Maximizing time

This week my institution has spring break. This is later than most universities because we enjoy a late February Mardi Gras break and we must space apart those weeks off (I know, you are now turning green with envy over life in the Big Easy--but we do not get a Fall Break, so there IS a trade-off). During any break I like to maximize my time by rotating from one task to another. I always set myself a large amount of work to do over any break regardless of my on-going promises not to overbook a break! If I didn't have a full agenda planned, I would not know what to do with myself, as described in last year's post, "Stages of Spring Break," where I described my approach to spring break since age seven--with the consistent approach of working while others rested to chase the illusion of "getting ahead" on the work load--and the pre-planned/scheduled activities designed to help me enjoy the break.

This year, I tried to avoid over-scheduling and failed miserably (and rather predictably). So I am working to rotate from one task to another to avoid burnout and stay focused. When I get too overwhelmed with the grant (due April 15), then I switch to grading and when that becomes a bit tedious, I rotate to editing the methods section of an article. In this way, I should be able to mark off about HALF of the overly ambitious, incredibly out of reach list of items to accomplish over the break--and that, my friends, is surely a victory!

My computer time is up and I'm not off to a rotation toward grading...happy spring break!


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