How to Escape the Frantic "Get Up and Go" Routine

Good morning!

I hope this finds you well.

Welcome to another edition of The Matt Viera Newsletter.

The newsletter with the goal to inspire you to live the life you actually want to live.

Thank you for your continued support.

If you enjoy The Matt Viera Newsletter, please forward this email to one person you believe would enjoy reading this.

I learned long ago that I struggle with "get up and go” days.

"Get up and go” days are precisely what they sound like:

• You wake up

• You prepare for your day

• You are immediately thrust into a day that you are going non-stop for most of the day

For example, a typical “get up and go” day may look like this:

• Wake up

• Prepare for work

• Commute to work

• Spend ~8 hours looking at a computer screen (or doing whatever you do for work)

• Commute home from work

• Decompress from work

• Eat dinner

What I learned is that I need to counterbalance these "get up and go” days with one day (preferably two) to wake up without an alarm clock, enjoy my coffee in silence and at my own pace, and do whatever I want (or nothing at all) for the rest of the day.

If I can have one or two days with nothing on my agenda, I feel completely recharged, and I am ready to handle the following week's challenges.

However, my days have been "get up and go" for the past 6 weeks, including weekends.

Why?

I've been looking to buy real estate both within New York City and outside of New York City.

Not only have I been contending with the "get up and go” days that come with my career, but on Saturdays, it's been "get up and go" to drive upstate to check out plots of land to potentially purchase and on Sundays, it's been "get up and go" to attend open houses in Brooklyn to potentially buy.

And, while I work from home two days per week, those two days do not alleviate the struggle.

The "get up and go” days are why I value time away from my career, time away from being "busy," and time away from New York City.

Now, spending time at home is one thing.

Spending time away from home, traveling, or within nature is entirely different.

So, here's how I think about using my time away from my career (and a way of thinking I encourage you to consider):

Weekends away from your career

Try to completely disconnect.

Our lives are entirely tied to technology via computers, phones, TVs, etc.

And there will always be that temptation if you're home on the weekends.

But, a weekend spent off-grid in nature may be the game changer you're looking for to be still, breathe, and appreciate that you can do anything other than connect to some device.

Do you have to go off-grid in the middle of nowhere to disconnect?

Absolutely not.

Consider going to a cabin in a remote location.

I recently spent a week in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania.

While I did have all the conveniences of being at home, the use of devices was minimal.

Truth be told, I read a lot using my Kindle.

A week or two away from your career

Consider a road trip, preferably a cross-country road trip.

The benefits you receive from a cross-country road trip are completely underestimated (unless you hate driving).

I value road trips so much that I purchased an SUV because it's big enough for me to sleep in the back during cross-country road trips.

I keep all of my camping gear in the back of the SUV, and I have a bed already set up in the back.

Not only is this set up great for cross-country road trips, but for off-grid weekend getaways.

I will admit that there is a bit of “get and go” when it comes to road trips.

What I found to be helpful is to start driving early in the day and stop driving in the mid to late afternoon. Until you reach your destination. Then relax to your heart’s content.

Up to 4 weeks away from your career

Consider a mini-retirement. Period.

I can't emphasize this enough: you can't go wrong spending a month or more in your dream destination doing anything you want without a daily "down-to-the-minute" itinerary.

You wake up without an alarm clock, enjoy a slow morning routine, and walk outside to let the day develop organically.

Sure, you can see the sights. But, you can take it at your own pace. As slow as you want.

And consider this: all you need is 20 vacation days. That’s it. When you include weekends, we're talking 28 days to go wherever you want and do whatever you want.

We typically go to Europe.

But, go anywhere you want. It's your dream destination. Why limit yourself?

If you want to go to Asia, go to Asia.

If you want to go to South America, go to South America.

If you want to stay in the States, go somewhere with easy access to a beach or a cabin in the mountains.

Be creative

If you want to go to the beach for a long weekend rather than get off-grid, do it.

If you want to go off-grid for a week or two rather than take a cross-country road trip, do it.

If you want to take a cross-country road trip for a month rather than travel internationally, do it.

The point is that you have "paid time off." Use it. Use all of it.

Away from the crowds, away from the touristy "stuff," without a daily "down-to-the-minute" planned itinerary.

And, most importantly, disconnected from technology.

Look, it's your time off, it's your vacation, it's your choice.

You can either do what everyone else does with their paid time off.

Or, you can experience something completely different.

I aim to experience time away from my career as differently as possible from the typical "get up and go” days.

The last thing I want to do when I don't have to work is "get up and go."

On that note, I was notified last week that the camper I purchased was delivered to the dealership.

The plan is to pick up the camper this coming Saturday and spend a week completely off-grid.

The camper is entirely off-grid capable, and I look forward to thoroughly testing each and every one of its components.

While we will be off-grid, we will be relatively close to civilization.

I should be able to connect to the internet.

I plan to write next week's newsletter article from the camper (one of the few times I'll try to connect to the internet).

But I have no idea what to expect.

So, if this newsletter doesn't appear in your inbox next Tuesday morning, know that connectivity wasn't as robust as I anticipated.

I apologize in advance if I cannot publish an article on April 23, 2024.

What caught my attention:

This couple lives in a school bus they converted into a luxury tiny home

You can find the collection of financial tools & resources that helped me grow from a 6-figure debt to a 6-figure net worth by clicking here.

Thanks for reading!

Please feel free to reply to this email with suggestions, questions, or comments.

I read every email.

If you have a question about personal finance, travel, or mini-retirements, email me and ask and I’ll discuss the answer in a future article.

If you enjoy The Matt Viera Newsletter, please forward this email to one person you believe would enjoy reading this.

I’m ready to follow you on X (formerly know as Twitter)!

I definitely want to read past articles of The Matt Viera Newsletter!

I’m not a subscriber to The Matt Viera Newsletter and I’m ready to subscribe!