Trading Sleep For Inspiration

My phone lets out a nice little charming beep, like a tap on the shoulder. It’s telling me I need to go to sleep by 10:15 pm to get a full 7 hours of rest.

But I’m on a phone call – a great phone call. I can tell it’s great because my voice is loud and I’m vigorously wagging my foot in my velvety blue swivel chair. There’s plenty of laughter and interrupted sentences too.

So, I let the minutes tick past 10:15. Soon it’s 11, then 11:15. No matter, I’m making an investment…

An investment in tomorrow. A great call tonight puts me to bed in a great mood, which helps me wake up in a great mood. With a little back-of-the-envelope calculation, I figure it costs me an hour of sleep to gain a full day of inspiration. That’s 1 less hour under the covers to feel more alive outside of them.

And before you call me out as a master rationalizer, let me tell you that I’m serious about this equation. You can only invest a half-hour or an hour at a time and certainly not every single night. Otherwise, your debt will catch up to you and your inspiration won’t hold up. You’ll be tired and then everything falls apart.

Time is valuable. I recommend low-risk investments.

Be intentional about what you do with it and make your decisions based on what you get back, not on how much you can store up.