What Is On My Keychain

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Do you ever wonder about the wad of stuff that is on your keychain? Do you really need it all? Or is it just more stuff taking up space in your pocket?

Here is what I have:

  1. house key
  2. key to office
  3. motorcycle key
  4. paperclip
  5. mini pocket knife
  6. P-38
  7. Kroger card
  8. library card
  9. key to lock for locker
  10. key to lock for other locker
  11. mini thumb drive

Separately:

  1. car key – this thing takes up too much space in my pocket, so I only carry it when I will be driving the car
  2. mini-lanyard
  3. tiny flashlight

I haven’t used the mini thumb drive in some time, so I could comfortably get rid of it. The mini pocket knife actually helped me with the “100 Thing Challenge” because I realized that I only needed one knife, so I was able to quit carrying the separate one. Ideally, the two locker locks would use the same key, but that is not the case (and I see no point in buying a new lock just so that it matches).

Other than the thumb drive, these items get used on at least a weekly basis, so I feel that they are well worth carrying. Since I don’t have any decorative items, this all fits comfortably on a single ring, and does not take up too much space in my pocket.

What’s on your keychain?

Books That Can Change Your Life

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As an avid reader, I’ve consumed a lot of information over the years. Many of those books stand out in my memory, often because of a good story. Few, however, have actually held information that I used, and put to work in my life. Those few that have were able to change my life; some in minor ways, some quite profoundly.

Books:

  • The 4-Hour Workweek – (Kindle/Paper) Even if you aren’t interested in a lot of what Tim Ferriss has to say, there are a lot of tidbits in here that can be used to change your life.
  • Leo Babauta’s The Power of Less – (Kindle/Paper – There’s so much information in this book about how to streamline your life, including both theory and actionable items. Use it like a workbook, mark pages, scribble in the margins, and make it yours.

eBooks:

  • Leo’s Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life – This is a great starting point for anyone who is interested in trying out minimalism.
  • Leo’s Zen-to-Done – I’m a productivity system nerd; I love trying out new systems, testing what works in my life and what doesn’t. Of all the systems that I’ve tried, this one works the best for me. It’s not so involved that it gets in the way of the work that I have to do, or too complicated that I don’t want to keep up with it. Now I’m finally getting somewhere!
  • Everett Bogue’s Minimalist Business – This is exactly the information that I needed as I set about creating a business that will allow me to escape from my job. Packed full of useful advice, it will help you get where you want to be (if that place includes you having your own business).

I have read thousands of other books, and they have shared a lot of information with me, entertained me, and even taught me, but I can’t think of any others that have changed my life. Check them out, who knows where your life might end up!

(The links above are affiliate links, which means that for any purchase you make, a percentage of the price will come to Adventure-Some and help to support the site.)

Child-led Adventure

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This is a guest post from Rebecca Burgener, who strives to introduce the people in her circle to their God-given creativity. Living in Tennessee with her husband and children, Rebecca blogs at Communicate Creativity and plays the editor for Pond Ripples E-zine.

While dinner cooked one evening recently, my children and I took a quick trip to the moon.

Captain Blackie
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It all started with a map of Arkansas. My Mother-in-Law requested an Arkansas vacation guide to dream over. These people were so generous, they sent her two. She gave one to my kids.

As I prepared dinner, I noticed they were quiet. Any parent knows that smells like trouble. I found them with the large map of Arkansas spread out on the floor while they industriously colored out their upcoming route to the moon.

A mama must think on her feet. I considered that I didn’t give them permission to destroy this map, but did we really need a map of Arkansas? True, we could use it to study Arkansas, but we are focusing on learning about the state we live in at the moment. I didn’t foresee a trip to Arkansas in the near future, either. I thought of their perspective. Were they destroying something or stretching their creative muscles? I think I mentioned something about, “Ask next time,” and let their game continue.

