Tired

Sometimes life drags you down. Sometimes there’s just so much to do and not enough energy to do it. You may have plenty of time, but you just can’t get yourself to do the things that “need” to be done. You are just too tired. You can’t build a Future if you’re too tired, so let’s see what we can do about being tired.

First, take a look at these things that “need” to be done. Do they really? You do need to eat (which means getting the food and perhaps preparing it), preferably nutritious things so your body can get the energy. You do need to sleep, which will recharge your physical and mental batteries. What else do you really need to do? There are plenty of other things that have consequences not worth the trouble, but a good number of other things are merely inconvenient if you don’t do them.

So let’s take a look at the things with the consequences. If you don’t have a job (or some other means of getting money), then buying food and paying for shelter for your sleep will be difficult, and these are necessary things. Thus, telling off your boss isn’t going to be very helpful and could have bad consequences beyond losing your job. If you cannot stand your boss, though, perhaps you should find another job. Do you like your coworkers or your job? Do they make up for your boss? If not, look for another job. You may be of the opinion that you cannot find another job. We’ll go into that in another post. If your coworkers or your job itself do make up for your boss (or your boss and job makes up for your coworkers or your coworkers and boss make up for your job), then a new job isn’t what you need.

Dealing with your family is another area where the consequences of action could be worse than your current situation. But before you decide that you have to be nice or you have to keep in contact, ask yourself, “Why?” Do you feel you owe them something? Are you afraid of the yelling or the silent treatment you’ll get if you don’t give in to their wants? What will happen if you treat your family they way you want to treat them? What will happen if you take time out from contacting them? Again, another post.

There are other areas of your life where what you are currently doing, what you feel you “need” to do aren’t necessarily needs. Do you need to hand wash your dishes? What if you used paper plates for a little while instead? Or if you’re worried about landfills, plastic plates and silverware so that you can recycle. Do you need to vacuum every week? Or is every other week or every month good enough? Naturally, if you have a dust allergy or if you use your home as an office, you need to keep it cleaner than other people do, but are you one of those people? What about washing your car? How often do you do it and how often do you need to do it? If your car is part of your image and it’s necessary for your work (like if you are a salesperson) or your self esteem (like if you take great pride in your car) or if it’s a classic that needs great care to keep it in shape, then washing your car could be a “need”. Or if washing your car is your only excuse to get out of the house and away from your roommates for a little bit, perhaps that, too, is a “need”. Me, I used to do the laundry because the basement was quiet and away from the rest of my family. Now, my laundry is in the hallway between the living room and the kitchen, and it no longer serves the purpose it once did.

Sometimes, the upkeep on things is necessary, but the things themselves are not. Do you have a large house, so large that something needs cleaning constantly? Do you need that large of a house? A smaller house would be easier to take care of. You may need a larger house, true, but not everyone does. What about a collection? There are some people who have collections that they dust or file or clean or whatever in order to maintain their worth, but they no longer take joy in the collection. It’s just something that they have always had, and they don’t know how to give it up. The same is true for cars. How much time and effort do you spend on keeping your car running? What if you get a different car? This could take time, yes. This could take effort, yes. But, in the long run, getting a more efficient car that breaks down less often could save you a lot of energy. Do you have a pet? Do you want a pet? Pets can be great for your energy level, provided you can take care of them. I knew a couple that bred birds. They had a few dozen of them in their house. Great for them, but that wouldn’t work for me. That would be too much hassle. A dog would be too much hassle for me at this time, as well. I would not be able to take care of a dog as well as I would feel I would “need” to, so I do not have a dog at this time, though I love dogs. Before you buy a toy or piece of furniture, check to see if it says “some assembly required”. Will the thing be worth the effort of the assembly? Before you buy a piece of clothing, check to see what it takes to clean it. Is it dry-clean-only? Is it worth your time and energy to take something in to get it dry cleaned? Can you find another, equally good piece of clothing that doesn’t take dry cleaning? Or hand washing?

Are there other things that you can make easier for yourself? Do you have automatic deposit on your paycheck? If not, is it worth the time and effort to go to the bank to deposit your paycheck? It might be. My bank is in my grocery store, so I go by it every week any way. It could be you have a friend at your bank, and seeing her or him lifts your spirits, so it is worth it to you to have a reason to go to the bank. Do you have automatic bill payments? There are a lot of places that will gladly, and without a fee, automatically debit your bank account. I make use of this. It saves me any late fees, saves me stamps, and saves me the time it would take to fill out the payment and mail it, along with any anxiety I may have if the bill gets lost in the paperwork of my home.

Relationships and organizations are two more areas that you could make things easier on yourself and free up some energy to help build the future that you want and deserve. They’re important enough that I’ll address them in subsequent posts, as well.

Take a look at your life. What is really draining your energy? What do you want in life, and is your life’s energy focused on it? If not, perhaps a little bit of a change is in order. You deserve the best Future possible, and you deserve the energy necessary to make it happen.