Free How to Build a Fire: And Other Handy Things Your Grandfather Knew by Erin Bried

enthusiasm departments, refer to your list to feel reinvigorated. However hokey it sounds, it’ll be a huge thrill to systematically reach each goal you set for yourself.
    Step 2: Stay focused. Even if you don’t currently have your dream job—you might be delivering pizzas when you want to be a chef or pushing pencils when you want to be in charge—find something to be passionate about in your work. Then, take a deep breath and know that you’ll reach your goals, if you just keep your nose down and work hard. If you’re the best at what you’re doing now, you’ll advance in no time.
    Step 3: Rally the team. Share your financial plans and hopes with your partner and children. That way, they won’t think of money as something that magically appears, and they’ll learn the value of a hard day’s work. Also, you’ll feel like a team, working together to meet your goals, especially if you set a few the whole crew can look forward to, like a trip to Dollywood. (Hey, don’t knock it until you try it. Dolly Parton rules.)
    Step 4: Frame it. Keep a photo of your family at your office. If you’re having a hard day, look at that picture and reset your mind. People are depending on you.
    More Handy Tips
Just because you are filling the family coffers doesn’t mean that you’re off the hook around the house. Don’t let all the domestic stuff fall on your partner, who’s probably working, too. You share the work outside the home. Share it inside as well.
If you have kids, don’t become a walking checkbook. Buying them the fanciest baseball glove may win their squeals, but showing up at the game will win their hearts.

Switch Hats
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“Don’t chase the almighty dollar. It’s not that important. And make your home a home, a place where everyone wants to be, a place where everyone gets along.”
—B ILL H OLLOMAN
    H OW TO L EAVE W ORK AT W ORK
    Step 1: Create a buffer zone. Whether you take scenic, windy back roads rather than the highway, or a walk around the block after you get off the train, give yourself a few minutes to decompress before you call out, “Honey, I’m home!” The daily ritual will help send a signal to your brain that it’s time to shift gears.
    Step 2: Listen. Instead of walking in and venting about your day to anyone within earshot, try asking your family how their day was first. If their troubles seem insignificant compared with yours, well, good. You want their troubles to be tiny. Celebrate their triumphs and console them for their disappointments, and you’ll find whatever was stressing you will fall away. If it doesn’t, talk about it with your partner, but set a time limit for your bellyaching. Fifteen minutes of venting helps clear the air. Five hours of venting just pollutes it.
    Step 3: Disconnect. Sure, there’ll be occasions when you have to work at night or on weekends. That’s understandable. What’s not? Keeping your BlackBerry on your armrest while you’re watching Modern Family or walking around with a Bluetooth in your ear at your kid’s soccer game. If you never disconnect from the office, your work will follow you everywhere and your family or friends will never feel like a priority. When you’re out, be out.
    Step 4: Be grateful. Not to get too terribly morbid, but nobody ever says on his deathbed, “I just wish I spent more time in the office.” Life is too short to spend in a cubicle or tethered to your work via cell phone and email. Remember to be thankful for all the other things that are important to you: your family, your friends, hiking, beer brewing, whatever brings you joy. You may have to give your job forty hours a week, but you don’t owe anyone your life.
    More Handy Tips
If you just can’t get work out of your head, get it out of your body. Go for a run, lift weights, chop wood. Once those endorphins kick in, you’ll feel better in no time.
If you’re lucky enough to have someone lovely meet you at the door with your slippers and a