What I Did This Morning

Last updated: September 6, 2024

A few people have asked me: What do you do all day?

Especially now in quarantine while I’m away from New York City.

And especially since I sold my company and don’t have a job.

So here’s a little diary from a fairly typical morning in St. Augustine, Florida.

Table of Contents

6:00am Wake Up

Naturally wake up. I don’t use an alarm.
The first apps I check on my phone: WhatsApp, Facebook, email, NYTimes.

6:10am Kitchen

Eat a grapefruit.
Make a pot of 1/2 decaf coffee.
Listen to a podcast while I putter around.
Empty the dishwasher.

Coffee mug and sunrise in St Augustine, Florida beach — Coffee and sunrises are a nice way to start the day.

Full dishwasher — How did I ever live without a dishwasher in NYC? Oh, right: I never cooked at home. And I had a housekeeper.

6:30am Emails

I have 15 messages in my In Box. Most of them are newsletters or schedule-related.
Often the newsletters include interesting links about current events, which I click to read.
I listened to this song while I read through my emails.

7:00am

Wake up Rachel. She uses an alarm (me). I like waking her up.
Buy a better scale. I remembered that we recently impulse-bought a digital scale at Target. I looked up the reviews for it on Amazon and saw that it was difficult to sync to Apple HealthKit. So I ordered a different scale which was well-reviewed on Wirecutter. Researching options and ordering it took a few minutes.

7:30am

Test the ‎Principles In Action iOS app on the app store.
Shave and trim my beard.
Listen to a Bridgewater case study from the Principles app while I shave. (Ray Dalio is a hero.)
Submit my beta testing feedback to the Principles team.
Scroll through Twitter.
Read and handle new emails, including one regarding legal advice on writing a will.

8:00am Workout

I went outside to do this 7 Minute Workout. I wore one AirPod so I could hear the prompts and not have to look at my phone.
Afterwards, I did some stretching using my favorite stretching app.

Man outside, squatting — Here I am squatting as part of a 7-Minute workout. Usually I do these in the basement, but it is sort of gross and the photo was better out here.

8:20am Swim

Rachel and I went for a quick dip in the ocean. I am very thankful that we’re living on the beach this month.

Finger pointing at St Augustine, Florida beach — Out there is where we swam. Be thankful that I spared you from a pic of me wearing my Speedo.

8:45am Cook Food

Put bacon and kale in the oven. I used tips from this kale recipe.
Shower.
Make more coffee.
Eat breakfast.
Listen to more of the podcast from earlier.
Tell Rachel about Bill Ackman and his Herbalife short.

Man wearing blue shirt holding pans from oven — Rachel hates these glasses. I spend waaaaay too much time cooking food these days.

Kale in the oven — Hot DAMN. Look at this kale I made! It was tasty. But kale has the worst ROI in terms of calories vs time spent.

Crispy bacon from the oven — I’m unreasonably proud of my bacon skills. My mother taught me that crispy bacon is the best and baking it in the oven is key.

10:00am

Read an investment report from a portfolio manager. I’m thinking about investing in a business development company.
Donate to a friend’s charity fundraiser.
Fiddle with Google Chrome’s settings to automatically fill out forms with my correct contact information.
Read up on some Museum Hack and TeamBuilding.com news. It is AMAZING what they are working on!

10:30am

Research vitamins related to hair growth and hair loss. I’ve noticed more shedding recently – I’m losing hair in the shower. Previously, I was taking Nutrafol, but when we fled NYC I didn’t bring it. Four pills a day was a lot to pack. Bought this to try as an alternative to Nutrafol.

11:00am

Quick phone call w/my father.
Quick phone call w/my mother. I love quick phone calls.
Read some assorted financial news on Bloomberg.
Researched investor relations firms, which I would later compile into a huge list.
Looked at Twitter again and clicked on a few links. I saved a few to read later, like this and this.
Joined a webinar regarding a project I’m working on.

The End

I spent a lot of time reading and researching various topics. That’s pretty typical for how I spend my time lately.

I’m happy with my life right now. It doesn’t feel very productive, but I get to explore a lot and read about interesting things.

I’m spending time on the beach, in the ocean, and in my body. And lots of time in the kitchen as I learn how to cook.

Do you have any suggestions to improve my productivity? Or things I should explore? Let me know in the comments. Or send me an email. Thanks for reading!