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The kiddo’s been going through some sleep issues lately. It’s been tough — for him, of course, but also for us. We usually put him down around 7 or 7:30, and then we get some time at the end of the day for ourselves: To read, to watch something on TV, to clean up, to make lunches for the next day. A few hours to reset really matters.

But with the sleep issues, it’s been harder. Instead of a quick bedtime, it’s been stretched to a period of sometimes a couple of hours at the end of the night. I find myself getting mad at him for not going down, even though I know it’s not his fault.

So we’re asking for help and hiring a sleep consultant to help us figure out what to do.

The hard part with a situation like this is: I have no game plan right now. We’ve long had a great routine at bedtime, but it’s not working anymore. We need someone to help us put together a new strategy.

When I have a game plan, I feel empowered. Every night isn’t perfect, but I know how and why things work. All of us, from time to time, need a new structure to get everything back on track.

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That photo of a person drawing a wireframe comes via Kelly Sikkema and Unsplash.

A week ago, something pretty remarkable happened in the golf world that, if you’re not a die-hard golf fan, you almost certainly missed.

Shane Lowry, a former major winner, led the Cognizant Classic by three strokes with three holes to play on Sunday. And then, on back-to-back holes, he hit shots into the water. He went from being a near-certain tournament winner to finishing second.

A few days later, I was listening to “The Tony Kornheiser Podcast,” when Steve Sands, a golf commentator, told this story about chatting with Lowry after the tournament:

He told me a cute story on Tuesday. He said, “We’re headed home, we’re getting to the house, and everybody realizes how upset Dad is and how upset I am. Nobody’s saying anything, and my 9-year-old daughter looks at me and says, ‘Daddy, what’s wrong with second?’”

When we get lost in the details of our work, sometimes we need an outside voice to reset things. We need someone to ask us: “Why does this really matter?” An outside perspective can reset things when you get too inside your own world.

As for Lowry: Yes, it was a tough way to lose the tournament. But he still won $726,400 for finishing in second place.

To which I’d say: There doesn’t seem to be much wrong with that.

When I first started Inbox Collective, I tried taking vacation the way I had when I had a traditional 9-to-5. I turned on the out-of-office reply, closed the laptop, and ignored emails until I got back.

I returned from vacation to a pile of unread emails and tasks. I spent days trying to catch up.

What I learned was that at my 9-to-5, there were other people who could pick up the slack and answer questions while I was on vacation. But now I was my own boss. It was just me — if I didn’t reply, no one did.

So now I take a little time, every day, to deal with tasks. Urgent stuff gets handled that day — not as fast as it would if I was at work, but usually done within 24 hours. Less urgent stuff gets tackled when I have the time. Some stuff gets put off until I’m back at my desk — no big deal.

But by spending an hour or two every day on work, I make sure I don’t come back to that big pile of tasks.

Is that strategy for everyone? Absolutely not. Some people like doing a little work on vacation. Some people would rather throw their laptop in the ocean than answer an email while OOO.

The only important thing is to figure out what works for you.

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I took that photo of my laptop a few years while on vacation in Florida.

Here’s something I’m trying to stick to this year:

I’ll get these pitches in my inbox for something that seems interesting. Not incredible, but interesting, and I’ll say yes. Maybe it’s a potential client that I’m vaguely interested in working with or a brand that wants me to demo their product. I’m not totally sold, but hey, it seems interesting enough, and I’ll say yes to the call.

And then Sunday night, as I prep for the week ahead, I’ll see that meeting pop up on my cal, and I’ll go, “Why did I say yes to this again?”

I’m getting better about saying no to certain things, but I know I need to be even pickier. It’s a waste of their time and mine if I’m not 100% in before booking the call.

If I’m not incredibly excited to meet, the answer needs to be, “Sorry, I don’t think this is a good fit for me.”

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That photo of a fork in the road comes via Oliver Roos and Unsplash.