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August 18, 2005

Time management, desperation version

Two dozen ways to make more time for writing so you can meet the 9/30 handbook deadline:


  1. Say "yes" when asked to chair a committee. That way, you have great control over when the committee meets.
  2. As much as possible, push committee work to October rather than September.
  3. Structure syllabi so that all student contact time for the first five weeks is in class and office hours.
  4. Structure syllabi so that there's a small writing assignment early on, but the first big assignment is due in Week 4. You can then grade it in the first week of October and have the papers back to the writers in a respectable time frame.
  5. Set the email program so that it checks for messages only on manual command, not automatically. Give that manual command only once a day—late in the day, when the writing is getting a little tough.
  6. Make an email folder called "After September 30." Move every possible message into it. Put a note on your PDA to get to that folder on October 1.
  7. Quit reading blogs and newspapers.
  8. Quit watching TV.
  9. Read fiction only at bedtime.
  10. Put a pathetic blanket apology on your blog and on your family website.
  11. Quit blogging. Go finish the chapter on visual rhetoric instead of writing this blog entry, you fool.
  12. Take your laptop everywhere you go, and grab a few minutes here and there in a meeting or in the doctor's waiting room.
  13. Quit inviting people to dinner.
  14. Bake bread from mixes rather than from scratch.
  15. Put the summer squash on the compost pile and wave goodbye.
  16. Turn the compost pile once or twice a week rather than once or twice a day.
  17. Drink a lot of water and eat a lot of protein and veggies so you don't tire easily.
  18. Slack on the kitchen cleanup. Let BP do all the kitchen work he can stand.
  19. Limit your bike rides to 13 miles so you don't get too tired to write afterwards.
  20. Take your RPM down into the 11 mph range so you don't get too tired to write afterwards.
  21. Stay off the hills so you don't get too tired to write afterwards.
  22. If the high temperature for the day is under 80°, wait until late afternoon to ride, after you've done your best writing for the day anyhow.
  23. Live with the fact that you are disappointing some people you treasure.
  24. Remember that these are temporary measures. After September 30, you get to do something besides write. And in the meantime, the world will keep turning even though you're not doing all the things that you think it's absolutely essential for you to do.

Posted by senioritis at August 18, 2005 07:22 AM

Comments

This is great, but it's too bad I'm not reading it because I'm trying to follow the advice of #7...


;-)

Posted by: Jon B. at August 18, 2005 10:29 AM

Waaah. Please keep blogging.

Posted by: aerobil at August 18, 2005 10:58 AM

Understanding many of your rules, including the need to stop reading BLOGS - although you will note I'm not very good at following the rules - I thought I would let you know that Lisa Ede has an interesting post this week, but it WILL be there Oct. 1, I'm sure.

Posted by: Kirsten at August 18, 2005 11:31 AM