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You need a Double Duty job.

Do you need time to build and promote a website? Get a job that gives you internet access and free time to use it. Need to write a book, study for a class, or make plans for world domination? Get a job with few customers and long periods of downtime; the less human interaction the better.

What is double duty? I’m not talking about working twice as long or twice as hard. Double duty refers to getting paid to do one job while doing something totally unrelated to what you’re actually paid to do. For example, pretend I was writing this blog post while sitting at a snack counter and waiting on customers.

Most double duty jobs are part-time, low-wage, low-skill, and border on the soul-crushing, but you’re not doing it for salary or satisfaction.  Yes, you’re there to work, but not for the man. You’re working for yourself; the man just happens to be paying you to do a task any automaton could do.

In an indirect way, you’re being paid to create, study, or work for yourself. Think of  doing double duty as receiving an artist’s subsidy.

Where can you find a double duty job?

First, look for a job on the night shift; if you work while everyone else is sleeping,  you’ll have less people to deal with. Second, make sure you’re paid by the hour.  Third, look for a place that doesn’t have CCTV or doesn’t seem to care what their employees do. Fourth, consider your work to downtime ratio. Talk to current and former employees. Anything more than 60 work 40 downtime is probably too much to get any real work done.

Here are 9 jobs that might give you some ideas. I’ve either held these jobs or know people who have.

Night watchman Let’s face it: a night watchman is there to meet corporate insurance requirements. If something happens, the watchman calls the police and lets them deal with any real danger. A prudent night watchman would never put himself in harm’s way for $8/hour.

Burglar Alarm Monitor I spent about a year on midnight shift doing this. On an eight hour shift, I did maybe 30 minutes of real work. The rest of the time I read, tried to write stories, and wasted a month of my life playing Warcraft. Unfortunately, this job was outsourced to New Jersey. I can’t understand why.

Movie Theater Employee Besides free movies and popcorn, the biggest draw here is the time between when the movies start and finish. After all the patrons are in the theater with their popcorn, you’re golden. If you work the concession stand you might have to refill some drinks.

Video Store Clerk Sit behind a counter and read novels and movie magazines and work on your screenplay. Warning: you run the risk of becoming a pretentious movie snob.

Hotel Desk Clerk I knew two guys who recorded a bluegrass album while working nights at a local hotel. They had a portable recording rig set up in one of the conference rooms. The customer buzzer at the front desk was wired to a flashing light in the conference room.

Help desk employee You wait around until somebody calls. Reset passwords when you need to. In the downtime you can get around to learning PHP. The level of tech illiteracy will probably infuriate you, but at least you won’t smell like food.

Switchboard Operator My wife tells me she wrote grad school papers while working as a hospital switchboard operator. The best part: healthcare jobs usually include health insurance.

Librarian This is the job for people who love to read. Not only is the work easy and the environment quiet, most of the people you deal with are, by nature, the type that enjoy and appreciate books.

Delivery driver and courier While you can’t safely scribble and drive, you can listen to audio books and podcasts to your heart’s content. If you don’t mind doing transcriptions, you could use a tape recorder and ‘write’ your stories aloud. The money’s not bad, either.

ESL Teacher in Korea While not technically a double dipping job, the lifestyle (short work days,  free housing, no commute) does leave plenty of time for other pursuits if you can keep your sanity. Still not sure on that last part.

Finally, two warnings and a caveat.

Warning 1. Never ever neglect your ‘duties’ in a way that could bring harm to others or yourself. I know you’re all smarter than that, but my lawyers *cough* told me to put that in so I won’t get sued.

Warning 2. Always have an escape plan. Stay in one job too long, you get comfortable, you get promoted, whatever, and you’re stuck in a place you never wanted to be. Remember that you’re there only to support your creative habits.

Caveat: I’m not encouraging anyone to do anything unethical. Some jobs really do entail sitting on your ass waiting for something to happen. Why not make the most of it?

