If I didn’t need sleep, part of me knows exactly what I’d do with the extra hours—because, if I’m honest, I already try to live like I don’t need it. I stay up late getting more done, watching a few more shows, or squeezing in one more blog post. It’s not ideal, and I wouldn’t recommend it to my students, but here we are.
If sleep suddenly became optional, though? I’d probably do what I always say I’m going to do “soon”—polish my novel Tumbleweeds the way it deserves and jump into the next story waiting in the wings. There are always more words to write, more ideas to chase, more things I want to create.
But the truth is, questions like this feel a little foolish, because there will never be enough time to get everything done—even if we didn’t have to sleep at all. I think of Jim Croce’s Time in a Bottle, a love song I’ve always cherished. One line rings truer than any imagined scenario about bonus hours:
“But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them.”
That’s the heart of it. It’s not about dreaming of extra time—it’s about choosing what matters most in the time we already have. Writing, family, faith, rest, conversation,
Copyright © 2025 Doug DeBolt.
