Here are a handful of things that have been on my mind since I turned 50:
Recommendations
Don’t watch TV News, unless it’s local news or the weather. Get your news from a subscribed periodical.
Don’t charge your phone overnight. Charge it in the morning while you’re getting ready. So: no social media, no emails. Subscribe to a slow periodical like The Week if you need something to read. Check it as sparingly as possible. See if you can get to work before looking.
Turn off app notifications, obviously. All day, every day. SMS is fine. But never let email or a social media app intrude upon whatever it is you’re doing. It can wait. It. Can. Wait.
I strongly recommend deleting any app that allows you to engage with strangers. For most people, this is not a worthwhile investment of your time, unless you have established a business model that requires it. It’s unknowable how many strangers on social media are bots, or worse: real people. Instagram is OK because there’s less to argue about, if you’re doing it right. Read my 10 Commandments of Social Media for more handy tips.
Read nothing in the bathroom. No phone, no magazine, no book. Focus on your work. Related: Psyllium whole husk fiber will change your life.
Ask me about my bone spur and vertigo.
Observations
Nothing about your worth should be tied to your birth. This includes where you were born, who you were born to, what sports teams are located nearby, which houses of worship were nearby, or the color of your skin. You decide your worth and you establish it over time through accomplishments and self-learning and the whims of fate you choose to follow. And remember, as the poet Carrie Fisher has said, “Youth and beauty are not accomplishments.”
Ideologies too often exist to provide a shortcut to a conclusion that someone else wants you to reach.
I could really do without all this new ear hair.
It’s super weird how I get all Proustian about Papa John’s cheesebread now.
I miss the days when my visits to the gym were optional and not mandatory.
As always, sunscreen.