I don’t miss this

I recently got a temporary job as an election supervisor for the city of Denver. It was a lot of hours. 11 to 16 hours a day for eight out of nine days until the election. I helped administer state-wide ballots for those who weren’t in the correct county, oversaw the registration judges, support judges, and tech judges, and liasoned between the Denver Elections Commission and the Voter Services Polling Center I managed. Every morning, I would open the VSPC and every night, I’d close it.

I hated it.

The job itself was not hard, but stressful. I’m not used to getting up early (4:30am, so I could get in a workout before work). I’m not used to dealing with the public. And I’m not used to working such long hours anymore. Heck, I’m not used to working, period.

It just wasn’t possible to do all the things I wanted to do with the hours I received on the planet during those days.

How I want to spend my day currently

Here’s my current resolutions chart
1. Work out
2. Swim
3. Put on lotion
4. Eat eggs and salad
5. Read 25 pages
6. Weigh myself
7. Write 250 words
8. Take a picture
9. Compliment Mark
10. Don’t buy anything
11. Talk to mom
12. Floss
13. Wear dress
14. Sew something
15. Go outside
16. Make sure the bathroom is clean
17. Don’t drink alcohol
18. Don’t go on reddit
19. Plank for some amount of time.
20. Don’t eat after eight. pm
21. No white food
22. Wash my face
23. Perform the evening tidy up

I know I have a lot of resolutions. I’ve been adding on every month and keeping the old ones. It’s been a fun challenge.

But, I’m digressing. Have you heard of the first rock in the bucket?

Prioritize the first rock of the day

So you have all these different rocks of things you want to do. You have to make whatever you can fit in the bucket. But you only have so much room. So you have to put the most important rock in first. What’s your first rock? What’s your main priority? The first rock is the only rock you’re absolutely guaranteed to fit in the bucket.

For most people, their first rock is work. When your biggest priority is work, you don’t have enough space for all the other rocks. It can take up the entire bucket. And that goes throughout life. The more space you allocate for work, the later you retire, the less time you have for everything else. Learning Spanish. Writing a book. Raising your kids.

During election weeks, my rocks were work, working out, and sleeping. That’s all I had time for.

But in early retirement land…

In my real life though, I have enough space for all my rocks and that’s what I love about my reality.

I think early retirement can make you a more well-rounded person. At least for me. I have a hard time leaving things at the office. Must finish the to-do list!

I think it’s good to get a job every once in a while to show you what you’re missing and to prove you don’t miss it. The paycheck was fun. Denver paid me $1,983.81 for the nine days I worked and for in person training and online training. Compare that amount to what the market “paid” me in that same time period and you’ll find a shocking difference.

Your money can work harder than you can.