging out on my server. I then grab my other laptop, tell it which way to sync, and download everything to my other computer.

And BAM! Up and running within 30 minutes with full capabilities.

Walking

I don’t get people. I’m not sure if they don’t like life, are always “relaxed” (lazy), just don’t value their own time, or don’t realize the large aggregate effect their choice will have on their life (think big picture, people).

That’s a little hard, I realize, but that’s the only reason I can use to explain why everyone walks so darn slow.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, if I have nowhere to go and am conversing, of course I don’t have a fast pace. But I was hanging out with my friend, and he criticized how I always “power walk ahead”. I honestly wasn’t, but I do walk faster than most. He didn’t ask why….

But seriously, why wouldn’t I? Everyone should walk faster for many reasons:

Of course life is about the journey, but I’d prefer to spend my journey doing things, not just travelling. For instance, once I get downtown, I walk to and from work pretty briskly. It’s not that I’m super pumped to get to work, but the less time I spend travelling to and from work, the more time I get to do whatever I want. Many journeys are not ones that I would choose to savor. By walking faster, I have time for more adventures! In the same number of years, I’ll live more life than some people because they’re spending their time travelling inefficiently. I guess it’s cheap entertainment, though.
It’s significantly healthier. If it starts making you tired, GOOD, that means your body is building! Eventually, you’ll walk faster without even about it. It usually increases most people’s heart rate, which is awesome. I’ve been walking incredibly fast since I was 14 or so. If I walk as fast as some people jog, my heart rate is maybe increased by 10 or 15 bpm. So I can’t walk to get a workout, but that’s why I jog easier and my “fast for me” walk might be borderline crazy.
I have more time in my day. If I choose to spend that working, then I can easily say that I make money because I walk fast. (Because I was so fast, that’s actually why I got so many raises at my first job)
When combining these reasons, I also realize that not only will I have more life in the same number of years, but it’s also more likely that I’ll live more years because I’ll be healthier and will enjoy then by having money to do whatever I want.

So again, why does anyone walk slowly?!

Time

Time is odd to me sometimes, and I don’t know why.

For me, time can fly by when I’m having fun, but when I’m in the moment, it seems to last forever. This can often be amazing, but it may also be a reason I’m a bit too much sometimes.

Understand that when I have time away from something I like, one day feels like a week. A month feels like a year. Honestly, it’s really kind of weird. However, I’m not one to let mere time kill something good, so being the loyal person that I am, people don’t dwindle. Actually, not really loyalty so much as a flawless memory of the positive.

On the flip side, because I really enjoy my work, I can feel like I can get tons done in just a few hours, and it’s awesome, especially if I’m not charging hourly.

Not working, I’ve been able to make some nights seem like a long and blissful adventures.

As much as I may think this has to do with me, it may just be physiological. While it’s medically fine, suppose the average resting heart rate is 50 bpm. Now suppose mine is 65. By default, I’m wired 30% faster then everyone else. Maybe I’m just medically more intense than average person.