Before I knew it, we were strapped into our Living Room Space Ship. When I say we, I mean my three children, the dog, several stuffed animals, all the current imaginary pets and friends, AND me. Little Lady pushed the pink button. Little Man helped everyone (and I mean everyone) with their space helmet and then pushed the fast button.

Blast Off!

Upon landing we all double checked our space helmets and stepped out to explore the dining room, I mean, the moon. Little Man took pictures with my old 110 film camera (my first camera!) as everyone else stood by the American Flag on the moon. Then we consulted the map.

According to our map, we must find buried treasure. Little Lady quickly found an X, but Little Man checked the map and informed us the treasure is under the P. He found the P easily, and we began digging.

Before long, we uncovered a treasure chest full of money. Pirate Money.

Moon Pirates.

We decided it was time to go home. We quickly piled into the space ship with the pirate treasure. Little Lady heard the pirates say, “Arghh! Where’s our treasure?” We sealed up the ship and strapped everyone in. Little Lady pushed the pink button, and Little Man with the help of Captain Blackie pushed the fast button.

Blast Off!

We arrived home just in time to take dinner out of the oven.

Editors note: I thought that this story perfectly demonstrates how an adventure can be had without having to spend a lot of money, make huge plans, or even leave your house! Children are amazing: we should learn to follow their lead more often.

Starting the 100 Thing Challenge

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Today’s the day. For 31 days, I’ll be living as if I only have 100 personal items.

In reality, however, I’ve been living like this for the last two weeks now. I made my list and then I packed all but my 100 things away. (I’ll be explaining in more detail how I did that soon.) That was a week ago, and I’ve been using only the things that I kept out. Only once or twice have I needed to reconsider what I was using (the temperature dropped, and I needed some warmer layers while on the motorcycle.)

Based on this experience, I shouldn’t have any problem making it through the month. Even as the temperature begins to dip lower, I expect to layer my clothes and keep warm while riding the motorcycle (which is a technique that I learned while backpacking).

Maybe I’ve left out a few things that I needed. Perhaps I’ve kept out far too much. I’m excited to see how it goes! It should be an interesting month.

What I Carry In My Pockets

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I carry too much stuff in my pockets. Every morning I joke that I’m “Putting Myself Together”.

List stuff:

  1. wallet
  2. cell phone
  3. keys
  4. car key
  5. chapstick
  6. pen
  7. handkerchief
  8. Moleskine planner (occasionally)

This might not seem like much, but it can certainly feel like it. Plus, I’ve subtracted a few things from this list: eraser (from when I carried a pencil), paper for note capture, receipts, pocket knife. (The pocket knife stayed on the list until just a few days ago, when I realized that I had to cut back because of 100 Thing Challenge, I just didn’t have room for it on the list. Plus, I have a knife on my keychain, so I was doubling up.)

When Was the Last Time You Drove Without the Radio On?

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Since I’m using my motorcycle as my main source of transportation I don’t listen to the radio anymore while commuting. I didn’t even notice is absence until one day I was listening to the radio at home and realized that I didn’t recognize a number of the songs. Since I only listen to one radio station, I’m normally pretty up-to-date with the music that they play. It was sort of a shock to realize that I hadn’t really had the radio on for nearly two months.

Now that I’m aware of it, however, I don’t care much to have the radio on while driving. When I’m in the car with my wife, I often just turn it off. I find it so much nicer to have fewer distractions in the car, which allows me to focus on other things. Without background noise, I’m better able to be involved in the conversation that I have with my wife. I have an opportunity to listen to myself think, whether I’m working through a problem, replaying a conversation I had earlier in the day, or just having an internal dialogue about my day.

It’s not something that I think about when I’m on the motorcycle. I don’t miss having background noise (I like hearing the rumble of the engine). If I were to take a long trip, especially on an interstate, I might consider bringing along the Mp3 player, only because of the boredom that interstates provide.