Over to you: Do you have any ambitious slacker stories you want to share? What jobs have you had that gave you plenty of creative time?

Photo Credit: Martineau

A little over a year ago, I stumbled across something called Nanowrimo: National Novel Writing Month. The task is this: write a 50,000 word novel in one month.  This averages out to 1,667 words a day.

After your month is up, you copy and paste your text into a little word counter. If you reach the goal, nothing really happens except that you’ve written 50,000 words in a month. Nanowrimo is free and offers plenty of forums for people to talk about their WIP (work in progress).

Most people who start don’t finish. In 2008, there were 119,301 participants and 21,683 winners.

Last year was my first year and, I’m happy to report, I finished. I’ll be the first to admit the work I created is not fit for the eyes of rabid dogs, but I sure had fun creating it. I’m looking forward to getting started this year, trying to finish up some old projects and reduce other commitments.

Nanowrimo has its detractors, and some of their reasons are valid. I remember a publisher blogged about how many terrible novels they received every December and January. Most were around 50,001 words. Hmm…wonder where those novels came from. Summer babies?

For me, the true rewards of Nanowrimo are the lessons you learn when you write over 1,667 a day, every day. Since Dec 1, 2008, very few days have gone by when I haven’t written at least 1000 words. Before that, my writing habits were sporadic. Now, I’m consistent in my output. Just like Nanowrimo, most of the work I produce doesn’t see the light of day, but some of it does, and I get a hell of a lot more ideas than if I just waited around for inspiration to strike (read here). The lessons have stuck, and they didn’t cost me a dime.

Here are ten of those lessons, in no particular order.

1. First drafts are usually garbage. Produce without being perfect and you’ll surprise yourself. You can always edit later. When you learn how to silence your inner editor, you have a lot more freedom to create.
2. Consistent, daily effort is guaranteed to give you at least a little good material. Quantity will produce quality, but you’ll still have to edit.
3. Doing is more powerful than planning. You can plan and dream about writing a novel all your life, but until you start doing it (and name it), it doesn’t exist.
4. When you sort of know the beginning and end, your mind will fill in the middle. The hardest part isn’t writing; it’s knowing what to write.
5. Surrounding yourself with thousands of other people trying to achieve the same goal as you is terribly helpful.
6. Even the biggest goals can accomplished when chipped away at a little bit at a time. Seoul wasn’t built in a day (more like a couple years).
7. Just because you’ve written a novel doesn’t mean you’re a novelist. I can take a scalpel and slice open my leg, but that doesn’t make me a surgeon; it makes me a masochist. Maybe the difference between masochist and novelist isn’t that big.
8. You learn to show up. Writing 1,667 words in a day isn’t that hard; writing 1,667 for 30 days is. You must write when you’re inspired and happy as well as when you’re tired, hungover, sick, and stuffed on turkey.
9. Word meters, status bars, and visual feedback tools are surprisingly effective motivation tools.
10. Negative sanctions work. In this case, Dr. Wicked’s Writing Lab set to Evil, Kamikaze mode will keep you focused. EK mode eats your words if you go too long without typing; you can only pause once.

You can check out NanoWriMo.org  here.

Here are some fresh articles about NanoWriMo I enjoyed:

Alegra Clark @ Editor Unleashed talks here about how she’s sometimes a nano evangelist.
Marelisa @ Abundance Blog has what looks like a crash course in nano novel writing here.

What can you add? I’d love to hear from some participants from previous years.

Photo Credit: RustyBoxCars

Here are sixteen ways to increase focus, attention, and mindfulness.

1. Eliminate Distractions The internet, television, cell phones, other people. All these things eat away at our attention and focus. The closer you can come to monk-like isolation, the easier you’ll find focus. If that’s impossible, headphones with good music are a viable alternative (Thanks to Captain Obvious for this one).

2. Turn off the Inner Monologue If your inner monologue is hurting and not helping, if your mind is like a wild monkey jumping all over the place, you need to take steps to quiet it. Daily journaling is a useful task that has the added benefit of making you happier.

