Ah...Thank Grog It’s Firday!
This was a running joke that my kids and I had when they were all in college, and admitted that around campus, “the weekend” actually started on Thursdays…or to be specific, Wednesday nights, when a famous U of O bar ( Taylor’s Tavern literally 22 feet off of campus) had “Dollar Beer Night.” Don’t get me wrong…my kids were all great students, who all graduated with honors, but they also knew how to pace their work, and get the most out of their play.
And who was I to argue? They all graduated Summa, or Magna Cum Laude, while I joke that I was ” In Cum Plete” as I never finished my degree after my football, musical career, and partying got in the way. My kids are WAY better at balancing work and fun than I was. I was “All In” or “All Out.” And was usually too “Grogged” to know it was Friday…(hence the Firday joke).
But, I have improved in my old age. I have learned that doing LOTS of things well, requires balance. And if something becomes obsessive after the “learning curve,” you need to adjust. Rather than do one thing obsessively, which tends to narrow one’s life, I now choose to “Live Wide.”
That has now become the standard for how I Tap. It’s the reverse of what happens when you are truly addicted and obsessed. Remember the old joke, “I”m smoking more, but enjoying it less?” If you don’t, it’s because the guy who coined that phrase croaked, due to lung cancer. But, for me, living wide requires me to, TAP LESS, to Enjoy it More….
Here’s what I mean.
In m y life, when I start something new, I have a tendency to become obsessive…going “all in” until I have become proficient. This can be a great way to learn something new, and master it to the point of being able to actually enjoy the process effortlessly.
Like golf. The first year…I was either at the range, or playing a round, no fewer than 5 times a week. I played over a thousands rounds of golf in my first four years (starting in 2007), before discovering that while I enjoyed it, and the exercise was great…it was becoming a grind, an obsession rather than a reward. it was also dominating my time, and I was losing out on other interests, like music, blogging, business, and my family.
Now…some observant and clever readers may see that my drop-off of golf rounds correlated to the time that I became obsessed (and addicted) to TSTO…and started blogging about it as an avocation (it has always been a labor of love, not money). And you would be right…
There was no way in H. E. double hockey sticks that I could blog for a couple of hours a day, moderate tens of thousands of comments, actually run a thriving business, golf 5 days a week, and stay married. Something had to give.
That “something” was golf…and TSTO blogging (re-connecting and joining up with Alissa was the best move EVER), and less sleep.
OK. So running on 6 hours of sleep a night isn’t recommended…but it is required if I want to “Live Wide.” A “typical day” for me includes doing a ton of computer work for my clients from 5a – 1p, taking a break to blog, meetings or golf in the afternoon, make dinner for the love of my life, and then work a bit more to play catch-up for anything else I need to do, while we binge watch (in the background) a long list of “our shows” on TV. Mrs. Miller needs to relax…I just keep doing computer work, while we sit together.
BUT…IN BETWEEN ALL OF THIS…my timer goes off every 4 hours.
I log on. I tap. I collect my reward. I move on.
It is no longer remotely an obsession for me to “Get It ALL.” I don’t KEM farm…in fact I don’t do anything outside the “required tapping” to stay on track.
I do my Monorail cycle every week…for the free donuts. I do my “Where’s Maggie” bit every week…for free donuts. And I find that new “Kinder, More Generous EA” allows me to collect between 100-200 donuts over the course of any major update…which allows me to earn a Premium Item or two…without spending any rEAl (that’s the only time this article…hahaha) cash on donuts.
That means that there is a LOAD of stuff I DON’T get. But, guess what? I don’t mind. Soooooooo much clutter comes with every new event, that it just isn’t worth the time that I would give up to get it.
I still love the game. And in fact, just like golf, I now get MORE pleasure out playing less, but appreciating the “time I tap,” (both screens and my putter) far more than I did, when I was logged on all of the time or played 4-5 times a week.
And better time management, with a WIDER variety of interests and activities, allows me to focus on things that matter...like my wife, my family, and the work we do in Uganda.
Ah…come on…you KNEW I was going to mention it. Right?
The GREAT News…is that after only a week, we are more than HALFWAY to our GOAL!! This is important work…and Education is at the very base of any future for the kids we service. They don’t have a choice…Get educated, or live a life of abject poverty, trying to scratch out an existence in the jungle. There are no second chances, or “down time” when you live in a hut, in the jungle…and walk to school every day, for a chance at HOPE.
Tap Less. Enjoy it More. Do something that matters…
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