For the Want of a Nail

For Want of a Nail

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

(from wikipedia)

I gripe a lot about not getting enough done. A thousand tasks, important and trivial, remain either untouched or unfinished each day. And yet, often I find myself sitting virtually motionless on a couch or in front of a computer terminal, blithely wiling away the time that I do have in activities that get me not one inch closer to completing those goals.

It's easy (and partially accurate) to say this is just evidence of laziness and procrastination, but I think a fair reading of the situation would conclude that something more is going on.

Most activities require at least some level of concentration and energy if they are to be done successfully, and in order to muster those qualities one has to bring the physical where with all necessary to summon them. In other words, you need to eat right, exercise and perhaps most importantly, get enough rest.

I'm tired a lot, lately. It's not a worrying situation, a la health issues, because I'm fairly sure there's no underlying physical reason for it. I think it's a combination of staying up too late, thinking (read: worrying) too much, and generally being a bit world weary. Nothing terminal, obviously, but something that has ramifications far beyond the actual symptoms themselves.

To whit: if you tire easily, you don't get as much done as if you had more endurance. If you didn't sleep much the night before, you are more than likely to have trouble accomplishing everything you want to the next day; your work performance is lackluster, your daily chores go either unfinished or not started, and your mind and body are both operating at far less than peak capacities.

All of this seems so simple, like I'm reciting a list of truisms. But I think from time to time it's important to consider some basic truths our parents and grandparents told us. You need to sleep at least six to eight hours a day. All of this "I can get by with less" is just convenient self-deception. You may be able to function without dropping over but no one functions as well on four hours sleep as they do on eight.

You need to eat right, and in sufficient quantities. I don't intend for this to be a dietary diatribe, but we all need to eat foods that give us energy and keep our body working properly, and unfortunately, very few of us actually do this.

Eat your greens, cut down on sweets, drink milk and plenty of water, have a good breakfast and "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" all seem quaint and maybe outdated but time and research have proven that all of these things help keep us alert, awake and energetic.

If you can't stay awake, nothing else matters. Forget about getting a better job, or writing that novel, or painting that masterpiece or taking that class. Hell, forget about staying healthy and being a good friend and family member. You'll end up shuffling lifelessly through the day, half assing everything you do and never really making much progress.

The boring stuff comes first. You can't build a mansion without a foundation, and as old school and antiquated as it might seem, you can't accomplish a mission without the proper planning and mindset.

So maybe if I REALLY want to get more out of my day, I should sacrifice that oh so tempting extra hour of Adult Swim or surfing the net. We live in an age where it's very easy to (as Jerry Seinfeld once said) "fight sleep and seek out more entertainment" but ultimately that's not very smart. First things first; no dream, no goal, no aspiration matters a fig if you're going into it with anything less than full attention and drive.

Hopefully, there won't be anything good on TV after 10 PM tomorrow...