Idleness breeds idleness

I've had a couple of "down" days recently as a consequence of having a tooth taken out yesterday. In truth the pain from the whole episode lasted for a surprisingly short period of time -- and the impact on my wallet wasn't as bad as I was expecting either. The thing that concerns me, however, is just how little I've managed to get done at home over the last couple of days. Considering that I was off work yesterday (Friday), and didn't go for a ride today, there was ample time to get all sorts of things done around my apartment -- yet it just hasn't happened. The same can be said for a couple of things I wanted to do for this blog, or setting up the webpage for my New Zealand bike tour.

In his autobiography, former Manchester United captain Roy Keane alluded to this, finally concluding that "I am never going to flirt with idleness again". From the experience of the last two days, I would suggest that this sounds like sound advice. Why is it that sitting idle seems to serve only to encourage a person to stay idle for longer? Surely the rest time should serve to allow a person to recover and regain their focus, but it just never seems to happen that way. Maybe there's a psychologist out there with a theory or two (even if it's highly unlikely that they'll ever read this page). Either way, I've about had it with idleness for now.

Tomorrow I'm going to go for a ride regardless. The side of my mouth might still be a little sore, but I don't care anymore. I just need to do something.