Happy New Year to all of you. Let this be the year that we fulfill our dreams and create the life we want. Or if you are like me, get started on the path to fulfilling all your aspirations. Either way, most of us live in the hope that every new year will be better than the ones gone by and however silly that may be, hope does keep us going.
New Year’s resolutions seem to be passe, instead a lot of people I know make lists at the beginning of the year (‘me’ being one of those people I know). To do lists, to achieve lists, to complete lists, call it what-you-may, show me that we have realised that the way to be where you want to be is to plan the route and follow it.
That being said, how often do you get up at some go forsaken time at night because you remembered some ‘to-do’ item not included on your current list or had a brilliant idea (which may seem not so brilliant in the harsh light of the next day)? Your too tired to physically get-up and grab a piece of paper and a pen to note things down, but you can’t really sleep till you are sure you won’t have forgotten all about it the next day. Well obviously the simple solution is to spend a minute in getting some writing material, noting the thought down and then getting back to some serious shut-eye. Even easier if it’s a regular thing is to keep a small notepad and pencil by your beside.
Well this is where my personal problem comes in. If I get up to get a notepad and paper, the though turns into a grocery lost of to-do things or the idea turns into a whole story. The second solution then? Well, anyone who has a 0-6 year old knows that no easily available piece of paper is safe. By the time you get to bed (forget needing it in the middle of the night), it will be decorated with snakes, butterflies and other miscellaneous animals; completely unflattering mommy and daddy portraits or, my personal favourite, completely undecipherable secret language love notes that mommy or daddy are expected to perfectly understand (beware the ‘you don’t love me, only mommy/daddy’ tears that ensue if you fail).
Well, considering the fact that I love my sleep (though the number of hours is nothing to rave about), over the last five years I have figured out a fairly good system. Its, wait for it, ‘numbering’. Kind of works like bullet points. It’s a bit tough when it’s an idea that woke you up and not a list but I’ve managed to adapt using a keywords system. Yes, I usually forget 9 out of ten things, however I do know that I have forgotten only one thing and just wait for it to come back. Again 4 out of 5 (these are not precise numbers people, I’m sleepy remember) it never does come back, but hey you take what you get.
Am I perfectly happy with the system? No. Isn’t it better to get up and note things down? Yes. Then why don’t I do it? Because, I don’t want to getup. Yes, after my daughter goes to sleep and I finish playing my boss role at work, I like to act like an unreasonable teenager. The best part, no one knows. Well, except you.
P.S. – Ironically, the name of this post came to me at 1 am in the morning.
Photo Credit: Image 1
Sanjana
January 20, 2013 at 1:20 am
I just record it on my phone as a voice note! For me, talking is easier than writing when I’m all zonked from waking up after a weird dream or whatever. I don’t have to get out of bed and I can go right back to sleep. Although, I recently had *such* a strange dream that I absolutely HAD to get up and write the whole thing. But those incidents are rare.
nmaha
January 23, 2013 at 12:17 am
That is simple Sanju, I’ll try it
I usually end up making a note on my iphone notepad but the light really wakes me up and then my mind starts racing.
Do share the weird dream, if it’s shareable (not a real word)
Kusum Rohra
January 17, 2013 at 10:53 pm
You mean 1 am
I am sorry I am pathetic like that.
nmaha
January 18, 2013 at 4:56 pm
Thanks Kusum. Corrected.
nmaha
March 23, 2013 at 9:54 pm
No Kusum, I meant ‘you’ not ‘I’. As is, ‘you’ (people who call out feminists) are not better than the leaders who advocate equality.