No Day is Complete Without Doing These Five Things (If You Ask Me):

For whatever reason, I've been feeling incredibly nostalgic lately. Half the time I spend being nostalgic, I spend the other half trying to figure out why I'm being nostalgic. Perhaps it's the realization that two short months will mark exactly ten years since I arrived at the University of Rhode Island for my first college experience (an experience that was rather short-lived, but was later reconciled with some of the best years of my life spent finishing college at Merrimack College), or that I'm on the other side of ten years since graduating from high school which were in fact the VERY best years of my life.

The previous ten years have seen engagements, weddings, vacations and many, MANY jobs for which I've both excelled and wished I rather didn't experience. I've been out of the country three times, moved into two apartments and, going back to that job thing, count a total of ten...yes TEN jobs since graduating in December of 2011. For all that I've seen and all that I've learned, I don't let a day pass without completing a certain set of tasks that I instill into a routine.

You read on sites like LinkedIn how the most successful people spend their day, what they do when they first wake up in the morning, yada, yada, yada. I guess this is sort of my take on those types of articles, yet these five things hold a sense of sanity over me. During my time of reflection and nostalgia, it's important to think of things that help you along on a day to day basis. This has never been more important to me over the past month when I've been in one of the most grueling job interview processes I've experienced. There were interviews, shadows, rescheduling of said interviews, homework, presentations, etc, but can finally and proudly say I think I've found my dream job which will allow me to work in the advertising department at WCSH 6 in Portland. Growing up in a Channel 6 household, this is the pinnacle of jobs I could land, especially if you asked me ten years ago where I hoped I would be in ten years. I still don't own a beach house yet, but I live in an apartment with an ocean view, and that's pretty fucking close. Without hesitation, here are my five tasks which keep me on course and basically level me out:

1. Upon waking up, I immediately do something active.

Those of you who know me know I am an incredibly early riser...like 4:15am with no grogginess riser. Yes I do set an alarm, but I am so excited to be awake that I want to make use of the time I have. In my humble and correct opinion, there is no feeling like riding 20mph on a bike through the center of town and being the only soul around. There's a sense of pride and down-right power that flows over me, and it's exhilarating.

2. 300 push-ups per day.
This is another one where people give me a "what the hell is the matter with you" look when I tell them this is something I do each day. To be honest, I was inspired by my Uncle Terry, where we both share an interest in Men's Journal magazine and basically anything Laird Hamilton writes. When visiting him in Florida one year, I decided to try to do a PR of 300 push-ups in a day. Actually, my inspiration started even before this when me and a bunch of buddies were in Chris Albert's living room and we tried one-up each other by performing the so-called 'Military Challenge' which was around 100 push-ups in two minutes, or something like that. I haven't missed a day since March of 2014. True story.


3. Listen to a podcast.
As a fan of basically everything media, podcasts are literally the way to engage with young people. Call it a generational thing (no I will not refer to myself as an M* word because it's overused and pisses me off), but there is nothing like biking to the sounds of a British Open preview, or an interview with Tom Brady by Peter King a few months ago, or virtually anything related to Tim Tebow. Since I'm a mega-follower of sorts to Barstool Sports, there is certainly an endless amount of material to consume on a daily basis and it's damn entertaining to say the least.


4. (Very Important) Text a friend or family member individually.
Over the past few months I've had a lot of free time on my hands, which is pretty evident for those of you who follow me on Snap Chat or Instagram. Searching for that dream job is a job in itself and you tend to have a few (or hundreds) of spare minutes each day. I've learned to certainly be persistent and driven, but also not let those minutes pass or be taken for granted. Like a lot of people say, there are worse times in the year to be unemployed than in the prime of summer months. Regardless, I've made it a daily task to keep in touch to those closest around me by sending a simple text. No, I'm not talking about a single text throughout a group thread, I'm talking picking someone out of my contacts list and taking a few minutes to genuinely ask how they are and that I'm thinking of them. Do this, you'll learn some pretty cool things...

5. (Most Important) Never let a day pass without catching a glimpse of the ocean.
Referring back to the free time thing, this is a much easier task now than it was or will be when working full-time. However, I never let a day go by without realizing how blessed and lucky I've been to grow up where I grew up. Living two minutes from the ocean has consoled me in more ways than anyone can comprehend, and I attribute the sounds of the waves or the simple trip to the sand to keeping my sanity when job hunting. Personally, whenever something positive happens I sprint to the ocean. Conversely, whenever something negative happens...same thing. The ocean gives me a sense of serenity, but also allows me to take some pretty fu*kin cool pictures along the way...