Is It Enough for Today?

If your mind is like mine, it’ll constantly latch on to the next thing. Not that I’m crazy productive or anything. At least not on most days. But there’s always a next thing I’m thinking about. What else is in the pipeline? And there are so many pipelines!

Work alone is infinite. That’s to say nothing of personal matters, passion projects, and hobbies. And of course, relaxation and entertainment can become their own rabbit holes, too. I can easily spend another hour on researching all James Bond films after seeing the latest one.

There’s always a “next” somewhere. How do you marry that with some kind of contentment? Simple: A few times a day, you look back to the morning you just started from and ask: “Is it enough for today?”

Have you done enough for today? Have you worried enough for today? Have you built enough for the future today? “Enough” is never exactly eight hours of work. It’s not having written down 100 ideas or reflected on a certain topic for an hour.

On some days, enough can be a single good insight. On others, it’ll be a long, 12-hour shift of endless tasks to meet a deadline. But most of the time, if you ask it in the afternoon, think through the day you’ve had thus far, and count all the little and big ways you’ve created some momentum, you’ll realize: “Oh! Actually, it’s okay. I’ve already done my part today. The rest is gravy. Even if I were to only restart tomorrow, it’d be okay.”

Only you will know when the answer is a genuine “Yes!” and the reasons will be different every time. But give yourself plenty of outs. Chances to take the pressure off. Ask earnestly, ask regularly: “Is it enough for today?”