Category: austin

Posted: 1/23/2020 | January 23rd, 2020

If you’re like me, you know how hard New Year’s resolutions are to keep. “New year, new you” starts with the best intentions, but after a couple of months, it’s back to new year, old you.

Old habits die hard, but they can be broken if they are replaced with good ones.

We’re at the start of a new year (and decade), so — as someone who loves a good cliché — I’m going to use this time to build the habits that create a better version of me.

After many years of trying (and writing copious and annoying blog posts about it), last year I finally slowed my travels and moved to Austin. I have a furnished apartment, plants (only two have died so far!), and a recently purchased car (my first ever!).

My days are filled with routine. I wake up, make breakfast, head to WeWork, go to the gym, head home, read, cook dinner, read some more, and go to bed.

My life is the proverbial suburban 9-to-5 I tried to escape from for so many years.

And, for the first January in years, I’m not on the road.

I’ve been enjoying it so much I’ve even begun to dread heading to the airport the same way children dread the dentist.

I used to think routine was a bad thing. It was the thing that killed spontaneity and adventure.

But I’ve come to learn that routine actually creates the framework for excitement and adventure. By scheduling my days and following a routine, I can ensure that I make time for what’s important and for all the things I want to do and goals I hope to accomplish.

So I wrote a list of things to do this year called “Stop Being Boring” with all the things I want to do while in Austin this year: get out more, volunteer, attend city council meetings (first one is next month!), join some social clubs to meet new people, host more meet-ups, and explore more of the city. Now that I have a car, I also plan to see more of Texas and the American South.

Rather than try to read more, I’m going to be a reader.

Rather than try to go to the gym, I’m going to be the person that does.

While I’ve already made some good strides toward eating better and going the gym, the true test will be when I start traveling in February. Will I fall back into old habits? Maybe. But I’m motivated to break them.

This year is also going to be all about focus for me.

I want to focus on work without getting sidetracked by phone calls or Facebook, so I can end my workday earlier.

The internet makes it easy to stretch it from four productive hours to ten unproductive ones, especially when you work for yourself. Now I’m already sitting, undistracted from my tasks, and getting them done quicker!

Next month, I’m going to Hawaii and Taiwan for three weeks before heading back to Paris and Berlin. In the summer, when the weather in Austin is too unbearable, I’m thinking about the Balkans, and maybe some of the ’Stans in the fall. And then in November, I’d like to finally get to Peru.

And while I’ll travel less this year, what trips I do take will be done with more focus. As they say, what’s old is new again, and this year, I’m going to travel without my computer again. Last year, all my travels were just a backdrop for work — and that’s not how I want to see the world.

***

Study after study has shown that by imagining yourself as your desired self, you unconsciously start acting like that person.

I’m determined to make “new year, new me” last the full year. And if I don’t, you’re free to remind me of this post and hold me accountable!

So that’s what I’ve been up to these last few quiet months.

What are your goals for the new year?

Photo credit: 1 – Evgenii

The post Life at Home: New Year, New You appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

One of the most-asked questions on my book tour was: “What comes next?” Now that I’m back from Paris and have moved out of New York City, and now that my book tour is over, what are my next big plans? Well… Not much. Right now, I’m back in Austin. I have to finish moving into my new apartment (why do couches take so long to arrive?) and, beyond a couple of trips to NYC and DC for weddings, I don’t plan on leaving Austin for a long time. My passport is staying in my drawer. I’m not moving back to New York or Paris or some other city. I’m not working on a new book. There’s no new big projects. Nothing. For the foreseeable future, all I see is Austin. And I’m very excited about that. A tree only grows when it has roots, and now that the madness of all this year’s projects is over, those roots can finally start to weave their way into the earth and provide the foundation for further growth. I can finally get into the one thing I’ve been craving all year: routine. I’m going to get into a better workflow, go back to the gym, start cooking again, take up some hobbies, sleep more, and maybe even start holding monthly meet-ups. Who knows! I used to think that I had to rush my travels, that there was too much of the world to see, and that that was why I couldn’t stop traveling — because, if I did, I’d never see it all. And to me, that was a crime. That’s why it was always “just one more trip.” Part of me still feels that way. But, in reality, there is no rush. You can never see it all. There will always be something else to see or do, or something new. And it will still be there in a few months. So, right now, the world can wait. I’m tired of being on the move. I’m tired of staying in spaces not my own. I’m tired of wearing the same three shirts over and over again. When that kind of burnout happens, you have to stay put. So I will stay put and recharge the battery named “travel.” I don’t know how long it will take. I don’t really care. I’m in no rush to go anywhere right now. I always define travel as something that pushes you out of your comfort zone and makes you grow as a person. Being home and learning to stay put will be a new adventure. This is something I’m going to have to learn how to do (it was really tough passing up on super cheap flights to the Seychelles). So, in a way, I guess that is what comes next is a deep dive into this concept called “home.” I’m looking forward to the challenge.