There’s quite a choice of local pubs available to me. I have a particular soft spot for the Old Red Lion, a big, slightly tatty, Islington boozer with a theatre upstairs. I like the friendly, easy-going staff, the mix of old drinkers and young thespians, the etched glass and intricate plasterwork. And I like its storied history: Thomas Paine wrote ‘The Rights of Man’ here; the pub featured in a Hogarth painting; and it was until recently the London home of Norwich City football fans.

I approached the bar and ordered a large house white. The raven-haired barmaid took a glass and placed it under some beer taps. She then returned with a bottle of Picpoul and found that she couldn’t quite pour it - the taps were in the way.

‘You’ve made it difficult for yourself there,’ I said helpfully.

She reflected for a brief moment. Then, looking straight through me, she murmured:

‘That’s the story of my life.’

Though I don’t know what disappointments lay behind the woman’s wistful reply, I’m sure we can all relate to her sentiment. So often, in and out of work, we compromise, complicate and confuse. We muddle and mess up. We make poor assessments and bad choices. We make things difficult for ourselves.

‘Getting faster is almost always about what you take away rather than what you add.’
Michael Johnson

Some years ago, I came across a to-do list written (on an unrecorded date) by Johnny Cash.

As instructed by the pre-printed sheet, the Man in Black prioritises his 10 ‘things to do today!’ He is clearly concerned with some pretty mundane tasks. He aims to avoid smoking; to cough, pee and eat (‘but not too much’). He also has some sentimental objectives, resolving to ‘go see mama’; to ‘kiss June’ (Carter, his beloved wife), and ‘not kiss anyone else.’ There’s work to be done: he must ‘practice piano.’ And, finally, he commits to ‘worry.’ A strange determination perhaps, but one with which I can sympathise. I have always found a certain degree of anxiety to be healthy – making one more considered, alert, focused.

'Complexity means distracted effort. Simplicity means focused effort.’
Edward de Bono

Overall, I rather approve of Cash’s goals for the day. When we are confronted with a troubling excess of options, a paralysing variety of dilemmas, it’s sensible to start with a to-do list - distilling and prioritising the tasks ahead. Even focusing on the commonplace helps. It gets the wheels turning, sets us in motion.

'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.'
Lao Tzu

It’s refreshing too to see Cash’s last remark on his list. Underneath the printed section entitled Notes, he has written ‘not write notes.’ A sense of humour also gets you a long way in life.

'I hurt myself today,
To see if I still feel.
I focus on the pain,
The only thing that's real.
What have I become,
My sweetest friend?
Everyone I know goes away
In the end.
And you could have it all,
My empire of dirt.
I will let you down.
I will make you hurt.'
Johnny Cash, ’Hurt’ (T Reznor)

No. 566

*© The artist's estate. Photo credit: Fry Art Gallery*

‘Right, Fabien, I’m not having this conversation.’

A bald chap with a backpack and casual business attire had just boarded my busy train at Waterloo. He was talking loudly into his phone and was somewhat vexed.

‘If he asks me if I’ve spoken to Fabien, I’m gonna say no.’

I obviously couldn’t hear what Fabien had to say for himself, but the man felt he had some explaining to do.

‘Look, he told me to cc her and so I did. There was nothing I could do.’

He was clearly struggling to make his point.

‘I understand you, Fabien, but you don’t understand me. I told you: Matthew is uncontactable and Ainsley is panicking. All I’m asking you to do is not lie.’

There was a good deal of repetition and exclamation. And the conversation finished unsatisfactorily.

‘I’m gonna stop there, Fabien. You’re still not getting it.’

The man hung up and slumped back in his seat.

‘F**k!’

An uneasy atmosphere lingered in the train carriage.

The brief altercation had embraced deception, indiscretion, inconsistency and anger. I found myself wondering whether the events that prompted the dispute had merited all this emotion.

'Anybody can become angry - that is easy. But to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.’
Aristotle

Sometimes in the world of work, we let people get under our skin, we get hot under the collar. I once kicked a bin over because a package had not been delivered. I regretted it immediately, realising that only a rare few look good when they’re annoyed - Marlon Brando, Joe Pesci, Jack Nicholson, for example. When I kicked that bin I came across more like Norman Wisdom.

We ought to take our jobs seriously. It’s only by doing so that we can extract any satisfaction from them. But we should be aware that intense concentration and a narrow focus can result in a disproportionate response to setbacks. The blood pressure rises and the red mist descends. We can’t help getting irritated and indignant.

'The greatest remedy for anger is delay.'
Thomas Paine

It’s always best to take a breath and count to 10. The issue at hand probably doesn’t matter that much. And if it does matter, then it deserves a considered, calculated reply. We should ‘try to be cool about it.’

Perhaps that’s what the irate bald man should have said to Fabien.

'I'm trying to be cool about it,
Feeling like an absolute fool about it.
Wishing you were kind enough to be cruel about it,
Telling myself I can always do without it,
Knowin' that it probably isn't true.’

boygenius, ‘Cool About It’ (J Baker / L Dacus / P Simon / P Bridgers)

No. 421

The Wistful Barmaid and the Johnny Cash To-Do List

Trying To Be Cool About It: An Overheard Altercation with Fabien