Tea Time No. 3 | Discipline

During this time of year, I like to revisit the resolutions I had made for New Years. I don't know if anybody else uses this term but I like to call it my Half Year Resolutions. For the most part, my goals have been a success so far. As you get older, time really does go by a lot quicker - there aren't much milestones to hit after college unless you decide them yourself. The realization of it all is started to weigh as I approach my mid-twenties so I decided to make every year count.

I love to set #goals. As a freelancer and an artist, it's important to do so. Even more so as a business person.

What was most important to me this year was that I maintain my independent-ness both financially and socially. That was really easy. But what I didn't really do well on was my tendency to eat food and spend money with no sense of moderation at all.

So this month is going to be about discipline. Generally, I feel as though I'm already quite disciplined in routine - how else can someone manage a 60+ hour work week and six jobs without a strict sense of discipline? But when it comes to eating and shopping, it's a bit lax.

See, I can be disciplined in my work ethic because my jobs are important to me. People depend on me. But things like controlling my spending and eating varies. I could go one month without any purchases but the next month I'll buy an iMac and a MacBook or a new camera with new lenses (this has really happened before). Or I'll eat fast food every day for a week, jeopardizing my health and my cash reserves.

If I set some goals, then I can develop some habits to achieve them. It takes about six weeks to form a habit so after this month, I hope to have formed a few solid methods to keep me on track.

I have 3 specific goals.

1. LOSE 15 POUNDS THIS MONTH

The goal really is to take care of myself physically and mentally. I just wanted a specific goal to work towards.

I've somehow convinced myself that taking on 6 different jobs is okay because I'm young and I have the energy and the experience would be valuable. This was a couple of years ago. I took piano accompanist gigs for so many schools and churches doing both rehearsals and performances, I taught piano and voice both privately and at a music school, I went from office assistant to licensed insurance agent, and I took photography on the side.

The long hours have, at times, taken a toll on my health. Whenever I got sick, I'd be out for a week. It wasn't until maybe a year ago that I decided to really commit to staying healthy. And I really don't think I could hold myself accountable unless I have a specific goal so I'm going to try to lose 15 pounds or more. That means:

• Getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night (I usually can get by with just 5)

• Drinking water ALL THE TIME

• EATING MODERATE PORTIONED MEALS

• Exercising as often as I can

I have the most difficulty with sleeping because I usually stay up very late working even though I have to wake up at 5:30AM the next morning to get to the office at 7AM. And drinking water. Every morning, I have a latte from Starbucks. But I try to half a glass of water before that because that helps in waking me up. If I'm working long hours and weeks, staying hydrated is super important.

I'm a depressive so there are times I'll just eat and eat to satisfy myself. Or I eat because I'm bored. It's gotten to the point where I've been gaining weight and it's becoming a lot more noticeable. So yeah that shit needs to stop.

I found that exercising helps tremendously. It's a great stress reliever and it keeps my mood up. But making time to go out to the gym can be cumbersome. Yesterday, I started walking my dogs around the neighborhood again. I can't really run because my tiny dogs get tired easily. To supplement that, I started taking 15 minute walks during my breaks at the office. A brisk walk around the block. More like power walking to Demi Lovato's new song - Cool for the Summer.

2. SAVE $15K BY THE END OF THE YEAR

I don't like to talk about money online but I do make a decent amount each month to live comfortably and still save. Being financially literate is so important to me. And now I don't worry about money all especially having a multiple sourced income.

Having a business, though, means having to invest a lot of funds into your operations. I've spent a significant amount of money since the start of this year, mostly business purchases (I've upgraded my computer and some camera gear.) I really want to hold off on any major purchases for a while and focus on increasing my liquid net worth.

My goal is to put aside $15K just for me. I'll then put it into a high yield savings account and freeze it. That's about $2500 a month which is very reasonable and very doable.

I just have to stop spending money on food and random shit.

See a lot of these spending choices result from the need for convenience and efficiency - sometimes I just can't take a break from my day to prepare lunch or coffee. Most of my money goes towards food and it's horrible.

So what I attempt to do is:

• Make coffee at home or bring my French press

• Prepare meals for the week in advanced

• STOP GOING OUT TO BARS AND RESTAURANTS (for a month)

• If I purchase something, I have to pay the same amount to my savings

I'll probably pacify my needs by allowing $50 or so a month for spending money. I used to stick to a strict budget before which helped. It's just a matter of DiScIpLiNe.

3. QUIT SOME JOBS AKA CALM TF DOWN

This resolution is really just to narrow my focus on my career goals.

For the most part, I was right about taking on all those jobs for the experiences. What I've learn  has brought so much insight and knowledge. It's what makes me the young business man that I am today. And now career-wise, I have a more focused and specific goal in mind - building my own enterprise.

It's been a goal of mine for the longest time and I feel like it's my final destination. What probably drives this aspiration is my nature of being self-reliant and resourceful. I like to do everything myself, pretty much. So in order to pave a clearer path for myself, I seriously need to let go of some of the six billion jobs I have.

For the past five years, I had this goal but I didn't have focus. I was giving a lot of my time and energy to other people rather than LividOvid. I'm very confident now about what I want to do and how to go about it so it's fitting that I just take that huge leap of faith now and never look back.

It's bittersweet, really. I've made many very important relationships through my work and still enjoy doing what I do. It's just one of those grown up decisions you have to make once in a while. That executive decision. If I could continue doing it, I would. But the commitment to all these gigs is exhausting and much too taxing on my schedule. It just doesn't work out anymore. It's not you, it's me.

The Timeline

This year is going to be my last year being a piano accompanist and piano teacher at the Napa School of Music. It's a great gig but asks way too much from my already hectic schedule.

I'll continue to work at the insurance office for a while as I do photography and private piano lessons on the side.

Eventually, I'll leave the office job and go full time into LividOvid. At that time, I'm hoping to open up an actual building and studio that has been in the work for years.

I'm a little neurotic when it comes to resolutions and self-improvement. It's the crazy perfectionist side of me. There's always something that can be improved upon and tweaked so that you can be you 2.0. Like an annoying iTunes software update.

So what I hope will come out of this is being a much more health-conscious business man with $15K in cash and a plan.

Maybe next year I'll be a fitness-conscious business man with $50K and thriving business.

And the year after, I'll rule the world.