“Evil in general does not sleep, and therefore doesn’t see why anyone else should.”

― Terry Pratchett, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

We might not be fighting actual demons or dragons or orcs on a regular basis, but their are plenty of every-day evils that keep us up at night. Some are simply out of our control, and the process of dealing with the anxiety they produce is part of being human.

But some things are in our control. If we want to increase our chances of occasionally having a good night’s rest, we should do our best to set ourselves up for success each day so that the nagging worry of unproductivity doesn’t plague our dreams.

Often, we worry over things we have put off. But with all the other things going on in your life, don’t lose sleep over this! Take five minutes at the end of each day or in the morning–whatever works best for you–and reflect on what you really need to get done. Don’t set impossible goals. Start with 1-3 items and write them down. As we all know from the Spoken Books Uprising, there’s power in words, and getting those tasks down on paper helps make them more real. For an added dose of motivation, try starting your list with, “Tomorrow, I need to…”

I like making this list at night for the tasks I want to complete the following day. It’s almost like I can trust it a bit more this way, because being a day removed from the actual doing allows me to be more objective, rather than deciding in the moment what has to be done, which is when procrastination can take hold. The next day, it feels a bit like a different person decided what was important, and I can just put faith in the judgment of that past version of me.

Do whatever works best for you, but do do it! You’ll rest easier at night knowing you accomplished something important during the day. 

Note to readers: Each week, I share a fantasy quote and indulge my inner philosopher with a brief essay based on said quote. Share your favorite quote with me and I might feature it in a future newsletter! Email: dtkane@dtkane.com.