3. Set a Schedule If you have a set time to do some activity every day, you’ll have an easier time settling in that time and blocking out all else. The benefit of having a clear finish time will make it easier to say ‘I’ll attend to [insert distraction here] after my time is up.”

4. Care About Your Task Doing meaningless work is a recipe for disaster.  If you have something you really don’t want care about but have to do anyway, take the carrot and stick approach. Promise yourself a steak dinner or a stiff drink when you finish.

5. Clear Your Head Our mind likes to hold onto stuff, all in the hopes we’ll remember to do something about it.  By writing things down, you’re telling your brain it can relax and stop holding onto so many thoughts. Take a few minutes and write down everything you think you need to do and turn it into a todo list.  Be thorough, and don’t forget the small items and things you’ve been putting off.

6. Know your Body Your circadian rhythms will determine your best time to work. For me, morning and late at night are my favorite times to write. I have a couple energy slumps during the day when my mind shuts down. Fortunately I’m at work during this time.

7. Take Breaks Everyone has a different threshold for how long their focus lasts. This time also varies from task to task. If I’m recording songs or killing zombies, I’m good for hours, but when I’m using my logical brain I need to stop every 45 minutes or so.

8. Go For a Walk (or Hike) A short walk around the block, or a longer walk in the woods, gets the blood moving and the brain focused. Take some deep breaths and let your body get into the rhythm of the walk. Goethe swore by evenings walks. You should too.

9. Learn about Flow In short, flow means being so totally wrapped up in a task you lose track of time; flow is like super-focus. As skill level and difficulty increase, the likelihood of reaching flow increases. People that reach flow often

10. Do a Repetitive Physical Task Repetitive physical activity like scales for musicians, knitting, whittling, or throwing darts demand focus and can help shut down  the internal monologue.

11. Study Music Learning piano is a great way to develop concentration, focus, and patience. Using both hands, playing progressively more difficult pieces, learning the language of music, all these will teach you soft skills that allow you to focus longer.

12. Get Plenty of Rest A decent night’s sleep can mean the difference between being a javelin or a jellyfish. If you’re flagging in the middle of the day, a short nap can make a world of difference.

13. De-stress and Relax Too much work isn’t good for anybody. If you can’t focus, maybe you’re overworked, tired, run down. Besides leading to distraction, too much stress can cause health problems.

14. Shift Gears If you find yourself staring at your project and drooling, maybe you need to work on something else. Joyce Carol Oates, an insanely creative and productive novelist, says never has less than two projects to work on at any given time. When she gets stuck on one, she switches to another one.

15. Have Your Own Space and Set Boundaries If you can’t have a separate workspace/studio where you putter around undisturbed, set boundaries with the people in your life. Tell them that the sooner you finish your task, the sooner you can spend time with them.

16. Begin with the end in mind If you can visualize your outcome, your brain will fill in the steps between where you’re at and where you need to go; if you know where you’re going, you’ll figure out how to get there, avoiding distraction due to uncertainty. Visualizing the end is like knowing your destination on a long trip.

Over to you. Do you use any of these tricks? What am I forgetting?

You can probably guess what happens: the person holding the kite will be struck by lightning, discover electricity, and get their picture on the hundred dollar bill.

The second person will stand around until their arms get tired, then think of something else to do, and go home. If they do get struck by lightning, it will be a freak accident on their way to the train.

This is no different than creative inspiration. When you’re out there in the field every day, when you’ve done your homework about what lightning tends to strike (long-haired guys flying kites with keys attached to them), chances are a hell of a lot better you’re going to get struck.

Your chances of getting struck are far better than if you occasionally show up for the storm, wait around a few minutes, then give up and go home to check your email.

People speak of being struck by new ideas and concepts as if being struck by lightning. “It just hit me,” they say. In the past, people attributed inspiration to the gods, the muses, or imbalances in the humors. Today, people talk about getting all their ideas in the shower. Maybe water nymphs live in the shower head.

