--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A few days ago I resumed that…" description: "\"“A few days ago I resumed that 'war-service' - or, more correctly, 'manoeuvre' life, which I discovered years ago to be the most suitable for myself at..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/152/franz-kafka-214_letters-to-milena_a-few-days-ago-i-resumed-that-war-servic_1175474.jpg" --- # A few days ago I resumed that 'war-service' - or, more… ![“A few days ago I resumed that 'war-service' - or, more correctly, 'manoeuvre' life, which I discovered years ago to be the most suitable for myself at certain times. Sleeping in bed in the afternoon as long as possible, then walking about for two hours, then staying awake as long as possible. But…” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/152/franz-kafka-214_letters-to-milena_a-few-days-ago-i-resumed-that-war-servic_1175474.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/152/franz-kafka-214_letters-to-milena_a-few-days-ago-i-resumed-that-war-servic_1175474.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/152/franz-kafka-214_letters-to-milena_a-few-days-ago-i-resumed-that-war-servic_1175474.jpg) > ““A few days ago I resumed that 'war-service' - or, more correctly, 'manoeuvre' life, which I discovered years ago to be the most suitable for myself at certain times. Sleeping in bed in the afternoon as long as possible, then walking about for two hours, then staying awake as long as possible. But in this 'long as possible' lies the hitch. 'It isn't possible for long', not in the afternoon, not at night, and yet I'm actually wilted when I get to the office in the morning. And the real prize lies hidden in the depths of the night, in the second, third, fourth hour; but nowadays if I don't go to bed at latest around midnight, night and day and I myself are lost.”” [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes a self‑imposed schedule of fragmented rest and work, leading to exhaustion and missed nighttime productivity. **In simple terms:** Irregular rest harms energy. Key Takeaway Balance rest and work for sustainable energy. Themes productivity sleep schedule exhaustion time management Mood tired thoughtful Type advice reflective When to use this quote - workplace performance - night shift - personal health - study habits Key Concepts biology psychology habit formation Questions to Reflect On - How can you restructure your day for better rest? - What activities are most effective at night? A Different Perspective Irregular patterns can cause chronic fatigue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Letters-to-milena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letters-to-milena/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Sleeplessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleeplessness/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [No matter how vast, how total, the failure of man here on earth, the work of man will be resumed elsewhere. War leaders talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/no-matter-how-vast-how-total-the-failure-of-man-here-on-earth-the/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Every election cycle there has been some manoeuvre against me, so at some level I am used to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-gyimah/every-election-cycle-there-has-been-some-manoeuvre-against-me-so-at/) [Sam Gyimah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-gyimah/) > [“Could one perform the Heimlich manoeuvre on a penguin?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-michell/could-one-perform-the-heimlich-manoeuvre-on-a-penguin/) Tom Michell > [“Today a young poet brought me 75 poems, some of them many pages long, I shall no doubt make an enemy of him again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/today-a-young-poet-brought-me-75-poems-some-of-them-many-pages-long-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“What you wrote about the people, Milena - 'nemáte síly milovat' - 'who haven't got the strength to love' - was correct, even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/what-you-wrote-about-the-people-milena-nem-te-s-ly-milovat-who-haven/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Today 2 letters and the picture arrived. I opened them hesitatingly. You are either inconceivably good or you control yourself inconceivably well, everything speaks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/today-2-letters-and-the-picture-arrived-i-opened-them-hesitatingly/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I long for you; I who usually longs without longing, as though I am unconscious and absorbed in neutrality and apathy, really, utterly long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-long-for-you-i-who-usually-longs-without-longing-as-though-i-am/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“And all the time it's raining outside and doesn't look as though it will ever stop. Doesn't worry me at all, I'm under cover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/and-all-the-time-it-s-raining-outside-and-doesn-t-look-as-though-it/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“So far as the beggar woman is concerned, there was certainly neither anything good nor anything bad in it, I was simply too distracted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/so-far-as-the-beggar-woman-is-concerned-there-was-certainly-neither/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“And actually it's not at all you I love, but rather the existence you have bestowed on me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/and-actually-it-s-not-at-all-you-i-love-but-rather-the-existence-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“The most beautiful of your letters (and that means a lot, for as a whole they are, almost in every line, the most beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-most-beautiful-of-your-letters-and-that-means-a-lot-for-as-a/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Nevertheless, the chief thing is: Whatever the others surrounding you in a wide circle may say about you, in superior wisdom, in bestial (except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/nevertheless-the-chief-thing-is-whatever-the-others-surrounding-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I don't know what you have against the girl's letter. Its purpose, to make you a bit jealous, it did after all fulfil. