Time to write, it has been a while. It is nearing 3 A.M. on a Saturday morning as I start and three days of long shifts await. In my mind a simple message pre-sets all settings. This message says “preparation, preparation, preparation!” until I have done my last check and leave for work. If this sounds familiar to you, well you are a workaholic who puts work first.

This attitude of “preparation, preparation, preparation!” is a fatiguing attitude. Fatigue being what it is, I do not mind feeling the work load if it keeps me sharp. As long as you stay healthy and in shape you can tolerate the wear and tear of running around and getting things done.

For me this mindset started when I learnt that I could become good at something. I was a kid then and from hobby to competitive sports to jobs to pay the bills layers of routines have been added to my preparations. Being able to do something by myself and being good at it at some point is for me a reward in itself. Some people understand that reason, some do not.

In learning to become good at something I had to learn the value of making preparations. Patience and thinking ahead while adapting to others became skills I discretely developed into strengths. In my current job I keep adapting because working in hospitality in Amsterdam confronts you with all kinds of people and situations.

Between being prepared and not being prepared there is the scale of “anything can happen.” At worst you improvise everything with the best of your abilities. Sometimes I wonder how things get done when you have so little control. At the same time you simply accept it and think “fuck it, this needs to be done.” People who complain get little to nothing done.

When you look at the picture you see a pen, a ballpoint pen to be exact. I see the first tool I need when my brains fail me in case I have to remember things and I have to go for the safe option of writing things down. Post-its and note blocks are part of my life.

Being prepared is a matter of details…