Reflecting more on the thesis of The Red Queen, this idea of running to stay in place appears in daily life. Our nature is to be in a constant state of struggle of some kind. We set goals (if we're organized), reach them (or not) and soon set more goals. Maybe the most direct example is exercise -- to get anywhere other than my default state, there is no static goal, just a level of weekly maintenance to do -- effort spent on a particular chosen thing.

Backing up for a larger perspective, I can ask, what's the profile of my effort every day or over a year? Where did my energy get spent, and was I aware of it? Did I have a goal, and is it a long-term or short-term goal, or was it daily maintenance? Geez, I'm starting to sound like Steven Covey or something. Wait (he protests), it's deeper than just time management. But maybe that is a manifestation -- it's just not the goal. For me, having an exoskeleton of recordkeeping that I bump against might be a needed reminder not to just sleepwalk along my way.