One of the most influential books I read last year was Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. It’s inspired me to take more responsibility for my decisions instead of blaming other people or events for things that I dislike. In the spirit of Extreme Ownership, here are some ways that I’ve taken greater ownership of my life over the past few years.
- Going to bed earlier. Of all the things on this list, this is the one I struggle with the most. I find it difficult to put away my electronics and go to bed at night. I’m also used to staying up late and sleeping in the next day, which can make me miserable when I have to get up early. I’ve gotten better lately about going to bed at a decent time and getting enough (or close to enough) sleep even when I have an early day at work. As much as I hate waking up early, I’d rather develop the discipline to go to bed early enough to get sufficient sleep than feel like a zombie the next day or put the blame on my work schedule.
- Giving myself more time to commute. I’ve pretty much mastered this, at least for my regular activities outside the house. This is a good skill to have since I drive almost every day and have fairly lengthy commutes. Regardless of where I’m going and what time of day it is, I can get ready and leave early enough to get to almost any function in my normal routine well before I have to be there. Sometimes I’ll take a book with me in case I end up having some time to spare and want something to do besides stare at my phone until I go in. Getting there early gives me more peace of mind and prevents me from being late due to heavy traffic or other potential slowdowns.
- Using my time wisely. Good time management is easiest for me when I have a day off or a closing shift at work and hardest when I have an opening shift. When I open, I feel like I end up spending the rest of my post-work day trying to catch up on everything I didn’t get to do before I left the house. In contrast, when I close or have the day off, I have plenty of time to get everything done at a fairly leisurely pace. Either way, I always have at least a few hours of free time even on my busiest days that I can spend as I like and I feel best when I put that time toward things I find meaningful.
- Being careful with my money. I’ve had some recent car trouble that cost me a pretty penny. Although I did complain a bit about that at the time, I moved on from it fairly quickly once everything was back to normal. The way I see it, I can either blame unexpected expenses for my financial troubles or I can avoid excessive miscellaneous spending so that I’m better prepared for those rainy days and have more money to spend on things that are important to me. And when something urgent like car trouble does appear, I can get it taken care of right away so that it doesn’t become an even bigger and more expensive problem due to neglect.