Maybe you should do an energy audit
What I'm Up To (Nothing), What I Reflected On (Energy Audits), and What's Occupying My Mind (How to form a California LLC) - all part of Allen's Friday Flights
HELLO to the Friday Flights
These are a flight of personal updates from me and it’ll be centered around what I’m up to, what I reflected on, and what book (or even thing) occupies my mind. Makes sense why I’d have a different selection of topics since I often choose samplers and flights when I go out to eat and drink.
Ciao!
Allen
Past Friday Flights
7/15 - I Did Not Value My Skills
Inside:
What I’m up to
What I reflected on
What thing occupies my mind
What I’m Up To
The Things:
Published my 20th Restatement, a Job Board Newsletter for CPAs and CISAs. It’s basically my soap opera box on convincing CPAs and CISAs that they can do other stuff.
Do nurses need compression socks? I am looking in to that. It was born out of the idea of “What’s a way to improve Nurse Scrubs”.
Went to the ISFFA Conference Gala this past Sunday; it was at Disneyland. Cool to see familiar faces again. Parking gates were broken so I didn’t have to pay $40. That’s a win.
That online ecommerce brand I have? $3500 in sales.
Some stuff I can’t yet share but really want to. Hah. I need to write it better.
Do I pay $9.99 for 1TB of ICloud storage because my 512gig iPhone is out of space?
What I Reflected On
TL;DR: My Personal Energy Management System.
Maybe you should do an energy audit
When I started my career break, I found myself with an incredibly free and empty calendar with no obligations. I had all the time, all the energy, and all the will to try and discover new things and build new habits.
Unbeknownst to me, I had basically spent a lot of my time contributing indirectly discovering what my own energy system is today.
That’s what today’s topic is about. My energy system, and the energy audit I did.
Maybe you should do one too.
My Energy System
My understanding of my own energy was similar to that of an electric car or phone. I do things, I lose energy, then I go recharge. My “recharge” and “refill the bucket” could sometimes be time in solitude, time in nature, or time with some friends.
I’m introverted, so after any social gathering, I’m basically depleted to the point where I also don’t text either.
I’ve come to realize that my understanding of my own energy system wasn’t really doing me any favors. I use to think of my own energy as finite hours that can be spent. In a way, my energy is based on loss and a reduction of our own resource which is a combination of time, physical energy, and my ability to care.
You work 50 weeks, so that you can take 2 weeks off to magically cover for the 50 weeks. That’s wack.
So I did my own energy audit.
What’s an Energy Audit?
Traditionally you could do a time-based energy audit where you take 24 hours a day and subdivide into minutes. But the relationship you create with both time and energy is that it’s a resource that is lost. Based on the perception of loss, you start to enter loss aversion psychology. Instead of thinking how do you create and gain, you think how do I not lose and how do I spend.
I’m in pursuit of a balance thought which means both gains and losses.
Why?
There are things that do happen in a day that can cause a surge of energy, as well as a crash in energy, and these things do not respect time in anyway. They happen, and there are gains for me to have.
To add another layer, there are different types of mental energy that you have that follows a different layer than your physical energy. This mental energy is great for certain tasks, but not so much on others.
All this talk about energy makes me sound like a psychic or one of those chakra readers. I promise you it’s not that.
What did I do?
My energy audit was my way to peel away the surface level understanding I had of my own energy system and create a different relationship. I first focused on cause and effect, and looked for patterns.
I was curious: What was the impact of various factors, conditions, and even triggers that happen, and what the result on me.
What did I discover?
Here are some things I observed about myself - and I’m slowly realizing new things about myself every now and then.
When do I gain the best thinking energy?
After exercising: I gain the best thinking energy when I am in a run/exercise, walk, or washing dishes. At any point in the day I can trigger a run, and I will have the best thinking energy.
When do I gain the best decision making energy?
After a run, I have 2-3 hours of “offensive energy”, that is to say, the best decision making energy, and can drive meetings or engage others pretty actively. I have not yet found alternatives to generate trigger decision making energy.
After I catch my wind.
I also get the best energy in general on days I do run, versus days I do not run. I think I gain some level of mental fortitude for the day.
When do I gain the best focus energy?
After Lunch: 1.5 hours after eating a non food-coma inducing meal, I can have a very laser focused session. It also coincides with my afternoon caffeine pick up. Spoiler alert: I only drink a shot of espresso after lunch.
After Dinner: The same logic applies after dinner, albeit without the caffeine. Between 8 p.m. and 12 midnight, I can “get shit done”.
Nap: I also can focus after a 20 minute nap.
Something to note about focus energy is that every time I “context switch”, that is switch between all sorts of things, I lose a bit of energy.
When do I gain the best social interaction energy?
