Day 2 - 210 -- Working to Re-establish the Routine

Well -- back to the desk and all the projects that it holds. We sent off a short proposal today, so will see where that leads. After a trip away, it can be difficult to get back into the groove of the routine aspects of daily work and life. I have a very long list of things to do before I take some time for vacation. Preparation for the fall term always seems to take longer than expected. While I look forward to presenting new and updated materials and different topics, getting these all together can be a challenge. What appears easily doable seems to take two to three times as much effort and time as expected. It is odd that I don't learn that this is the way the world works. <smile>

Getting sucked into a routine way of thinking can sometimes slow completion of projects. It seems to lead to the frittering of time on small tasks not fully instrumental to the larger task at hand. The disruption of thinking by a 'bing' each time a new e-mail arrives is an example. I always turn the volume down so I don't hear the 'you've got mail' call to lose focus. For longer projects, I often wear ear buds to my iPod, which can effectively diminish external noises like the 'bings' or all the activity in the hallway outside my door. Implementing techniques to improve focus can be more difficult when one is tired, though -- I think that is where the fritters find a way into a day.

The song I'm sharing today is an obscure little ditty that made me laugh. It deals with mundane aspects of daily life and a type of boredom that may not be unlike getting caught up in the fritters. This live version is even more entertaining than the recorded version -- though the sound quality is a bit compromised -- it's a trade-off <smile>.. Enjoy!

Cartier -- Elton John