I was walking my dog on Sunday afternoon and a neighbor of mine, a fellow University of Florida graduate, asked me what I thought of the Gators’ men’s basketball game earlier that day (they beat Ohio State in the NIT tournament). I just put up my hands and smiled. He knew the look. He is about 15 years older than I am, and knows the look that I gave him … the guy in his mid-40s trying to be a dad, husband, and provider. He was that guy a couple decades ago. He knew I hadn’t watched the game. Heck, for all he knew I didn’t realize we had a game. It seems like just a few years ago that I would’ve been up early and planning my whole day around a Gator basketball game. Today I don’t even realize when they’re playing.
With that said, I’m happier walking the dog with my wife and daughter on a random Wednesday night than I’ve ever been at a sporting event. (Ok, maybe not more than the 2009 NBA Eastern Conference Final game 6 when the Magic beat the Cavaliers to earn a spot in the Finals, but you get my point.) Even though I’m much happier with my life today, I still miss many things about my 20s and 30s. Besides sports, I used to work out more, I was always having lunches and happy hours with different friends, and I read a whole lot more. Besides books, I read every article or blog post that interested me. It was easy – I had a buffer in my schedule most days. I read Newsweek, Smithsonian, Travel & Leisure, and Golf Digest religiously. Owning a business and having a family sort of takes priority to these things, so I found myself reading nothing a couple years ago – zero, zilch. However, I’ve recently found an app that helps me keep track of articles and blog posts that I’d like to read…
The app is called Pocket. You can download it at your app store or go to www.getpocket.com. Think of this app as your “pocket”. Remember when the efficiency experts used to tell us to tear an article out of a magazine and put it in your pocket for later? That’s basically what this is. When you find an article or blog post online that you’d like to read but don’t have time at that moment, the app allows you to hit a button and save it to Pocket.
I use this app as much as any other. I save three to ten articles a day and read most of them. When I’m waiting for a flight, warming up on the treadmill, or dining by myself (I know – this goes against a post from a couple months ago but sometimes I need to simply read and not talk to strangers), I catch up on my articles. I subscribe to about 10 blogs and when a post interests me, I’ll save it to Pocket. When it doesn’t, I delete it. When I see an article in an online newspaper or magazine, I’ll save it to Pocket and read later. It really is that simple.
Pocket doesn’t help me watch more sports, but I’ll have enough time to do that after my daughter is grown up. For now, I’m happy being able to keep up with my blogs and magazines. Check it out – I think you’ll appreciate it.