Now, I’m no genius by any means, but after years of studying creativity and the drive to create, I’ve realized one thing. This one thing is so obvious and blatant, I slap my hand against my head and wonder why it took me so long to figure out.

When you want to get struck by creative inspiration, the formula is simple:

Creative inspiration = perspiration + preparation.

If you’ve worked consistently on a creative project, you know what I’m talking about. Something amazing starts to happen after a few weeks and months of consistent, near-daily effort. Your output soars.

You surprise yourself with the stuff you’ve created, the results seem like they came from outside yourself, as if someone put synthetic oil and octane booster in your mental engines. Everything just runs smoother and faster.

Consistent effort, butt work, showing up, hard work. It’s all the same to lightning bolts and shower head nymphs.

If you wait around for inspiration, you’re going to be waiting a long time. If you want to write stories but only sit down when you feel the urge, good luck. You’re in for a long night with your arms in the air.

Chance favors the prepared, but inspiration favors the diligent.

You probably won’t get struck unless you’re standing in the field.

Get out there with your kite.

There’s a storm coming.

Imagine you’re just getting started with a new creative work. If it’s a book, do you say “this story I’m doing about guilt, fear, and cakes,’ or is it “The Ministry of Fear?” If a painting, do you say ‘this thing  with a bearded guy and a couple dead people’ or “The House of  Death“?

Which sounds less like an impotent attempt to describe a creative work?

Which seems more real?

No matter what kind of project you’re working on, giving it a concrete, specific name right from the start is a wise move. Even if the name isn’t perfect, a specific name will take your project from the abstract to concrete, from concept/idea to to an actual, tangible thing.

When you name an idea, a concept, a project, or a creative work, it becomes real.

Instead of having a few vague, ephemeral notions to grapple with, you’ve got something solid to hold on to. Naming clarifies your thinking and makes a thing real.

I’ll share a personal example. For several months, I intended to create this blog. For the longest time, I just called this ‘that blog-website-thing I’m going to start working on soon.’ For some reason, I couldn’t start. I couldn’t find a focus, I had no ideas for articles, and I really had trouble seeing any actual outcomes.

Then one night, dizzy from soju, I heard the word happenchance. The word struck my fancy. Maybe it isn’t perfect, but it sums up a lot of my life. It’s also vague and uncommon enough that I can just make up all kinds of shit and relate it back to happenchance.

Within a couple weeks, I had really figured what this project was all about. I committed to writing at least an article a week. Now, three months in, I’m focused on one thing: providing useful stuff for creative people.

All because I chose a name.

For another example, compare a definition of a thing with its name. “A rough, light-colored igneous stone.”  Okay, that’s a rock, but that’s pretty vague. Lots of rocks out there.

Now, if I say ‘granite,’ you know exactly what I’m talking about, and you probably have a clear picture in your mind.

Just like naming a child, the name you give your project will affect the way you and, eventually, the world, perceive it. A name will inform the decisions you make and how much effort, thought, and heart you put into your project.

If you’re halfhearted in your naming, you’ll be halfhearted in your execution.

Don’t worry if you think the name is too plain, too silly, too pompous, too anything. No worries! I would even argue that it doesn’t matter if the name is wrong, just so long as the project has a name. You can always change the name.

Choose a name that’s simple, descriptive, relevant, and fun.

Name your project.

Make it real. Make it happen. Watch it come alive.

Photo credit: Pagedooley

The last post was fun to write, so without further ado about nothing, let’s continue the list. Here we go with 14 more ways to generate ideas, increase creativity, cure cancer, end all wars…you get the idea.

17. Travel Travel will give your brain a chance to go wild. New places, sights, smells, gravitational pulls, all these will give you a ton of new ideas. Remember, travel doesn’t mean going to the other side of the world. Try going to a nearby town, a place you’ve never or rarely been. Or imagine how you’d visit your town if you were a tourist.

