Every morning, I spend at least five minutes, right after pouring myself over a large cup of freshly ground, organic, fair-trade, shade grown coffee mixed with grass-fed butter and mushroom powder, working on the chess problems in this book, in order.
As of this writing, I’m up to approximately problem number 511. Since there are 4,332 total problems, and they get progressively harder, it will take me a few years to complete. Hopefully!
I consider this part of my Work for the day.
Some people, even my family, might look at me doing this, and not see it that way.
That’s fine. If you want to see it as ‘not work’, and even as ‘time that I could be spent doing more work or other things’, I’m OK with your view.
One way or the other, it’s a choice.
I choose to view it as Work because Work, for me, includes Working on myself, mentally, emotionally, phsycially, and spiritually.
Yes, of course, I am well aware that this time is not time that I get paid for, directly, and that it is time that I could be doing other things, like paid work. (Notice that here, the word ‘work’ is intentionally not spelled with a capital ‘W’.)
To me, ‘work’ and ‘Work’ are two very different things.
All of the Work I do helps me to my work better.
Including exercising my brain.
Matt Fried 