Buy That Television in Person
In a previous post, I discussed the paradox of decision in regards to shopping online versus in person. Here, I am going to argue that you should shop in person because of the economic ramifications. Now, I feel lot of people think that shopping at mega-corporation’s brick and mortar store is the same as shopping at their online store, but you are wrong (I apologize, but I assume two things: 1) you believe that all the profits go to the corporate headquarters so there is no difference between shopping online or at their in person store as all the money funnels to the same place, 2) the stores would stay open anyway).
Let’s tackle point two first: the store would stay open anyway. No one is going to keep a store open if there isn’t a semblance of profit. Not only that, these companies have some of the profit measuring models in the world. The moment a store stays in the red for an extended period of time, they will close it. Keeping a store open means that they have to pay: utilities, wages, shipping fees, and many other pieces. While, if they are making all the sales in the area online, they can cut that entire cost out and just ship from their distribution center (the place that supplies you your online purchases also supplies the store’s inventory). So no, stores will close and I think most people can see that as we see massive retailers shut down their storefronts and move to online only.
The second assumption was that all the profit goes to a central headquarters. I was tricky here, all the profits do go to a central headquarters but not all the revenue does (revenue is the total sales, profits are what is left over after expenses and all that jazz). So when you buy a television in person, it costs a little more (even though they will often price match online prices). However, the profit margins between an instore and online purchase are vastly different. That single in-store purchase now kept some of the capital of your city in your city (the money gets doled out to the utility company and their employees, the retailer’s employees, the landscapers, everyone in the city that supports that company’s brick and mortar store). So yes, all the profits do go back to the mothership, but an in-store purchase provides less to the company and more to the workers of your city. So buy locally, even buying at a mega-corporation store will provide some benefit to your community (but I suggest you try and find an independent store cause then all your money stays in the area).
Read MoreParadox of Decision – Commerce in Person
There is a phenomenon that is solely human (it could exist in other species, but I cannot communicate with my cat so I don’t know if she experiences regret); regret is the outcome that one experiences when they are thrust into the paradox of decision. As humans, we are often given decisions. The paradox of decision focuses on the feelings of satisfaction with a choice. The theory is that the more options you receive, the more likely you are to regret or be less satisfied with what you have chosen. This is a well documented outcome, as choices increase, the decision maker will be less satisfied with what they chose. The example is usually ice cream – if I offer six choices instead of a hundred, then the person is quick to decide and not feel regret as there was only one flavor out of the six that they truly wanted, but if there was a hundred, they may have three choices they would like so they assume they chose poorly after they make their choice. [click “Read More” for more]
Read MoreBalance of Happiness
In three previous pieces, Squandering Time, Staying Social, and Taking Time Off, I discussed what matters in the world: 1) focusing on bettering yourself and having future goals, going out with people/being social, and just completely vegging out and letting your mind turn to pudding. Now, these weren’t long pieces by any means, but I think they convey enough to help people on their way to being a fully rounded person. As for me, I live my life based on the principle of borrowed time. There are only so many hours in a day, so many days in a week, and so many weeks in a life. As such, I am not willing to squander that time unless I have accomplished something towards my own goals. In the past, my week was structured in a pretty spontaneous way; I never had issues completing tasks before meeting up with friends.
Now, I am not in such a luxurious place. After calculating out my time, with work and what I believe I need to do to be a successful author, I’ve run into a weird deficit where I only get twenty-seven hours of awake time for non-writing activities (I count reading as a writing activity). This is based on getting seven hours of sleep during the week, working eight hours with a forty minute commute (total), and writing forty hours a week. As such, I’ve basically had to cut out television and movies from my life, otherwise, I would never see friends. During a week, I see friends two to three times, and during a weekend maybe once or twice – I drink during the week since I won’t have time to write after hanging with my friends. I get up early, so I can get to work early and leave early, giving me three-four hours a day during the week to write or read (some of that time is now taken up by working out, I was getting a little too pudgy).
So how do I do it? Simple, I try to solve each of the three necessities in a single week. In order to show you how that works, I figure I would break down a normal workday and a weekend day (Sundays have meal prep for the week in them, and every month there is a day devoted to Cleaning/Picking Up/Binge watching Television). [click “Read More” for my basic schedule]
Workday
- Wake up, grind coffee beans, listen to news, make coffee
- Drink coffee, read section of news article (Stay informed, create new ideas, Work to the Future)
- Go to work – bust ass for 8.5 hours
- Get home, lay on bed and let mind rest (Time Off)
- Workout and watch television shows that were recorded (Time Off)
- Write (Work to the Future)
- Go see friends (Be Social)
- Write (Work to the Future)
- Read (Work to the Future)
- Sleep (Survive)
Weekend Day
(lot more variance, but this is pretty solid review of a common weekend)
- Wake up two hours later (sevenish)
- Go to coffee shop, read, drink water
- Write/Edit
- Get the shakes from not eating (Cook a glorious meal, usually around 1 or 2)
- Veg out on TV while digesting
- Drink pot of tea, edit/write
- Drink pot of tea, edit/write
- Get the shakes from caffine, eat to calm nerves
- Go out with friends (rage!)
- Adjust morning wake up based on time in bed
Guest Haiku – Kobayashi Issa
| English | Japanese |
|---|---|
|
So much money made ~Kobayashi Issa |
Kane Moke ~Kobayashi Issa |
Taken from The Spring of My Life and Selected Haiku, Translated by Sam Hamill
Read MoreTaking Time Off
In two previous blurbs (Squandering Time and Staying Social) I argue for not wasting time but also not being a hermit. In this little nugget, I am going to talk about taking some damn time off. While life only gets messier as we grow old, I find it is important to not focus 100% on producing or driving towards the future you want. Nor is it good to focus 100% on the present and your social obligations. There needs to be a healthy blend of work and fun. But, there is a third dynamic that needs to be expressed: freedom. This is when you reboot, you avoid friends, you find a tree, and you just think/read/stare at clouds/let your brain cool. So, work hard, play hard, and then enter a state of nothingness for some time. Let your brain turn to mush and watch a dumb television show.
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