Last night, after putting the kids and wife to bed, I was sitting on the couch, debating what I wanted to do for the night. I always have a giant list of movies to watch on Netflix or a pile of games a mile high that I need to delve into, and neither of those take much effort to do. After a long day I, like most other mortals, revel in the idea of relaxing, letting my mind unwind and just do absolutely nothing. My conscience, on the other hand, got the better of me. I knew that if I didn’t work on my side projects when I had the time, I never would, and they’d never get done, so I should make good use of my time and actually do something. Naturally, the fun side of by brain attempted to make excuses on my behalf…
“It’s cold downstairs in my office.”
“You’re right,” I thought. I really don’t want to ice over, but if I can find my slippers quickly, so that my toes don’t freeze to death, then I’ll go work. Of course, at the time, I assumed that my slippers were on another level of the house, where I wouldn’t easily find them, and therefore I could go on my merry way, click on the TV and turn into a zombie for a few hours. Little did I know that my slippers had another plan in mind, because when I stood up from the couch to go “look” for them, there they were, across the room from me, almost directly in front me. It was like they were just watching me, and waiting for that exact moment. The moment when they could say, “HA! I got you now. Go be productive.”
In reality though, most everyone will need these little nudges in the right direction, be they from inside yourself or a friendly hint from a personified household item. We’re human, we falter. Heck, sometimes the break we get from that stumbling can be a good thing, because it gives us time to regain our composure and come back with a fresh mind. The key to being successful at any project isn’t about being infallible and working non-stop any chance you get; the key is about always coming back, motivating yourself to get the job done, and to have fun doing it.