*Disclaimer*Even though I like music, I am by no means an audiophile. To me, music is background noise. I don’t keep up with trends and I don’t know bands or song names. I’m not saying that you should stop listening to music, but to be aware that sometimes it’s on just out of habit. *End Disclaimer*

This is not a new thing for me. I’ve always preferred to have the radio off. When I’m riding with someone, I prefer to have less distractions so that I can focus on the conversation we’re having. When I’m by myself, I enjoy the opportunity to focus on my thoughts. There are already enough things to distract you when driving, we shouldn’t need to add to them.

Do you ever turn off the radio when driving? Give it a try, spend some time with your thoughts, see what you have to say.

What Would Your 10 Things Be?

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I recently ran across this post that asked “If you could only have 10 things, what would they be?” This got me to wondering what my list would be, which I felt was interesting timing, considering I am taking on the 100 Thing Challenge.

Note: I actually wrote and scheduled this about two weeks ago, before I decided to take on the challenge. However, coming up with this 10 item list helped push me towards the decision to try the challenge, since it helped me really pin-point what I really used day-to-day.

The Rules

  1. 10 things total including clothing
  2. a pair of something (shoes, socks) counts as just one thing
  3. power cords or other essential parts are included with things (laptop + powercord, phone + charger, car + keys)
  4. the list is for where and when you are now, but you can trade things later (for instance shorts for pants in summer/winter)

My List

I don’t have all of these things, but if I were to minimize this much, I think that I would shell out the money to acquire them.

  1. Saddleback Leather Company Briefcase – Tobacco Brown. You’ve gotta have a way to carry the other possessions around. I will eventually get one of these bags, because it will outlast me.
  2. Laptop – If I was getting rid of everything else, I would replace my Dell with a MacBook. Following rule number 3 above, this would include a power cord, mouse, and earbuds.
  3. Digital Camera – Not only do I need some sort of creative outlet, but if I had a good camera, I would be selling stock photos. I would replace my point and shoot with a nice DSLR, however.
  4. Motorcycle & Helmet – I’m using rule number 3 to include a helmet, because I think that it is an essential part of riding a motorcycle, whether operator or passenger.
  5. Leather Motorcycle Jacket – Like the helmet, protective clothing is a necessity. Plus, they can be warm as well as waterproof, so it’s multi-functional.
  6. Leather Boots – Not only do these provide protection while on the motorcycle, but with only a single pair of footwear available to me, it’d be possible to polish them up for semi-dressy occasions.
  7. Jeans – I’d probably have to purchase a pair of motorcycle jeans that have some protective features built in. A nice dark pair can be semi-dressy.
  8. Long-sleeved, button-down shirt – A nice dress shirt can go anywhere, and if I want to be more casual I can just roll up the sleeves.
  9. ExOfficio Underwear – These guys are supposed to be extremely comfortable, as well as super-quick drying. If I’m going to be washing them on a daily basis, they need to be easy to care for. Being able to wash them in a sink and dry them quickly fits the bill.
  10. Socks – I seriously debated what my 10th item should be. (Some people put toothbrush, or debit card.) If I’m going to be wearing only boots, then I need socks.

A lot of people listed “debit card” for one of their 10 things. I think that I would feel comfortable relying only on my PayPal account and going into a physical bank to withdraw cash and operating on a cash-only basis.

Fortunately, I don’t need to limit myself to only 10 things, as I need more than that to be comfortable. It was an interesting exercise to determine what is really important to me, however. I was actually surprised how quickly motorcycle came up on the list, and how reluctant I was to remove it. If I were to take up more world traveling, I’d replace the motorcycle with passport.

What would your 10 things be?

Help Me Choose A New Theme

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I’ve been working on a new theme (look) for the website. I started with the mnmlist theme by Leo Babauta. I added search, comments, and moved the sidebar to the right. It’s a clean and minimalist theme that focuses on the content without distractions. My goal is for it to load fast so that you can get to the content (which is the important stuff) as quickly and easily as possible.

