How to get up tomorrow
This week’s question comes from Cody Almond:
How do you think about answering the question “what is my reason for being today”?
If you’re waiting until today you might be waiting too long.
Every night, as I’m getting ready for bed, I think of all the things I’m looking forward to doing tomorrow. This doesn’t need to be a “save the world” list. This is a “tomorrow I’m gonna try to make that recipe I’ve been thinking about” list. This is all the little shit that makes your day go. Maybe tomorrow you’ll go for a bike ride. Maybe tomorrow you’ll wear that new shirt you just got. Maybe tomorrow you’ll get a haircut. Maybe tomorrow is new records day (Friday) or new comics day (Wednesday). Maybe tomorrow you’ll clean the fridge.*
Put in the shit you’re not looking forward to as well. Tomorrow you’ll reply to that email. Tomorrow you’ll have that talk with your boss. Tomorrow you’ll see what that smell under the sink is coming from. (It’s a dead mouse. You know this.)
Make yourself a nice manageable list. Then go the fuck to sleep.
Personally, I’ve found that slotting the stuff I’m not looking forward to into a specific time means I don’t stay up all night thinking about it. It’s now a tomorrow at 2pm problem, not a tonight at 2am problem. It has a home. And reminding myself of all the stuff I’m looking forward to tomorrow gives me a nice mental list to wake up to in the morning. I get to wake up with a plan!
Your reason for being, as you put it, is to do that stuff. Both the good and the bad stuff. Somedays your list will have big stuff on it, both good and bad. Somedays your list will have small stuff on it, both good and bad. Most days will be a mix of the two. And some days that list will just be “Tomorrow I am going to get high AF and watch cartoons all day.” That’s ok! So is scrapping your plan if the call to adventure presents itself.
And sometimes, if I’m having trouble coming up with a list, I ask my wife “What are we doing tomorrow, Brain?” and she replies “The same thing we do every day, Pinky, try to take over the world!”
And then we do that.
*Yes, I put cleaning the fridge in the “looking forward to” column. This is a fantastic example of trying to trick yourself into doing something you don’t want to do.
Got a question you need answered? Reply to this newsletter and ask it! I might just answer it. 50% change I do it in a helpful way.
Last Saturday, my friend Adam surprised me with this lovely video you might enjoy. And if the stuff about getting paid and not getting exploited speaks to you, you might wanna buy a zine. (Got a friend who’s always complaining about clients not paying them? Buy it for them.)