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I search through the layers of papers on my desk. The most recent projects – bills to pay, medical bills I need to interpret, several “To Do” lists – implore my attention. A layer down are the projects I wish I could be working on, from writing that next article to research on the next book. Beneath that, other projects I once deemed important. Digging further, papers for ideas long since forgotten.
A former colleague of mine was the ultimate in OCD. His desk during the day contained only the single file he was currently working on, a file that always found its way to unseen storage each night. A straight edge guided each pen stroke so that even writing was pitch perfect. After being in his office I had to retreat to my own messiness to recover.
Life is also a series of layers. The urgent, important or not, absorbs most of our precious time. The most important to our happiness and well-being often is buried beneath the surface distractions. We work long hours, deal with crisis after crisis, rush hither and thither, and only then, if we can find the time, do we give attention to the multiple layers of our existences.
The sunset is beautiful today; did you notice? Your son’s choreography won best in show. Your daughter’s team won the state finals. Were you there?
Has the “book in you” come out yet? The trip to visit the masterpieces of Italy been arranged? The relaxing retreat in the cabin on the island in the lake – is it still waiting for you?
The top layers get all our attention. But the other layers are what gives our lives depth.
Enjoy them.
David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His next book on Abraham Lincoln is due out in 2017.
Hot White Snow 
I fully agree! That is the struggle.
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Ah, but the struggle is what makes life interesting. 🙂
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Wonderful inspiration to dig through that list
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Always digging. 🙂
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I use the “Stack Overflow” technique (inspired by my own Fortran programming). All high-priority items go directly onto the top of my “call immediately” stack to be dealt with on a last-on, first-off basis. When the stack inevitably exceeds its maximum height and crashes to the floor, the data is simply considered lost to a Stack Overflow Error, and my desktop is cleared for a re-start. The process may be repeated indefinitely until the whole system crashes do to a “Heap Error.”
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Clever analogy. What do you do with multiple stacks?
Just returned from a 2 week trip to Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia. Great experiences.
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Unless you set up a dedicated table, stack arrays are terribly unreliable in Fortran. That’s one of the main reasons I started to learn Assembly (C was still new). However, I soon learned that it was much easier and more efficient to just pay someone else to ̶w̶a̶s̶t̶e̶ use their time getting things to work properly the first time around. That’s why I have an accountant.
Your trip sounds fascinating. Other than from a friend with family in Croatia, I know very little about the region. I didn’t even know that there was a royal family of Serbia… but fascinating, and impressive that you were able to meet with them.
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Every horizontal surface (minus one) has stacks of papers and books on it. The organizer of the Serbia trip says she is essentially a Frank Lloyd Wright minimalist. While I aspire to be, I never quite seem to be able to get far along that path before “Oooh, another Lincoln book!”
Yes, the trip was amazing. I got to see areas that I wanted to see because of Tesla but likely wouldn’t have gone to on my own. Still so many places in the world to see.
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I think there’s a law in physics: “An amount of accumulated disorder increases logarithmic to any horizontal space available.”
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Yes, it’s related to entropy. Or perhaps chaos theory.
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Great reminder to live a life of value and deeper meaning. I love it.
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Thanks.
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I agree, life does have layers. I am one of those people who like a keyboard, printer and notes on my desk. If there is more I can’t work. I have an admiration for those who can focus beyond the clutter and be productive. I hope to one day, improve on my ‘ability to begin’ configuration when I write. It would save a lot of time. Good post! Thank you for sharing!
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You’re welcome.
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