Did you know that iCal (a mac thing) actually has a function in which it color-codes your calendar in year-view based on how much you've scheduled yourself to do? Yellow is "You've got some stuff to do," orange-y is, "Hey, this is a pretty busy day," and red is apparently, "Honey... are you gonna be okay?"
Here's what last spring semester looked like:
But, anyway... even if I don't know how to have a stress-free semester, I know what can make it better, and what makes it worse. In that spirit, I'm back to my once-a-month resolutions. January is, as always, "clear the decks." In that spirit, this week has been devoted to syllabus preparation, returning long-overdue library books, and getting the home and work offices cleaned and organized (the latter takes place twice a year), and the e-mail inbox cleared out.
Is it working? Am I more organized and prepared? Well, I think one good indication is the fact that I'm only posting my January resolution when the month is half-done. Yeah. But every day is a new opportunity and all that.
But enough about me: How is your new semester going? Any intentions you've set up to help keep yourself from being in the weeds, come March and April?
4 comments:
Just submitted a nice manuscript, and now have to submit two major grant applications between now and the beginning of March.
I'm still clearing the decks... not helped by the fact that our email system was migrated over the break, with a little bit more disruption than expected.
Sigh.
My resolution to stop procrastinating really has more teeth now that I have a baby in the house and only a couple hours of guaranteed work time each day. This might be the first time I have ever had lesson plans done a week or more in advance. And on a new prep, no less!
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