What is the #1 contributor to my health, well being, mood, and creative productivity? Natural light.
Why is this? Some thoughts:
The philosophy of natural light
Economically how much am I willing to spend more on an apartment to maximize natural light? At least $500-$1000 a month. To me, natural light is the ultimate luxury in a home. Even from an economic justification, the thought:
Considering we are now all working from home, perhaps spending the extra $1,000 a month in rent for a place with extreme amounts of natural light might increase your earning potential by $5,000-10,000 a month, assuming you’re self employed.
In fact, even before COVID, all of my meaningful creative and productive work was always done in coffee shops with tons of natural light. For some reason, I’ve never been able to be productive in dark coffee shops. This is why Vietnam was ideal for me:
Always bright and sunny, epic coffee shops with floor to ceiling windows, and a lot of coffee shops even with glass ceilings!
What is it about natural light?
Perhaps the warmth, UV rays, brightness in lumens, or something deep inside our biology that helps us plant-men thrive. To be frank, I don’t see that much difference between plants, tree and men, except we move much quicker. We all acknowledge photo synthesis for the growth of plants, why not humans?
When you got the option
I would rather choose a more expensive, tiny luxury apartment with huge floor to ceiling windows with extreme amounts of natural light when contrasted with a bigger home (but less natural light).
Photos and videos tend to lie when it comes to natural light in a home. This is why the next time you must, in person tours (wear a mask) is optimal when scouting apartments or homes. In some ways my ideal home would be some sort of Buckminster Fuller glass dome home, surrounded by green nature somewhere in the woods, or overlooking some cliff or mountain range.
Why we must optimize for natural light during COVID times
I’m certain — the best home is one which optimizes for your health — both mental and physical. And the secret is:
- A home with extreme amounts of natural light
- A home with maximum quietness (far away from a main street or intersection)
- Well-insulated (ideally a home which heating and cooling is included in your rent)
Beyond this, location isn’t so important anymore (you don’t need to commute to work anymore), neither is square footage (I’ve actually discovered the more bedrooms and more square footage a home has, the worse — as it means you got more space to clean, more furniture you gotta acquire, and more things to maintain). Same goes with extra floors — having no second (or third) story is ideal in a home.
What to do?
If you’re like me, and natural light is essential for you, optimize everything in your life towards it. For example, spend as little possible money on a car (I bought a 2003 Subaru Outback Legacy Wagon, 5 speed for only $800), and spend a lot of money on your apartment or home (more natural light!) Even apparently the last words of Goethe when he was on his deathbed was:
[Signaling his attendant to open up the curtains in his bedroom], “More Light!!!”
MORE LIGHT!
ERIC
LIFESTYLE by KIM