18. Screw Off. Give yourself time just to do whatever you like. Anything. Guilt free. Just get away and have fun.

19. Try a Different Medium (or instrument) Writers drawing, painters writing, drummers singing (uh, on second thought…), all these things could be messy but useful. Creating in a different medium, especially with the understanding that it’s just for fun, makes you use different parts of your brain.

20. Just Start. Don’t worry about making something awesome. Just make something. Something is better than nothing. Nothing is  perfect the first time or the tenth time.

21. Optimize your Workspace. I just did this a few days ago by clearing a bunch of crap off desk, duct taping some wires to the back of the desk, replacing the desk lamp with a little plant, and getting rid of the dead hookers. Those small change helped motivate me to clear some old stuff of the to-do list.

22. Move Your Space. My wife hates it, but every few months I’ll move the furniture around. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but at least it keeps things fresh. Plus, I usually find something interesting.

23. Screw Perfection. Perfection is the worst enemy of creativity. Creativity is play, and play can never be perfect. Striving for excellence is great, but perfection is an unattainable goal, sure to kill any creativity. Internal editors and censors aren’t you’re friends in the first rounds of creating. Keep them at bay as long as possible.

24. Visualize. Whether in your mind or on paper, seeing things in pictures rather than thinking of them in words can give you a different way to look at things.

25. Abandon Stuff Sometimes activities just take up too much mental power. Focus your energies and drop low-value brain draining tasks.

26. Get Injured. When I broke my foot, I sat around the house for a month. While that wasn’t the brightest time of my life, I did get a new perspective on mobility and  health, as well as a few story ideas. Of course, intentionally injuring yourself is pretty stupid, but if you do get injured, make the most of it. Make sure you have health insurance (Seriously, don’t injure yourself. I don’t want to get sued).

27. Ignore People Some people…geez. If you listen to them long enough, you’ll believe everything awesome  has already been done, all ideas are rip-offs, and all people are shitheads. Don’t let their negativity, laziness, and failures of imagination to drag you down.

28. Meditation I’m still not 100% sold on meditation, but millions of Buddhists can’t be wrong. If nothing else, just stepping away from the mundane, closing your eyes, and doing some breathing is effective. For me, meditation is sitting on a mountaintop and listening to the wind.

29. Step Away. Adding psychological distance frees up a little of your brain, giving you a chance to examine a problem as an abstract problem rather than a concrete issue. Concrete can be tough to move. For example, why is it so easy to see the problems of others but so damn difficult to see your own? There’s no distance.

30. Work in a Different Venue Changing scenery can yield new ideas and inspiration. Our surroundings influence us more than we care to admit. Change your surroundings and you’ll change your work. For me, this means leaving my apartment and taking my notebook to the neighborhood pub. Nobody speaks English there so I get left alone, and they feed me peanuts. Maybe a pub isn’t the best place for everybody, but I always come up with stuff when I’m there.

Photo credit : josefstuefer

Has your river of brainy brilliance turned to a sluice of stumped stupidity?

No matter what kind of work you do, sometimes you run into a wall; the ideas dry up and you feel anything but creative. It happens to everyone. Don’t worry. You’re not alone. You need a break. You need a strategy. You need a saga.

Here’s your saga, delivered in 16 steaming hot points. Use them, abuse them, but do tell me how they work for you.

1. Consistent Effort If you make a consistent effort to create new things, you’re bound to have results. If you just wait around for inspiration to strike, you could be waiting for a long time. Inspiration tends to strike those who are already in the middle of the creative process. A reward, if you will, for your diligent work.

2. Record Everything Keep a notebook, sketchbook, or recording device handy at all times. Ideas are slippery as eels, and if you wait too long, the damn things will swim away. If you have a smashing idea just before you fall asleep, you probably won’t remember it in the morning, and if you’re driving or rolling on the subway, something else will distract your attention.

3. Elaborate on Something If you’ve already made something cool, go back and see if you can’t expand on it. Especially if some time has passed and an idea has had time to incubate, you’ll have new things to add, angles to elaborate on.

