Once upon a time – two years ago and for my entire life prior – I used to have near inexhaustible energy. The reason this was true might seem counter-intuitive; I simply never really slept properly, so I was constantly running on adrenaline. I got up early, I stayed up late. Never figured out the uninterrupted prosperity, but I do know my way around a machete.

Once I finally had to succumb to the reality that all the not sleeping was making me fundamentally and functionally incapable of life I also underwent a tremendous parallel awakening; suddenly my inexhaustible energy, wasn’t.

So it became necessary to apportion my resources much more carefully than I had ever done in the past. I could not count on being able to stay up all night – or for days on end – to accomplish tasks at the last second. I still seem to have the capacity to drag myself out of bed at an hour of the morning that most people consider the middle of the night, but only if I’ve gone to sleep at an hour of the evening that most people consider dinnertime.

Yet though I was confronted with a considerable decrease in the number of waking hours available for use,there has been a concomitant increase in the quality of what I accomplish. It is easier to focus, persevere, and endure when presented with obstacles that would have confounded – or at least hindered – me in the past. I am more patient and persistent, and as a result the quality of my outcomes has enjoyed considerable improvement. 

Who knew doing nothing could accomplish so much.