This past weekend I helped my son move his aquarium to his new apartment. He has a 60-gallon aquarium that is always in immaculate condition. It is the sort of aquarium set up that makes one think; I want an aquarium. Moving this aquarium caused me to reflect upon my aquarium experiences.

I was the proud owner of a 5-gallon aquarium when I was around 12 years old. I can still remember the scuba diver and red gravel adorning my aquarium. I don’t recall much about the fish I had, most of them probably didn’t live very long. I do remember cleaning out the aquarium. Cleaning the aquarium was my least favorite part of this hobby. In my quest to lessen the burden of this task, I decided to try to siphon the fish water through a hose that I ran outside my bedroom window. I had a hose but no siphon pump. No problem, I would just suck on the hose like a straw to start the flow of water. You can probably guess where this is going. Yes, I ended up with a mouth full of fish water. I probably had this aquarium for about six months before my parents made me get rid of it due to constant dead fish and smelly algae. You see, I did a terrible job of regularly cleaning of the aquarium. I waited until the fish tank was disgusting before attempting to clean it out.  I reluctantly placed my fish hobby on hold.

A few years ago, my brother-in-law gave me one of his old aquariums. My brother-in-law is another one of those people who maintain pristine aquariums. I thought surely as an adult I could effectively maintain a fish aquarium. While this time I did not end up with a mouth full of fish water, I could not keep the tank clean. Due to a myriad of excuses, I was not able to consistently sustain the tank. Before long the tank looked hideous, and my wife told me to to to make it go away. This failure likely signifies the end of my aquarium hobby.

While transporting my son’s aquarium to its new home, I asked him how he keeps the tank looking so good. He told me the most critical task in maintaining a nice tank is to change the water once a week. Huh, once a week. I had flashbacks to my youth and a mouth full of fish water. He showed me the cool siphon and filler hose he uses. He also showed me the expensive filter that helps keep the water clean. The key to my son’s beautiful aquarium is regular maintenance. Without constant attention, an aquarium turns into a cesspool that, in my case, led to the death of many fish and the demise of a hobby. These days when I feel the urge to get another aquarium I just watch this video.

Many things in our lives required constant attention. During my first college career, I didn’t pay much attention to routine assignments and usually went for the “diving save at the end of the semester” approach to higher education. This approach to learning led to many sleepless nights and certainly to lower grades. Many years later I returned to graduate school. This time I made it a priority to do some school work every day. I actually read about projects and research papers ahead of time so that I could plan my approach. As you might expect, my stress level was lower, and my grades were higher.

This approach also works well on the job. Taking small bites out of a big project over time makes the process much more manageable. I have found that having a project “swim” around in my head for a while helps me develop more thoughtful and complete results. It is incredible how everyday life can help contribute to a task running in the background of your mind. When faced with a major project or task, start early, think about it often, commit to working on it a bit every day. Don’t end up with a mouth full of fish water.

Make the most of this day!