Do any of you have any freaking clue how to get everything done? Like, all of it?

Because I don’t.

Every day, the list of things I didn’t get done is longer than the list of things I did. My inbox never shrinks.

Yeah, yeah. I’ve read your motivational LinkedIn post or your guest article on Forbes or whatever. It didn’t work for me.

It still feels like I spend more time cleaning the kitchen or trying to recover random website passwords than I do sleeping. And Tara has it way worse than I do. Thank God we like each other enough to fist-bump when we pass in the hallway.

I even miss Steelers games sometimes – as my dad rolls around in his grave – because I have something else “important” to do. And when you’re lucky enough to have the best franchise in all of sports, it’s insulting to other fans when you take that for granted. But I digress.

Our data says we’re all just a bunch of busy, overworked, under-vacationed, drowning-in-chores, parenting-under-a-microscope burnouts. Especially my Gen X sisters and brothers, scrambling to clean up the messes of our elders, so the generations after us can go to music festivals and binge old TV shows we didn’t have time to watch 15 years ago. I digress again.

The point is, everybody’s feeling it. Over half of American workers had unused PAID vacation days at the end of the year in 2018. We literally can’t even find time for free time off.

Let’s get it together people.

This isn’t some call to arms – for all of us to pull up stakes, grab our Yetis and flip-flops, and storm the Caribbean. All I’m saying is we should check ourselves every once in a while and remember what’s going to matter most when the credits roll.

Our company isn’t in the self-help business and I wouldn’t buy my own product if it were. So, you figure it out and I’ll be your first customer.

Just realize we have a problem. And we have to solve it together.

Here’s what we’re seeing right now:

Before I change the subject, you should take a vacation by yourself if you’re into that kind of thing. Turns out more people are willing solo travelers than I would have guessed. 44% of Americans say they’ve taken at least one trip for pleasure all by their lonesome – and 41% loved it. Another 24% said they’d like to try it. Only 31% have no interest at all. Unsurprisingly (and sadly), women are much less likely to be solo travelers. If you check out the full article we wrote on the subject, you’ll also see that social media usage and business travel are big predictors of solo travel enthusiasts.

My kids are probably going to be potheads – or at least their friends will be. Craig Giammona at Bloomberg authored an awesome story about the future of pot consumption and the role Gen Z will play in taking the market to new levels. I was quoted in the story because I’m kind of an expert… on Gen Z. Actually, our data looked more at the rise of introversion among younger consumers (i.e. I never want to leave my house and I don’t have to) and how marijuana usage lines up very well with that emerging proclivity. Staying home and smoking, vaping, or munching edibles while watching Netflix and ordering Uber Eats is going to increasingly chip away at the whole going-out-to-crowded bars scene. Mark my words on that.

Millennials are hypocrites when it comes to the environment. If you feel like I’m bad-mouthing every generation but my fellow Xers this morning, who am I to tell you how to feel? All I know is that we did a big study of over 660,000 Americans this week regarding their attitudes toward the environment, climate change, and the various lifestyle adjustments they make as a result. Overall concerns for the environment are skyrocketing, and things like a ban on single-use plastic bags are gaining steam – particularly among Millennials. At the same time, however, Millennials are the least likely of all generations to regularly recycle. Hmm.

We did a lot of trend analysis work this week…

Telemedicine is still a tiny niche trend but it has a lot of potential. The idea of online doctor visits and consultations doesn’t appeal to the vast majority of consumers – yet – particularly for patients where it would make the most sense, like rural Americans who may have the farthest to travel. That said, younger generations are showing more and more interest in the concept, consistent yet again with the big introversion trend we’re seeing across the board. It’s just one more reason to not leave the house.

Furniture rental, not so much. Apparently, IKEA and other retailers are trying to make “furniture-as-a-service” a thing, where people can subscribe to rent furniture and other housewares. The problem is that only 3% of U.S. adults are “very likely” to try it and only 7% are even “somewhat likely.” The numbers are a little better among people in their mid-20s but not enough to foretell of a future boom in furniture rentals. I would short this trend.

Robot vacuums are somewhere in the middle. Not as nascent as the other trends above, Roombas and other robotic floor sweepers still haven’t gone mainstream. It’s hard to believe the first Roomba came out in 2002. Still, 17 years later only 15% of Americans have tried a robotic vacuum and 1/3rd of those people had a bad experience with them. The only glimmer of hope is that a sizable group of consumers remain interested in trying one, particularly among people with pets. (Shout-out to one of our newest hires, Noah, who came up with the brilliant title “Have Robot Vacuums Hit a Wall?” You can’t teach comedic talent like that).

And last but not least, here are our most popular questions of the week…

The speeding ticket results blew me away.

Hoping you’re well.

JD