4. Switch Gears If you’re doing brain work, do body work, and vice versa. If you’re writing a report, do a puzzle, if you’re building a sculpture of a giant chrome sponge, sing a song.

5. Think Laterally Look for associated ideas, especially while you’re already working on something. As I’m writing this, I’ve had ideas for four six more posts. While I won’t use them all, it’s nice to have them to draw from.

6. Mind Maps Mind maps are effective because they make the most of lateral, horizontal thinking. They give you a chance to put a lot of information down about a topic without worrying about actually organizing the information. This is just my opinion, but mind maps may be a close representation of how thoughts are structured. Here’s the wiki entry.

7. Don’t be Afraid of Bad Ideas When you have a lot of bad ideas, you’re bound to have good ones. Plus, with lots of bad ideas you’ll have less trouble telling the good from the bad.

8. Get Emotional Horror movies and comedies come to mind, but you can also read really sad stories, instigate an argument with a stranger, walk in a grave yard, whatever. Just apologize if things get out of hand.

9. Hang out With Friends Depending on your ‘vert persuasion*, you may need more or less of this, but fun with friends can be relaxing. Just shooting the shit and forgetting about things for a while can give your brain some breathing room (*introvert or extrovert).

10. Sleep On It Whether you’re working on a problem or looking for new ideas, sleep can give your brain the chance to mull a problem over, give you a new plan of attack.

11. Take a Hike Walking is good, but hiking is better. Mind-body connection, you’ve heard it before, but it really works. If you’re trying to generate new ideas or feeling stumped, getting the blood flowing seems to mix things up.  When the body starts working, more neurons start firing. While walking is good, getting  out in the woods is better. Being in nature reduces stress.

12. Free Write Similar to morning journaling, only more focused on a single problem. Write about your topic, whatever you’re stuck on, for about fifteen minutes. Don’t censor, don’t edit, just write whatever comes to your head. Works  best if the pen doesn’t leave the paper.

13. Take a Media Fast Lots of people of written on this, but there’s a reason: it’s effective. Media, this blog included, can be a huge time sink; consumption can can stifle creativity. Taking a complete break can be challenging, but the rewards are well worth it.

14. Learn a Useless Skill Useless skills are entertaining and make life more fun.

15. Really Listen To Music. Without other distractions, just put on a amazing record, put on good headphones, sit back, relax, and listen. Pick out a single instrument to follow. Feel the groove, the flow of the record. If the feeling gets you, get up and dance.

16. Do stuff you find troubling. Shoot a gun. Gamble. Get sick on liquor. Eat a bloody steak. Give alcohol to a bum. Go to a strip club. Watch television for a couple hours. Sniff glue and go to a creepy mega-church (okay, scratch the sniffing glue part). Going outside of your comfort zone will give you new ideas.

We’ve reached the end of a long list, but I’m sure I’ve missed some stuff. What can you add? Don’t be shy!

Photo credit: Darwinbell

Playing solo just for the sheer hell of it can be a challenge, and even more so if you’ve not played for a few years. However, the rewards of relearning an instrument are worth the time, effort, and pain.

Relearning an instrument is like riding a bicycle, only more challenging. The bad news is that after only a week of not playing you start losing your skills skills. Calluses turn soft, wind players lose their ombisher, and everybody forgets their scales. The good news is with a little persistence you can match and maybe even exceed the level you were at in the past.

Why pick up an old instrument? Here are a few:

Fun. Making music is just fun.
Brain Benefits. Playing is a definite mental workout. Studies show playing an instrument increases alertness and improves memory.
Stress Relief. Making music lowers stress, even for heavy metal drummers.
Low Cost. If you already have an instrument, making music is one of the most inexpensive and satisfying hobbies out there.
Sexy factor. Everybody knows musicians have more sex.
Make new Friends When you play an instrument, you have an instant connection with millions of people.

Now that you’re convinced to dust off that old instrument, you’re probably wondering how to do it. Here are a few ideas.

