I carry a shower curtain folded up neatly in my wallet, because you never know when you’ll never know.

– Jarod Klintz

This is a short story I read somewhere and it means a lot to me so I thought to share.

A handsome young man applied for a job as a farmhand. When the old farmer asked for his qualifications, he replied with an air of confidence “I can sleep when the wind blows.” The statement puzzled the farmer. But he liked the pleasant looking young man nevertheless and hired him.

A few days later, the old farmer and his wife were rudely awakened in the night by a violent storm. They quickly began to check things out to see if all was secure. They found that the shutters of the farmhouse had been securely fastened. A good supply of logs had been set next to the fireplace. The farm tools had been placed neatly in the storage shed, safe from the elements. The tractor had been moved into the garage. The barn was properly locked. Even the animals were calm. The young man slept soundly. All was well. The farmer then understood the meaning of the young man’s words, “I can sleep when the wind blows”.

Because the farmhand did his work loyally and faithfully when the skies were clear, he was prepared for the storm when it broke loose. So when the wind blew, he was fearless. He slept in peace.

This title can also be changed to “make hay while the sun shines”, sounds like something Mother always told us.

There are activities that help us sleep while the wind blows if they are done consistently and in time. One great help for this is having a routine. Here is my strategy. I have alarms set on my cell for different times of the day, specifically, 4am, 5:30am, 2pm, 8pm, 10:45pm. Each of these alarms has a specific set of activities tied to it. The activities change, but there’s a certain theme of activities for each of the alarms.

These activities are activities Stephen Covey calls Quadrant 2 activities, they are important but not urgent. Sounds great right? Nope, it’s not. The danger is subtle, the lack of urgency could cause one to have a laissez faire attitude towards them. The thing about Quadrant 2 activities is that they are critical for sleeping when the wind blows, for me, some of such are prayer, improving my technical skills, keeping in touch with clients or friends, monitoring my progress towards a certain goal, reading a book or educating myself etc. None of theses seem awfully critical if they are postponed or not done at all, but once the clouds get dark, they shield you and give you strength and/or peace.