Last Sunday, I woke up after 11 hours of sleep, and I could barely muster the energy to roll out of bed.
When I finally did, I ate breakfast, plonked myself down on the sofa, and couldn’t move.
I barely stood up all day.
I slept, watched TV, and bummed around.
Not out of laziness. (Not on this occasion, anyway.)
I just didn’t have the energy.
I felt completely burnt out; out of control.
Looking back, I had some big decisions weighing on my mind.
Call it ‘burn out’… ‘decision fatigue’… whatever you like.
I guess it’s just par for the course when you go into battle with the forces of capitalism.
But one thing’s for sure: it ain’t going away unless you actively deal with it.
Which brings me back to my sofa day.
I was watching a Harry Potter movie.
And in one scene, Dumbledore pulled out a stone basin full of a silvery, cloudy substance.
“What is it?”, asked Harry.
“This? It’s called a Pensieve. I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind.”
Yes, Dumbledore, I know the feeling!
And what he did was this:
When his mind was full, Dumbledore used his wand to extract his thoughts and memories, and store them in the Pensieve.
Then he could relax.
And he didn’t lose his thoughts and memories. He could go back to the Pensieve and examine them later with a fresh mind.
And you know what?
You have your own magical Pensieve.
And if not, you can buy one for less than $10 on Amazon.
It’s called a notebook.
With a pen and paper, you have all the magical powers you need to free your mind.
Mind racing? Write down your thoughts until there are none left.
Thoughts of work keeping you awake? Write down everything you need to do the next day before you go to bed.
Look, I just told you I burnt myself out recently. So clearly, I don’t follow my own advice often enough.
But what I can say is that this: the more I “think on paper”…
… the more energy I retain…
… the better I sleep…
… and the more momentum I build.
It’s only when I slip out of the habit that I fall flat on my face.
Something to consider, anyway.