Have a Goal.

I put this first for a reason. When I’m trying to learn a new skill, I like to begin with the end in mind. When you know what you want, you’ll be more focused when you’re practicing. For playing an old instrument, your goal might be to play a favorite piece of music, to jam along with a Mile Davis record, to find some people to play with, or even to make your own compositions. If you have a reason, you’ll improve a lot faster.

Start Slow.

No need to start out attempting Flight of the Bumblebee. If you have any old sheet music, dig it out. Otherwise, just start playing some scales. Whatever you choose to play, remember you’re probably waaay out of practice, so don’t worry if you sound shitty; you probably will, but it’s part of the learning process.

Right now, the goal is to build up your muscle memory, fingers, and ombisher. Use a metronome, set it for 80bpm, and gradually work your way up until you can play X at 150bpm flawlessly. You know the drill.

Consistent Practice.

Start slow and be patient. You can’t expect huge gains overnight, but if you apply yourself consistently, you will make great improvements. Aim to practice thirty minutes a day everyday. A marathon session might be fun, but as with any skill you’ll have more benefits from short, consistent sessions.

Record Yourself.

When you record your first sessions, you’ll realize you can do nothing but improve…things can’t get much worse. After a few weeks of practicing, record yourself again, then play the two side by side. Bask in satisfaction at the progress you’ve made.

Get Free Lessons.

I wish I had youtube when I started making music…things would’ve gone so much faster. Hundreds if not thousands of videos exist for almost every instrument out there, some good, some garbage. Watch and learn.

Find a Venue.

This kind of goes along with the first point, but not exactly. If you have a venue or an outlet, you know exactly what you’re working towards. You have a deadline, you have a goal, and you’ll have the chance to share the results of all your hard work.

If you’re particularly ambitious, you can find a few other people who make music, find a little pavilion or somebody’s backyard, and have some kind of free impromptu concert. Invite a few friends, make posters, bring some food and a cooler of beer, and you’ve got an instant party.

Sure beats television.

If you’ve got any stories about picking up an instrument after a long hiatus, share them here. What was the biggest challenge? What is your musical life like now?

Photo Credit: The_Amanda

We both drove late model gas sippers. We didn’t have a choice. In our town, like most other cities in the States, public transportation is a sad joke. Cities are sprawling messes of unplanned development. If sidewalks exist, they’re usually in terrible states of disrepair. In the country, if you don’t drive, you either rely on someone else to bring you food, or you die.

My parents live in the country. 100 years ago, it was possible  to take a train from my parents house into the city. Even though it only made four stops a day, people walked to the station and rode into town. Everyday. Now, the platform is gone, replaced by a doublewide trailer. Only coal trains use the tracks.

Progress. Thanks, Henry Ford.

Living in Korea, we have access to an excellent public transportation system. The trains aren’t as extensive as in Europe, but the trains and buses cover enough ground  can be anywhere in this admittedly small country within a few hours, no car required.

Even though the cost of car ownership is low, many people here don’t own cars. It’s entirely possible to go about your daily business on foot, using trains and buses. Small, neighborhood shops abound, selling everything from groceries to hardware. Every street has well-maintained sidewalks.

Before I list off the things I love about having no car, I want to say one thing: I don’t have cars, I’m just really enjoying not having one.  Sometimes I miss driving, the freedom to go anywhere, anytime, just to hop in a car and explore. I miss the thrill of driving too fast along curvy roads, the music drowning out the throb of the engine as the wind whips in through the windows.

That said, here’s the list:

1. I’m saving a lot of money.
Cars are expensive. Besides the initial cost, there’s gas, insurance, fuzzy dice. I’m not going to run numbers here, other people already done it here, but according to AAA, each mile costs about 52 cents. I drove a really old car with great gas mileage, so my cost was considerably lower, but I’ve still estimated that I’m saving over $2,700 per year. I spend maybe $5-10 per week on public transit, more if I want to take a trip. It’s like I got a big fat raise and all I have to do is walk a little more.

