I used to go to bed late.  One or two o’clock in the morning was the perfect time to get things done in a quiet house.  Now, if I go to bed too late, I wake up feeling like I drank too much scotch, half a bottle of NyQuil, and threw back a few Ambien to boot.  The real issue, however, is that I also get up much, much earlier in the morning.  By the time the clock says 5:00 a.m. (there is no clock; read: phone), I have one eye open, if only one.

Both my neighbor and my dog get up at 4:00 a.m.–the neighbor to work out and the dog, Winston (aka: The Weesenz), to engage in a serious bout of scratching, licking, and itching that frankly inspires jealousy.  Here’s the thing: the former, the neighbor, is giving it 100%–or, at least, that is what I’d like to think (who get’s up at 4:00 a.m. to workout besides world leaders and captains of industry?)–while Weesenz taps out at about 60%.

“Just wait…”

In terms of power metrics, the neighbor probably wins, but, in respect to performance needed to carry the day, my dog has Mr. 0-dark-thirty guy covered.  Weesenz gets frothy about his scratching and it truly is an impressive display of anaerobic threshold exploration.  In five minutes, Weesenz is gasping, somewhat confused, and blissfully ready to go back to sleep.  He has accomplishes at 3/4-throttle what most people hope to accomplish all day.

The point is for some individuals 60% or so is totally, 100% acceptable.  They are just better than us (read: you).  These are the people at work that can utilize basic office technology to do their job; they communicate effectively, prioritize the tough ones, and manage their slice of the collective effort to ‘move the needle forward’ (option: insert newest business catch-phrase here).  We should recognize when to recognize them–it may inspire a bit of jealousy, but we will certainly learn from replicating their sprezzatura.

Today, I was fully awake 58 minutes after my neighbor went to the gym, two minutes before my alarm went off, and just after my dog went back to sleep signaled by a huge contented sigh, and I realized: but for a few opposable thumbs, Weesenz could do a great many jobs I encounter each day and make it look easy.  Squirrels…take note.