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-don-t-know-what-you-have-against-the-girl-s-letter-its-purpose-to/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. Nor is it perhaps really love when I say that for me you are the most beloved;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/this-sounds-crazy-but-it-is-so-nor-is-it-perhaps-really-love-when-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More by Franz Kafka > [ “The tremendous world I have inside my head. But how \[to\] free myself and free it without being torn to pieces. And a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-tremendous-world-i-have-inside-my-head-but-how-to-free-myself-and/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [What I write is different from what I say, what I say is different from what I think, what I think is different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/what-i-write-is-different-from-what-i-say-what-i-say-is-different/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Ali svi se slažu u tome da se ne podižu lakomislene optužbe i da se sud, kad jedanput nekog optuži i kad je uvjeren…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/ali-svi-se-sla-u-u-tome-da-se-ne-podi-u-lakomislene-optu-be-i-da-se/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [My job is unbearable to me because it conflicts with my only desire and my only calling, which is literature. Since I am nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/my-job-is-unbearable-to-me-because-it-conflicts-with-my-only-desire/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Faith, like a guillotine. As heavy, as light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/faith-like-a-guillotine-as-heavy-as-light/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [You need not even listen, just wait...the world will offer itself freely to you, unmasking itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-need-not-even-listen-just-wait-the-world-will-offer-itself-freely/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. Nor is it perhaps really love when I say that for me you are the most beloved;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/this-sounds-crazy-but-it-is-so-nor-is-it-perhaps-really-love-when-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The more horses you yoke the quicker everything will go - not the rending of the block from its foundation, which is impossible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-more-horses-you-yoke-the-quicker-everything-will-go-not-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The true way goes over a line that, rather than spanning heights, is hardly above the ground. It appears more decidedly to make one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-true-way-goes-over-a-line-that-rather-than-spanning-heights-is/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Every new discovery is assumed at once into the sum total of knowledge, and with that ceases in a sense to be a discovery;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-new-discovery-is-assumed-at-once-into-the-sum-total-of/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Sou de pedra. Sou a minha própria pedra tumular, sem nenhum interstício para a dúvida ou para a fé, para o amor ou para…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sou-de-pedra-sou-a-minha-pr-pria-pedra-tumular-sem-nenhum-interst-cio/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Explore all 741 Franz Kafka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More Letters-to-milena quotes > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. Nor is it perhaps really love when I say that for me you are the most beloved;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/this-sounds-crazy-but-it-is-so-nor-is-it-perhaps-really-love-when-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I don't know what you have against the girl's letter. Its purpose, to make you a bit jealous, it did after all fulfil. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-don-t-know-what-you-have-against-the-girl-s-letter-its-purpose-to/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Nevertheless, the chief thing is: Whatever the others surrounding you in a wide circle may say about you, in superior wisdom, in bestial (except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/nevertheless-the-chief-thing-is-whatever-the-others-surrounding-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“The most beautiful of your letters (and that means a lot, for as a whole they are, almost in every line, the most beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-most-beautiful-of-your-letters-and-that-means-a-lot-for-as-a/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“And actually it's not at all you I love, but rather the existence you have bestowed on me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/and-actually-it-s-not-at-all-you-i-love-but-rather-the-existence-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“So far as the beggar woman is concerned, there was certainly neither anything good nor anything bad in it, I was simply too distracted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/so-far-as-the-beggar-woman-is-concerned-there-was-certainly-neither/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“And all the time it's raining outside and doesn't look as though it will ever stop. Doesn't worry me at all, I'm under cover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/and-all-the-time-it-s-raining-outside-and-doesn-t-look-as-though-it/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I long for you; I who usually longs without longing, as though I am unconscious and absorbed in neutrality and apathy, really, utterly long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-long-for-you-i-who-usually-longs-without-longing-as-though-i-am/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Today 2 letters and the picture arrived. I opened them hesitatingly. You are either inconceivably good or you control yourself inconceivably well, everything speaks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/today-2-letters-and-the-picture-arrived-i-opened-them-hesitatingly/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“What you wrote about the people, Milena - 'nemáte síly milovat' - 'who haven't got the strength to love' - was correct, even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/what-you-wrote-about-the-people-milena-nem-te-s-ly-milovat-who-haven/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Today a young poet brought me 75 poems, some of them many pages long, I shall no doubt make an enemy of him again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/today-a-young-poet-brought-me-75-poems-some-of-them-many-pages-long-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“But fundamentally the reason for my not writing is the vague feeling that I have so much and such extremely important things to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/but-fundamentally-the-reason-for-my-not-writing-is-the-vague-feeling/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I'm afraid I'm not very well prepared for your birthday, have slept even worse than usual, head hot, eyes burned out, torturing temples, coughing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-m-afraid-i-m-not-very-well-prepared-for-your-birthday-have-slept/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I'm dirty, Milena, infinitely dirty, which is why I make so much fuss about purity. No people sing with such pure voices as those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-m-dirty-milena-infinitely-dirty-which-is-why-i-make-so-much-fuss/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Browse all 18 Letters-to-milena quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letters-to-milena/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A few days ago I resumed that 'war-service' - or, more correctly, 'manoeuvre' life, which I discovered years ago to be the most suitable for myself at certain times. Sleeping in bed in the afternoon as long as possible, then walking about for two hours, then staying awake as long as possible. But in this 'long as possible' lies the hitch. 'It isn't possible for long', not in the afternoon, not at night, and yet I'm actually wilted when I get to the office in the morning. 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