2. No Maintenance Headaches.
I don’t get flat tires on my shoes. I don’t have to spend time changing oil, replacing plugs, scouring junk yards for spare parts, dealing with mechanics who drop pistons on your hood, leaving huge dents. Because I’m not reliant on one thing for my transportation, I can never be stranded.

3. My Life Expectancy Has Increased.
Not only do I get more exercise from walking, but my risk of death from a car crash has dropped to almost zero. I’m not making this up, check this out. My biggest worry is the homicidal sidewalk scooter drivers.

4. I’m Less Stressed.
If driving doesn’t terrify you on some level, you shouldn’t be driving. One mistake, and you could  kill and maim yourself and others. This stresses me out, and not having that responsibility is a wonderful feeling. Plus, I’m never stuck in traffic, getting tailgated, having near-misses, flipping people off, all that crap. Something about being in a car really unleashes the ugly side of the id. Plus, I have more time to enjoy the weather.

5. I’ve Lost Weight
I’ve lost weight without actually trying. In fact, I think I eat more here. However, I’m walking every day, whether I want to or not. Being away from the car culture, I’m also not eating convenient, delicious, artery-clogging drive-thru food.

6. My Neighborhood Feels Like an Extension of My House
Walking around, I feel like the parks and playgrounds and sidewalks are all part of my back yard. I know it very well because I see it every day; I suppose I’m just more aware of it. There’s not a clear divide.

7. Nobody Can Steal, Break into, of Smash Something You Don’t Have

8. Long-term Travel Is Easier
From my front door step, I can go anywhere in the world. One of the best airports in the world is less than two hours away. I don’t have to pay airport parking. Squirrels can’t build nests in my cylinders while I’m gone. Perfect.

9. My Thinking About Distance is Different
I don’t think about distance in miles but in number of transfers and times. Anyang is five stops away. Great Chinese food is a fifteen minute walk. Pyongyang is about 120 miles away. In car terms, that’s about two and a half hours. In car-free terms, between the visa requirements, expense, and the flight to Beijing, it might as well be on the other side of the world. If nothing else, it makes me feel better.

10. In My Own Little Way, I’m Helping to Clean the Air.
No car, no exhaust, no CO2.

11. No Back Pain
With three different vehicles, I found myself with a little bit of lower back pain. Nothing severe, but like all kinds of physical pain, it pissed me off. I think the combination of my posture, refusal to drive an automatic transmission car, and broken-down seats made long periods of driving a recipe for pain.

12. I Have More Free Time
By this point, you’re probably thinking I’m full of shit. Driving saves time, you say. I agree, driving can be faster, as you know you can go from point A to point B in X minutes. However, as I’m never really sure exactly how long I’ll need to get somewhere, I am unable to over-commit myself. I don’t have to rush and hurry. If I arrive somewhere early, I’ve always got something to read.

13. I Can Really Listen to Music
Driving and music go together wonderfully, but when I’m on the subway or at home, I am able to fully focus my attention on a tune. Rather than dividing my attention between the tasks of listening and driving, I only have to listen.

14. No Need to Worry about DUIs.
I don’t have to worry about arranging transportation after a night out on the town. No long waits for expensive cabs. No need to wake my wife up at three AM for a ride home. No need to worry I might, in my impaired judgment, decide I’m not that drunk and hop in a car. See also number 1 and 3.

15. I Can Make the Most of Transit Time
When I’m on the subway or bus, I can spend my time reading movies, watching movies, or writing blog posts. I’ve read about people writing novels during their daily commute, but since my work is a five minute walk away, I don’t have this option. Further, have you ever tried to write while driving? I’m impossible to read what you wrote later. Just kidding, but not really.

I think that’s the it. Maybe I’ll add more to it when I think of things. If you don’t have a car and you can think of anything I missed, let me know. Maybe we can make this car-free list to end all car-free lists.

Photo Credit: pdxdj