We often feel out of control, anxious about the innumerable things that need to get done, some real and vivid, others lurking in the shadows and harder to identify.

It seems to me that there are two broad approaches to coping with this anxiety: (1) get more on top of things, or (2) stop worrying so much about them. In my opinion, neither (1) nor (2) is always or entirely the right answer. It depends on the person, their state of mind, their stage of life, whether there are children in the house to be fed and clothed and got to school. For me now, the emphasis is decidedly on the first. My best strategy is (1) to try to stay on top of things, even though there are always a dozen more of them looming; while at the same time I write notes like this one to balance my portfolio with a spoonful of (2).

[21 October 2023]