At work, which is fun, I am working at capacity, and daily increase that capacity. I’m designing SQL based reports, custom SQL views and stored procedures — and, I now recognize, my knowledge of SQL when I began this job was similar to the mathematics knowledge of a child who can count to ten. So, daily, I am teaching myself SQL on the fly so that I can understand what already exists and create something new. I’m already a match for people who have been on the job for several years, so clearly things are going well.
The novel isn’t, so much. I know what I’m doing, and it’s fun, but I’m tapped out when I’m done with work. Even writing here is a tremendous effort. Apparently creatively exploring, learning, and problem solving uses some of the same resources that writing does, while not being as fulfilling. Having created a innovative solution to a problem gives me a feel of “well, that was fun” while writing something gives me a feeling of “see what I did!”
This is not a problem, mind you. As far as I can tell, I don’t have problems any more, as I used to define problems. Clearly, what is needed is some sort of new balance, where I am putting forth less than maximum effort at work, so that there is effort to be spent outside of work.
Hrm.
I am fond of speaking this pattern of thought, when enumerating directions that can be taken: “There is solution A, solution B, solution C … or something that I have not yet thought of.” There is always something I have not yet thought of.
And I just thought of one of them.
I have been approaching this as if resource and effort were finite, and their rate of replenishment a constant. Instead of finding a balance, I could find a way to expand the resource and effort available to me, or find a way to increase the rate of replenishment.
Or something I haven’t thought of.
Well. Those are two directions I’d not considered. If I can grow stronger physically, more enduring physically, then it makes sense that I could train myself up to be stronger, more enduring, and faster recovering, ah, psychically, as well.
I wonder how one goes about that process. Hmmmmmmmm.
Go to the Mutant’s Gym and start weight lifting with your brain!
In fact, I’ve been reading up on various ways of finding my way into that mutant gym. I’m already doing most of what I’ve found…just need to start mainlining dopamine, and I’ve got the lot.
I suspect that SQL, what ever that is, is limited and that your learning curve will level off and free up more brain power. I love that cartoon of the brain pumping iron!
I hope. I’m tired of being numb at the end of the day. Right now I’m trying some things to work less hard than I can, to try to balance things out a bit. We’ll see….