After Quietness: I’m introverted and require a high amount of solitude to recover. I gain the best social interaction energy after having solitude for a few hours or days, depending on the last social interaction. I also gain the best social interaction energy during boba and dessert runs, as well as walks.
Because Food: I also get social if it’s over food.
When does my general thinking energy get drained?
Shopping: When I go into places such a grocery store or furniture store, I tend to imagine all the possibilities and how that fits into my life or week, I tend to become mentally exhausted unless I actively shut it all out.
Travel Scoping and Planning: When doing travel discovery and planning for a vacation, it can be quite exhaustive to figure out where to go, figure out the logistic behind it, and pitch it.
When do I get the “I’m ready to conquer the world” energy?
After Authentic Conversation + a Run: After small-group open discussions that focus on support and inspiration, such as WriteWeb3 crew, timed and comboed after a run, makes me want to conquer the world.
When do I exhibit “NPC” energy?
Before Dinner, and On Thursdays: NPC energy, or non-player controlled, is when you “simply exist” but you have to be engaged first. Typically at the end of any other high energy burst I will get to NPC energy. I also get it between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Also Thursdays. For whatever reason, I’m peak NPC on Thursday.
When do I incur an energy tax?
Context Switching, Sweating, or 6 hours after a run: An energy tax happens when you do something outside of a triggered state. Thinking takes on a lot more energy if its 4 to 6 hours after a run, but it would take on a lot less when I am at a triggered state.
I also have an energy tax if I am sweating, or have constantly contextual switched too much.
When do I gain the best tinkerer energy?
Combo Thinking & Focus: Tinkerer energy, which is similar to focus energy, is when I am able to unravel a complete mystery or puzzle. My best tinkerer energy only comes after a lot of time has been spent thinking about how something works, and then having focus time. In a way, I have to have Thinking sessions - and then Focus sessions - on the same contextual matter, before my best tinkerer energy comes out.
Closing Comments
Instead of looking at my energy system is a matter of a depleting battery, I think of ways to create energy and to catch my wind. If I have a challenge or something I want to do, I will stack certain activities before it. The longest days are the days I do my exercises always. The gains I get from running are like a buff that carries me through it all.
Hope this helps you.
What thing occupies my mind
TL;DR: How to start a California LLC for the intent of a S-CORP Single-Member LLC.
Forming an LLC: Save $200 doing it yourself
I told someone recently how to form a California LLC. What started off as a $249 Legalzoom nudge, became a “do it yourself for $20” nudge that’s also instant.
Without getting into the reasons, benefits, trade offs, or mechanics, here are the 6 steps you need to do to form a California LLC under a S-Corp to ultimately form a Single Member LLC, or SMLLC, for your consulting business, real estate, etc.
Surprisingly, a process guide like this doesn’t exist that isn’t on the State of California’s site, but even then, that’s not as simplified.
How to Form a California LLC
The entire process is on California’s own portal called BizFileOnline.Sos.Ca.Gov
Step 1. Create a login with the State of California. This is free. It’s also instant.
Step 2. Submit an Articles of Organization - CA LLC. This is free, but with optional stuff you can pay for. This will take 5 business days to execute.
Make sure the name of your company ends with LLC.
Optional: If you want legal privacy, you can also pay $50 for a Registered Agent that can be used on the legal LLC filing. That means when someone looks up your LLC, it’s not your personal address, it’s a Registered Agent’s address. No they won’t take your regular mail, but any state compliance or legal matters will flow through them to you with some registered agents offering additional incentives. This can be skipped, and you can even do a PO BOX.
Now you have to wait. Come back when you get your approval letter which you can check on BizFileOnline.Sos.Ca.Gov.
Step 3. File a Statement of Information with the State of California. You have to search byt file number or your LLC name. You have 90 days. This will cost $20.
Step 5. Get your Employer Identification Number, EIN, from the IRS, using your Approval Letter from Caflironia. Click “Apply Online Now”. EIN is important if you want those cool reward credit cards. This is free. It’s also instant.
Step 6. A California LLC is a legal structure that is by default, also taxed like a C-Corp, or a traditional corporation. There’s a lot of admin to maintaining a C-Corp, and if you aren’t ready, corporate taxes. If you want to do the famous S-Corp setup, you have to file a Form 2553 with the IRS, of which you have 45 days to file for. If you miss the window, you can do a late file. The IRS is forgiving, I hear.
Legally an LLC
For Tax Purpose at the Federal Level, you are an S-Corp, which basically means all the financial business stuff flow to your personal taxes.
Congrats you are done. I saved you $230.
Go do your stuff.
By the way:
It costs $800 per year to maintain a California LLC. Better hope those tax savings and expense offsets are worth it.
3/15 is when S-Corp Tax Statements are due for the business; 4/15 is when its due for you as an individual.
You can get a PO BOX for a Year at the nearest postal office for around $200.