Day 4 - 173 -- Losing Focus

I keep expecting things to slow a bit this week, but Thursday is almost over and things are still running at a frantic pace. Registration brings many glitches that need to be dealt with by faculty or technology people. It is frustrating from this side and from the student side. The good news is classes don't begin until September, so there is time. Preparing for classes now for the Fall, provides time to get things in a type of order that will allow it all to begin and develop further once classes begin. Yet, for some reason, tasks such as these take on a strange sense of urgency NOW. <smile> I find myself trying to deal with all the little details now rather than just those that really need to be done. The latter would allow me to address the needs for now and September as well as get to the other piles on the desk that can only be addressed when classes are not in session. If, then, some extra time were found, I could begin to deal with the details not yet completed.

I keep coming back to Einstein's definition of insanity -- doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I've dealt with preparing for Fall courses for many years now. Why do I still think that it can all get done -- like everything -- during the summer months? It never has been completed. What has happened is that vacation time is used for course prep and the writing needs for research and such don't get fully addressed. I'm trying to stick to a more sensible approach this year -- but today turned into one of those days when I jumped around from fire to fire trying to extinguish them all, while ignoring the big blaze sneaking up on me from behind. I lose focus, which leads to frustration and exhaustion with no feeling of accomplishment. It is not an unfamiliar feeling. My goal is to learn to recognize when I am headed off the rails and try to avoid a complete derailment.

A long drawn out word ran through my head near the end of the day. The context of the lyrics is different than my experience today, but the one word was really all that was needed to explain my dilemma. Enjoy!

Crazy Love -- Paul Anka