In the swamp
Not, literally, of course. But in the swamp of the end of the semester. Papers to be graded, meetings to go to, advisees to calm down when they didn't get the classes they needed. It all fell at once, really. But I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. My undergrad research papers are almost done. Graduation is May 9th, so the end is in sight.
Honestly, I can't remember ever being this behind in my life. How did I get here? Well, poor planning for one. I assigned a bunch of things that were due at the same time, which contributed to the grading backlog. Then there was procrastination. Some things (like the paper proposal due today) could easily have been done several weeks ago. That ties into time management. The semester seems sort of cyclical, with ebbs and flows in demands. That's true as far as external deadlines and the like, but I could certainly even those ebbs and flows out a bit better, getting things done during the "light" weeks so I don't get so behind at other points in the semester. The final contributing factor to my present situation is travel. In the past three weeks, I have been to New York and Boston/Cambridge and was gone a total of eight days. That travel was for conferences and necessary, but certainly contributed to me getting behind.
I'll get back in shape, though. Hopefully with my sanity intact.
Honestly, I can't remember ever being this behind in my life. How did I get here? Well, poor planning for one. I assigned a bunch of things that were due at the same time, which contributed to the grading backlog. Then there was procrastination. Some things (like the paper proposal due today) could easily have been done several weeks ago. That ties into time management. The semester seems sort of cyclical, with ebbs and flows in demands. That's true as far as external deadlines and the like, but I could certainly even those ebbs and flows out a bit better, getting things done during the "light" weeks so I don't get so behind at other points in the semester. The final contributing factor to my present situation is travel. In the past three weeks, I have been to New York and Boston/Cambridge and was gone a total of eight days. That travel was for conferences and necessary, but certainly contributed to me getting behind.
I'll get back in shape, though. Hopefully with my sanity intact.
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