Yotsuba, that little ball of destructive energy, reminds us of this in every volume of Yotsuba&!.

Writing on Tumblr has been extremely cathartic – I can word-vomit my own ideas and get a bit of traction on them from those who actually read the posts, ultimately forming them into something more solid and concrete. The only downside to all this is I’ve focused almost exclusively on the future. I put a lot of emphasis on making things better for tomorrow, but rarely today.

I should stop. As good as these plans might be, I can’t predict how I’ll feel a month or two down the line, and should focus more on the here and now – what’s actually important.

There is so much in my daily life that is legitimately important to me that has to jockey with other hobbies for no good reason. My physical fitness contests against Japanese study – a skill I don’t need save for the JLPT test next month. Is it nice to keep up on it? Sure. But will it help me at work or at home next week? Doubtful. It’s better to focus on those skills or requirements that are sitting in front of me. 

As hard or unpleasant a choice that may be, I believe it is for the best. Will taking the JLPT be soul-crushing? Undoubtedly. But it will be a good lesson in humility for me, and a reminder that I cannot do everything at once.

I feel that by sitting down and focusing on the few things that are truly important to me, everything else will fall into place, either because the issue will cease to exist, or it will become something that I deal with in a swift blow and move on. There are things (writing, in particular) that I enjoy, but often sacrifice for something that might improve things on down the line.

Instead, I think a healthier attitude is to focus “the extra 10%” on getting those future-facing things done, while spending a lot more time and energy on staying physically fit, mentally awake and morally straight. Those areas have immediate impact on who I am, how I process information and how I treat others. I think they’re pretty worthwhile.

That extra energy? I should use it to dream, work towards something in the future, or pick up a hobby that is a “just in case.”