Growing up, your timetable is normally built around the normal school week, and the adults around you. As an adult, you have to establish your own routines, and therefore figure out how to optimise your time. I don’t mean to optimise as in “use your time wisely”, but more finding the general enjoyment in the small moments in life. Time is finite, and even though not a lot of us have the privilege to use it however we wish, the few moments in the day we do have, we need to find some joy out of them. So here are a few ways that I optimise my adulting experience, and hopefully they inspire you to figure some optimisation ideas for yourself.
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Optimising my coffee
I am fairly new to drinking coffee. If you have been an avid reader (and can handle my cringey posts from the beginning), you will have seen the post where I describe experiencing a macchiato for the first time, from a legit coffee shop. And being incredibly disappointed in it.
I got a cup with a straw trend that keeps cold drinks insulated. I had a way to make delicious, iced coffee, and knew I needed a cafetiere, so I could hold my coffee in the fridge, rather than pouring fresh hot coffee each day. At that time, there were ads for Pact Coffee, where you can get a free cafetiere with a coffee subscription. I’ll admit it was smaller than I had hoped, but it did the job. I also received a bag of coffee every 28 days (thanks to the subscription), and my favourite was the House coffee original blend, with hints of milk chocolate.
I mentioned my exploration of coffee to a friend, and they had a V60 that they no longer wanted, so I got a free V60. I have to get filters for it and trust the Hario brand on amazon. This friend also recommended a different coffee subscription service ‘Rave’ (Get £5 voucher and so will I). They are sustainable about how they source their coffee and send it to you. Also, it was slightly cheaper than Pact coffee. I tasted 4 of their blends over a 6-month period and anything that has a hint of chocolate is my favourite. Using a V60 means I can prepare more coffee in one go. After breaking my original V60, I got this one on amazon, which is still compatible with my filter.
How I use this to optimise adulthood
Work has a nearby Starbucks and Costa. I am saving myself money! It’s brilliant. Though some days, I feel like I want a decaf option, and since I have not ordered any decaf from my coffee subscriptions, I will go to these establishments for that.
I prepare my coffee to taste the way I like it. There is nothing better than that.
Preparing coffee (iced/hot latte) is now part of my morning routine. This gives me a reason to get up for work, or else I would choose to roll out of bed and work from home.
Optimising empty minutes
Empty minutes are where my brain is not occupied with giving attention to a specific person or task. These minutes are where I listen to music, audiobooks and podcasts. Having a good set of headphones is necessary for this. I have seen people with really expensive branded ear pods, and the quality of sound on phone calls and the general user experience, is not worth the price. I prefer overhead headphones.
One unfortunate day, a seagull flew above me, and I was wearing my old headphones around my neck. I hope you can guess what happened when a bird unknowingly flew above my head and ruined my headphones. I immediately purchased an upgraded set for £30. These DOQUAS headphones are doing just as good as the others and are constantly in my rucksack. The only downside about wearing overhead headphones is that in the gym, your ears can get really sweaty, so I am still figuring out how to optimise that part.
With these headphones, I listen to audiobooks with audible and Spotify. Spotify gives 15 hours of audiobook listens per month, and audible is a paid subscription where each month you get ‘1 credit’ towards buying a book. Most of the books I like can be bought with 1 credit, and therefore I get 1 free book per month. There are some books worth paying for, and others I can wait. So, I have purchased some of the books in the ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ series, but one of the books, I listened to on Spotify. The reviews on audible, didn’t give me enough confidence to buy or use a credit on, so I got it for free. The book was less than 15 hours, so I saved my wallet, and still got the plot.
How I use this to optimise adulthood
I have not needed to spend a large sum of money on headphones, and with each new set I have slowly increased how much I invest in them. Don’t get me wrong, the apple headphones look amazing, but I don’t have the budget for those yet. But I can gently upgrade my lifestyle, to optimise my current position. The first pair worked fine for me in my student days, where I didn’t have that much cash. With the 3rd pair, I didn’t even hesitate after the bird accident to go straight to amazon and get next day delivery. My stage in adulting is different, and so I have adapted to that. It’s only a matter of time before I am ready to upgrade to the apple headphones.
I love to read (check the next section), but one thing I don’t like about reading is that I have to sit and read the book. I used to feel like I had the time to do that, but now trying to keep on top of content, I can’t optimise my schedule to have time to physically read. But when I am doing empty minute tasks, I can listen to the books. I also listen to podcasts and music. I am getting the benefits of listening to what I want to hear, without losing the time that I could use for something else.
Optimising adulting routines
I have done a couple of posts about the benefits of routines and how to set them up. And when anyone praises me, for the life I have built for myself, I accept and acknowledge the work of James Clear with Atomic habits. The book describes the stages of creating a ‘good habit (in your opinion), and how to stop a ‘bad habit’ (in your opinion). This is how I have managed to create an optimal gym routine and Sunday routine.
In a quick summary, to create a habit (and increase your likelihood to keep it), you need to:
- Make it obvious (to do or complete)
- Make it attractive (recognise it’s benefit)
- Make it easy (the easier, the better)
- Make it satisfying (a little reward for completing it, makes it worthwhile)
How I use this to optimise adulthood
I have read a few books that I have taken useful tips from so here is a list of them (each of which are affiliate links):
- Financial literacy – Financial Feminist Tori Dunlap
- Mental health – The Subtle Art of not giving a F Mark Manson
- Managing the blog and social media – Show your work Austin Kleon
Too Long; Didn’t Read TLDR
- You do not need everything you see online to optimise your life – That’s the influencer’s doing their work
- Sharing/donating with friends is both sustainable and normally cheaper – It’s good for the planet and your wallet. Why not?
- You don’t need to the most expensive right away – Upgrading slowly (gentle lifestyle creep) is better for you and your financial state.
- Routines! – they do not need to be strict, but something that works for you, but utilise them
- Reminder – Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. I may receive a commission, should you click on one and purchase something.
