One year layover - Building a Routine

I am now back home.

Back from all my travels and exciting times.

I would also say "back to my routine" but that would be a lie. I've never really had a routine. I haven't had a routine probably since I finished my masters back in 2019 (with the exception of those 10 weeks where I learned to code at Le Wagon Lisbon). But that hasn't stopped me from fabricating routines I'd "stick to" (without much success) in the past. We all know we become 10335324 times more productive when we have a fixed routine where we can plan and schedule activities and work. But, I've never really stuck with routines. I would even say I am quite the master of creating a routine, planning my weeks with times for work, learning, reading, sports and recreation. What I struggle with is actually following them. A big part of not sticking with them has been my ever changing environment, moving houses/countries every 3-6 months or doing months of backpacking changing hostels/hotels every few days. When you move as much as me, part of the routine is adapting to change. Learning, living and enjoying the new place I am in before I move out again.

That has been super rewarding, beautiful and lots of fun. I've grown internally and gotten to know myself quite well... but now it is time to grow externally. Time to get back to real work! Real life! To reconstruct my abandoned empire. For those reasons I've moved back home. For ONE WHOLE YEAR!

I have told myself I'll be staying "home" for the next year. I say "home" in quotation marks because of what I've said thousands of times before. Home is a strange concept. The meaning of Home is different for everyone. To me it's the town I grew up in, where my parents live. It is a beautiful place, close to the beach and the mountains, with lots of outdoor activities to be done. The only problem is that there are almost no people my age and in winter there's almost no social life.

It's only been a few days and I'm already imagining and romanticising my next trip. I'm allowing myself to leave for short escapades (I've already booked a cheeky trip to London at the end of the month - yes I have the traveller/ gypsy curse), but I won't be doing long 30 days plus trips for a little while. For one year! One year to get back on my feet. My heart starts racing thinking about it. One year not travelling! One whole year! But then again... Being here has it's upsides.

One shouldn't compare oneself to others - we all come from different backgrounds and what not- butttt I can't help myself and think: I must be a travel addict. One year seems like an eternity, when the majority of the world never even get the chance/ do not dare to travel to far away lands/ for periods longer than one month (as i've done many times before). I also know I will get the chance to go out on the road again soon. Just one year of work. My insides battle each other.

"You'll never be 27 again! you need to go out and travel more now before you are old!" -

"Yes but I don't want to reach 30 without having built anything. Only stories to tell. Only smoke." (For more on this concept read my blog from Crete. No one really cares about your stories. People care only about themselves. When you meet old travellers, it's them trying to tell you about their lives and you wanting to move on and do something else).

"Life is nothing but stories. Who cares if you didn't build anything, you will have lived a more plentiful life than most!"

"Yes but what if I then need to get a real regular 9-5 job"... And that is when the horror starts. One of my biggest fears is to have to go and get a regular job. I am still safe. That's why now is a prudent time to stop. Take a breather. Plan, work, develop, build and then head out again when there's some business going on.

It's not hard to keep a business going when you are on the road. I've done this for almost 4 years with my e-commerce site. But it is almost impossible (at least for me) to get it started on the road. You need stability. You need time. You need a routine. Soooo I am back home. For one year (he says to himself shivering as an overwhelming fear of stagnation and FOMO cripples up his spine).

Naaa, I'm sure it's all for the best. When these battles are going on inside my head, I always imagine a scale weighing the Now vs the Future. I've been living the now for a while. It's time to put more weight on the future.

Sooooo, since I've been back, I have once again crafted a great routine to include a bit of everything I want to work on or get better at, and at the same time managed to follow it around 70% of the time. I've been back for around 20 days, and I'm happy with the progress I've made so far. Each week getting progressively tougher, more planned and myself more efficient. All the pieces are starting to fall into place. I am pleased with myself. Nevertheless, there are still lots of work to be done.

I won't speak of individual projects like I did in the past. But once again I find myself with a lot on my plate. Last time I was saturated with the workload I set upon myself, making me feel like I was walking in to a battle that was already lost. This time my plate is again full, but now compartmentalised into digestible chunks. What I'm working on now is probably harder, but I feel more ready. More capable. My mentality has changed. I'm ready to hit the world head on. It also helps knowing I've got time and stability in front of me (a whole year! Basically an eternity!).

Overall, things are pretty good. I am excited for whats coming and what I'll create in the time coming.

The only hiccup in this plan is... One of my projects. One of my projects involves creating a travel company. Which would inevitably (and sooner than this year I've given myself) make me be out and about travelling the globe. I won't get into details of this project now, I will leave you with a teaser. If you know me or you've been following my online presence, you've probably heard of "Modern Pirates Club". Well... Let's just say there's a "Pirate Travel" company brewing.

And that's all for today folks!

Me walking on the beach pondering life

If you haven't heard of Modern Pirates Club, you can check out our webpage here: modernpiratesclub.com . We sell eco t-shirts and plant a tree with every t-shirt sold. They are made of thick yet soft organic cotton that basically lasts forever. I've been using the MPC tees for years now, and every time I wear one I feel sexy... But the Modern Pirates Club clothing is only a fraction of what Modern Pirates Club represents. Like I said above...

The concept of Modern Pirates Club is still being developed and curated. It is too soon to tell you what it will become. We also have the Modern Pirates Club NFTs ready to launch with a much bigger project in the future... It's all quite up in the air for the moment. The best description I can give you for modern pirates, is that it's not one thing, but more of an ideology. A way to live.

It is the way that I live. I am a Modern Pirate.