Day 2-91 -- time crunch

I asked a colleague today if research had found a way to make the day 36 or 48 hours long. At this time of the term -- the ending -- there never seems enough time to do the things that have to be completed. Definitely, there is precious little time to spend doing all those other things one needs to do outside the paid job and all those fun things we want to find time to do. Sleeping and eating times seem too short. It happens twice every year and even with planning and practice, there simply isn't enough time for all the work. Why is it that I always seem surprised or frustrated when I know it is coming?

Einstein is said to have stated that insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. I'm there -- along with many others -- each year trying to lessen the pain. Upon reflecting, I wonder if it is outside of our control. We try to alter things thinking that we hold the key -- that is, we are the reason that things get so untenable. I'm beginning to feel that the problem does not lie with me but with the system within which I work. There is just too much to do in a reasonable time period -- and do it well. This frenetic pace stretches across the last 4-6 weeks of each term. Everyone is just so exhausted --  we look like the walking dead.

A few lines of a song from the '70s rattled around in my head today. The singer-songwriter was amazing and did a great job on this number 1 song. Enjoy!

Time in a Bottle -- Jim Croce