The 4 Best Things I Tried on 2015
With 2015 all but gone, I took a little time aside during the beginning of 2016 to reflect on the best things that I tried during last year. I came up with a list of the top 4 things.
These were the criteria I used to include items in this list:
- They had to be things I have never tried before.
- They had to have yielded amazing results beyond my expectations.
- And, of course, they had to have happened in 2015.
So without further ado, here’s my top 4 list for 2015:
4. Listening to Podcasts While Driving
I started listening to podcasts because I heard that this guy called Pat Flynn was talking about ways of making passive income online. He said he could teach people how to create online businesses that once set up can produce recurrent revenues with almost no maintenance effort (if that sounds interesting to you, check his blog or his podcast).
I got pretty hooked up with that concept, but I didn’t have time to read all of his blog posts. That’s when I realized he had a podcast as well, so I decided to listen to those while driving my car. I figured that the time spent driving was time I was already spending anyway, so why not make it a little bit more productive?
The results were awesome: I now have a constant source of new ideas, advice, methods, books and software that can potentially help me. The best thing is that this amazing stream of ways to improve myself comes to me almost effortlessly, it just plays in the background while I drive my car. I later realized that Pat’s podcast wasn’t just about passive income, it was also about how to be a successful entrepreneur, which is great for me because that’s what I want to become.
Why did it work?
I think that listening to podcasts was a good idea for two reasons. First, it didn’t take any extra time from me, since I was able to incorporate it in my daily routine. Second, I was lucky enough to pick a podcast about a topic that really interested me.
And here’s the good news: the internet is full of podcasts, covering almost any topic imaginable. So if you don’t currently listen to any of them, I strongly recommend that you do. Just pick one about something that you like and start listening to it whenever it’s easier for you: at the bus, while doing the dishes, while working out, etc. You’ll soon learn a lot about that podcast’s topic with almost no effort.
3. Having a Monthly Budget
I started building and maintaining a monthly budget because things where getting out of control with my expenses. Most months I would fall victim to the classic “too much month at the end of my money” predicament. I was getting pretty stressed up to make ends meet, so I figured that there had to be a better way [spoiler: there totally was].
I got the idea of following a budget from a book called The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey. It’s a great book with lots of advice on personal finances; I totally recommend that you read it.
Afterwards, I started digging deeper into the topic of budgeting and stumbled upon You Need a Budget: a tool specifically designed for creating and following budgets. I didn’t end up using their tool (a simple spreadsheet was enough for me), but I totally embraced their 4 rules, specially the first one: Give Every Dollar a Job.
It’s quite a simple rule actually: once you receive your monthly income, choose beforehand what you’re going to do with each part of it. You can assign it on savings, groceries, gas, bills, or anything else, but you must allocate all of it.
This simple act really makes all the difference in the world: instead of just knowing how much money you’ll make each month, you’ll also have a good estimate on how you’ll spend it. As a result of this estimate, you’ll be able to prioritize you expenses with total clarity. You can now define responsibly how much money you will designate to those extra things you want but don’t necessarily need, and sometimes postpone buying them if you’re short of money.
Just a note, this rule comes accompanied by three other rules that make the whole process possible. It takes a while to understand and a lot of discipline to follow these rules. If you’re interested on having a budget, I advice you to read about the rules first. Also, following a budget means writing down everything you spend. It’s a little extra work and maybe it’s not for everyone, but to me it’s totally worth it.
Why did it work?
Having a budget turned out to be a very effective way of prioritization. Instead of buying impulsively, I now spend in a much more conscious way, being able to analyze exactly how much I can use on each item.
I realized that I used to get X money at the beginning of the month, and think that I could spend X in whatever I wanted. But the truth is, a big part of X was already spent on groceries, gas, bills and other things I’m forced to spend on, whether I want to or not. Now, I look at X, make a budget that includes those mandatory expenses, and then conclude that I only have about a fifth of X to spend on the extras. So when I have to chose whether or not to spend on those things, I’m able to make that decision much more responsibly.
2. Blogging
The main I reason I started blogging was because I wanted to improve my writing skills, and I remembered a friend who once told me:
“You don’t become a good writer by studying literature, you do so by reading and writing a lot”. (tweet it)
I was already reading a lot of books and blogs, so I concluded that it was time to give writing a try. And since I didn’t want to start writing a whole book just yet, I figured that the easiest way to get started was by blogging.
