I’ve got a blog to write, but our internet connection is not cooperating. I wanted to write and post at work just to make sure I got it done today, but, well, work isn’t working that way for me right now. I have 3 more days of work before winter break and quite a bit more than 3 days of work to do. In spite of my vows yesterday, I found myself complaining a bit today. A different form of complaining, though: acknowledging that others have lots of work, that I really shouldn’t complain, but stating that the work I have still to do is more than I can get done.
Interestingly, by the end of the day (I stayed until 5:15 – not bizarrely late by any stretch), things started to feel manageable. Some items I simply bumped to January, when I’ll have time to deal with them. Others I dealt with briefly and handed off. Quite a number I set in motion to be dealt with by others. Some I finally got down to. Some I moved onto particular lists or folders to be addressed when the time is right. The end result is maybe 15 items in red on my task list which I hope to have done by end of day next Thursday. I looked at things at the end of the day – after 2 days of staying a bit later at work and trying to clear my desk – and felt better. I will get done what needs doing.
In the busyness of today I took half an hour to go to the memorial service for the Dec. 6 massacre. I was glad to go. It reminded me that there are more important things than my to do list. I also had the chance to connect with a couple of people I had needed to contact anyways, and an in-person conversation proved much more effective, fun and useful (in terms of building community than email. And beyond that I saw some people I enjoyed seeing, and met someone I’ve seen around campus for a while. All in all, a good use of time even when I was trying to run madly off in all directions.
As for tonight, we’re home, each working on the computer while baby deconstructs my desk one pen or journal at a time. She has an endless capacity for moving things back and forth. I think we’ll try bed again soon, for though she looks supremely energized I suspect that before long she’ll be willing to crash.