Free of Worry

There was much to plan that day, not the least of which was where to start. He had no instruction booklet, only a head full of dreams yet to be fulfilled.

“I could partition the day into quadrants,” he muttered to himself, envisioning his words. He literally saw the day in quadrants above his head. Midnight to six represented sleep, six to noon work, noon to six relaxation, and six to midnight more work.

It seemed simple enough, all he had to do was execute. He rose from his desk and ambled out onto the balcony overlooking a city that might have been his kingdom had he been a king with a city.

“Of course, then I'd have to partition the quadrants into further quadrants.”

Sleep would take care of itself, but what of the rest? He could divide the first work shift into four segments of 90 minutes each. That would allow him to complete multiple tasks without getting bored by any one in particular.

But what was the limit to such logic? Should he divide each of those into four segments of 22 ½ minutes? Should he think of work as 16 sitcoms lined up back to back, without commercials?

“No laugh tracks, though,” he said while gazing at his imagined kingdom. “And it should be funny, unlike sitcoms.”

Yes, there was much to plan. How he spent the rest of his day depended on how he chose to partition it. And the next day, and the next after that. Why, soon he would be dead.

In a way, he looked forward to that day. There would be no more planning. Like sleep, it would simply take care of itself.

“Free of worry,” he said, thinking he'd like that before remembering he'd be dead.