It ended up being an amazing experience.
First of all, I realized that one of the greatest benefits of writing is not the text that results, but the thought process you have to put yourself through to produce it. This process of writing requires a lot of work, but it comes with the additional perk of helping you clarify and consolidate your ideas enormously. It basically forces you to reflect about what you’ve done right and wrong in the past, making it much easier to extract concrete lessons from your experiences.
“Good writing is clear thinking made visible” — Bill Wheeler (tweet it)
I also realized that once something is written, sharing it with the rest of the world is free and extremely easy, and it can potentially help other people enormously.
When I started writing, I figured that the best way to write about helpful topics was to try to write to myself 10 years ago. So I would begin my writing process by brainstorming ideas and methods that I have discovered recently and that I would have loved to know back then. I did this because it’s quite possible that someone today is struggling with the same problems I used to struggle 10 years ago, so maybe I could help them by sharing what I learned.
What’s obvious to you right now wasn’t always obvious, and may still not be obvious to everyone. (tweet it)
But perhaps one of the biggest realizations that I had after I started writing was that if you don’t write, you don’t exist.
“Plenty of people had explored the roads to the east long before Marco Polo. […] So why does Marco Polo get all the credit? Why is he the one we remember and name silly games after? Simple. He wrote about it.” - Authority by Nathan Barry
After a couple of blog posts, the results were great: I got a lot of positive feedback from some readers, I realized that I really enjoyed the process, and I learned a lot of new things (not just about writing but about other related topics such as marketing and social media).
Why did it work?
Writing turned out be a really fun, gratifying and enlightening experience. I discovered that I really enjoy the process, which is reason enough to keep doing it.
I’ve also found great satisfaction by sharing what I write. I’ve come to realize that we all have solved certain problems that others are still struggling with, and that spreading those solutions is as easy as writing about them. It just feels really good to share one’s experiences, especially if doing so can potentially help other people.
1. Parenthood
I had always wanted to be a father but found the prospect really scary. For a long time I thought I just wasn’t ready. How can you prepare yourself for something that will completely change your life for ever? I guess you’re never absolutely, 100% ready for such an immense change.
So my wife and I decided to stop thinking of the consequences and just give parenthood a try. (OK, we made that decision back in 2014, but my son was born on 2015, so it still counts).
It wasn’t an easy decision for us; virtually every friend, relative or acquaintance we had that was a parent would tell us how hard it was. I used to imagine that my whole life would become a constant whirlwind of diapers, breast milk, wails and worst.
After becoming a father I realized that my fears where pretty unjustified. Sure, some things changed a lot, but it hasn’t been even close to what I expected. By far. And no, it’s nothing like The Oatmeal’s comic (I still think he’s hilarious, though).
Don’t get me wrong, being a parent does require some sacrifices:
- I sleep a little less
- I have twice as many chores at home
- I have less free time in the afternoons and weekends
- I have to always coordinate my schedule with my wife’s schedule, to figure out which of us will look after of our son
- It takes me an extra 30 minutes to leave the house when taking my son
But it’s not the endless nightmare I had imagined.
And in spite of all the sacrifices, parenthood comes with a great reward: a persistent state of bliss. I just never imagined how insanely happier I would become. It’s really something I can’t explain: I sleep less and have less free time, but I’m so much happier. My day can be really bad, but when I see my son smiling I just feel an incredible joy.
Why did it work?
I guess we’re just programmed to reproduce; that’s why parenthood feels so awesomely great. It’s something I don’t completely understand, but I just love that constant feeling of joy that comes with being a father.
I also realized that I had nothing to be afraid of. Sure, some things did change, but not nearly as much as I expected. All in all, I’m really glad that I took this step.
How Was Your 2015?
For me, 2015 turned out to be an amazing year, where I wasn’t afraid to try new things out, some of which turned out to be pretty awesome. I’ll try to do the same during 2016, we’ll see in a year how it goes.
How about you? What were the best things you tried in 2015? What would you do different this 2016? You can leave a comment below with your own experience.
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