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I signed up months earlier to build with Habitat for Humanity as part of our temple’s service day. I like to give back and I love to build, but on Sunday morning I wasn’t feeling energetic. I wondered if this was really how I wanted to spend the day and almost didn’t go.
I didn’t tell my daughter, Jr. Carina, how I felt as we drove to the site. I was glad it was only a few miles away and that we’d have some mother–daughter time. During orientation I learned Habitat builds homes worldwide and that each homeowner contributes 500 hours to building their own house.
Still, I found myself thinking about everything I could have done at home. But once we started measuring, cutting, drilling, and hammering, I began to enjoy it. The sky was bright, the temperature mild, and we kept carrying lumber and building a fence that felt complicated to me. There was a snack break at 10:30 and sandwiches for lunch at noon.
On the drive home, Jr. Carina said she’d had so much fun she wanted to do it again next week. Even after stapling insulation high on a ladder, she was excited. When I asked what she enjoyed most, she said, “Doing something important and working with the homeowner.”
I came home physically exhausted—more tired than I had been in a long time—but oddly clear-headed and motivated. I finished the final edit of my book How to Get Rich: Wealth Building Guide for the Financially Illiterate and sent it off for prepublication. I also tackled other work with new energy. How could five hours of hard outdoor work leave me so ready to focus on paid tasks?
Doing something outside your routine gives your body and mind a mini-rebirth. Endorphins kick in, your imagination wakes up, and you return with unexpected vigor.
The takeaway: schedule the unexpected. Break your routine. Don’t worry about “getting everything done”—life is never complete. Have an adventure and enjoy the free opportunities around you: time with kids and friends, hiking, giving back, and being creative. That’s what a wealthy life is.
A few practical steps:
– Keep a notebook by your computer for personal finance goals, thoughts, activities, and plans.
1. Put the computer away.
2. Get up and do something different with someone special.
