Project HUGE: The Imaginary Fear Of Scheduling Mundane Tasks Such As Nutritional Intake
Posted December 28, 2008 at 12:05 PM by Ben Nadel
For some reason, I have this completely imaginary fear surrounding the scheduling of mundane tasks. I have this made-up belief that certain things should just happen naturally - that I should just know how and when to get them done and that the very act of scheduling them is a symptom of some inherent fault in my personality. Imagine having to schedule brushing your teeth - you'd probably think that's crazy, right? I do too.
But what does it really mean to be crazy? One time, I was told that a valid definition of "Crazy" was always doing the same thing and expecting to get a different result. So let me ask you this - which is more crazy: scheduling mundane tasks? Or, continuing to not schedule mundane tasks and just expect myself to start remembering to do them on my own despite a track record of forgetting?
"Crazy" is a having a simple solution to a problem and not implementing it out of fear.
Well, as this January of 2009 is my month of health, I have decided that it is time to shed the burden of imaginary fear. I am going to accept the fact that I simply don't have the capacity to remember my vitamins and have decided to outsource my nutritional intake schedule to my iPhone calendar:
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Now, my iPhone calendar will remind when it is time to stop whatever I am doing and take my vitamins and my proteins and my caffeine shots. Because there is an imaginary fear around having to do this, it feels very weird. But, at the same time, it feels like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. And, there's a sense of hope that this time, I will stay on track. I think this hope stems from the fact that I have removed my memory - the limiting factor - from the picture. The more weak links that I can remove, the more likely my chain will hold steady.
I am not sure that the schedule I have laid out will work as is. I am sure it will need to be tweaked. Right now, it is based on my previous workout schedule which will be changing in the new year. But, the key here is that I have started to outsource tasks for which I shouldn't have to be responsible.
Reader Comments
I think scheduling vitamins and stuff like that is perfectly reasonable, particularly when you're in a position where you might not notice that you're forgetting something. I would guess we've all had days where we were so absorbed in work, hobbies, or other things that we completely overlooked something we'd ordinarily be doing.
@Dave,
Exactly! Sometimes, I am so immersed in my work that I look up and I'm late for lunch!
Ben, I would be interested in what supplements you are or will be taking and what falls in the category of "nutrients". ;-)
Chris
@Chris,
When I have it more fleshed out, I'll let you all know.