A Few Thoughts

These two themes are quite different. As I’ve been thinking about my blogging, I’ve come to realize that my goals have shifted slightly. With more activities and requirements being thrust upon my life, I have begun to focus more on simplicity, on minimalism. In order to reflect that, I thought that a simpler look might be a good thing to work toward.

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Click on picture to see larger version.

Luddite Update

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It’s been almost a month since I decided to break the technology ties. I thought I should give you an update of how I’m doing with the goals I set.

    Things I Wanted to Get Done

  • Write a minimum of one high-quality blog post a week. – I’ve excelled at this one. Right now, I have posts scheduled for two weeks in advance, with some others that are partially done. Not only that, but I have my first two guest posts out there as well!
  • Create a digital resource (ebook) that I can sell. – I actually didn’t start this one until today (the day I’m writing this post, not the day you read it.) But in this day, I’ve got about 75% of it done. It won’t be long now!
  • Keep up with my schoolwork and maintain my grades This one has taken more time than I expected. This may easily be my most homework-intense semester yet. But I’ve got it under control.
  • It wasn’t on the list, but I’ve also been working on creating a new website. I have just about all of the coding done now, and most of the initial content prepared. A few more tweaks, and it should be live.
  • Also not on the list, but I decided to undertake the 100 Thing Challenge, and am mostly prepared to start that on October 1st.

    How I Expected To Get Them Done

  • Check email only twice a day. – This one I’ve failed miserably at. I’m back to keeping gmail open in my browser (along with at least two dozen other tabs).
  • Minimize my Facebook account. – I unfriended over 2/3 of the people that I was friends with, and now can use Facebook in less than 5 minutes a day. Still not quite convinced that it’s worth having an account, however.
  • Minimize my Twitter account. – I unfollowed everyone that I was following, and now only have 17 people that I’m tracking. I can be on and off in well under 10 minutes a day.
  • Ignore my cell phone more. – I actually threw it into my backpack and didn’t carry it around (in my pocket) for a whole day. It was fabulous! I’m trying to make this a habit, which means breaking the habit of putting it into my pants pocket.
  • TV – This hasn’t been a challenge so far. Apparently I’ve only got one show that I’m interested in enough to watch, so it doesn’t take up too much time. Plus, since it comes out on Thursdays, I really don’t watch it until the weekend, when I have the time. And even then, I only remember to watch it when my wife reminds me.
  • Clean up my computer’s desktop. – Done. I’m still loving my background image and the lack of clutter whenever I turn on my computer.
  • Clean up my actual desktop. – Done. It’s amazing how relaxed and more productive less clutter can make one!

    Things to Work On

  • Email – I really have to work on being less dependent on my email. I think that only checking 2 times a day is not quite enough, at least for now. So I’m bumping the limit up to 4. I think that I really need 3 (morning, evening, random) but I’m going to give myself an extra, since I’m moving away from “constantly” to “limited”. Once I’m comfortable with 4, I can more easily drop down to 3, then 2.
  • Get the ebook finished and out there. – I’ve been wanting to do this for some time now. Finally, with some prompting from Rebecca Burgener, I actually got started. Following the Cult of Done manifesto, I’m not aiming for perfection, but for completion. I’ll get a finished version, send it to 2-3 friends for editing, implement their suggestions, and put it out there for sale. If you’re looking for a cheap and easy way to help keep the romance in your relationship, I’ve got just the thing for you!
  • Get the other website live. – I wasn’t planning on creating a new website, but the ideas kept coming to me. So I figured that maybe it was past time.
  • Keep up with the homework. – It’s a stream that won’t end until early December. So until then I’ve got to just keep working and not let myself get behind.

Well, there’s my progress. I’m pleased with it; I feel like I got a good amount done, especially since I wasn’t planning on half of the projects. However, I’ve also got a good bit of work to do, both on habits and projects. What do you think? Any suggestions for me?