Unproductive

Topics/tags: Workload, short

I started this weekend with a long to-do list [1]. I had grading to do. I had assignments to write. I had paperwork to complete. I had household responsibilities. I had email to reply to. And more.

Friday night I watched high-school tennis until a little after 7 p.m. [2]. Then, I made less than thoughtful decisions and ended up staying up late musing [3].

Saturday somehow got consumed by cooking, three artistic events [5], and a social event. But I got to bed by about 10 p.m.

Sunday, the family did brunch in Des Moines. We returned home at about 3 p.m. and I was tired enough that I took what I thought would be a short nap. I got interrupted by a phone call from a reporter [6], but still ended up sleeping until after 6pm. I thought I could get work done then. But, well, things got in the way.

It is now 8:30 p.m. on Sunday night. I’ve done no productive work all weekend, other than responding to a few emails throughout the weekend and drafting a few musings that I was unable to finish [7]. It feels like my to-do list continues to grow.

But I won’t be productive if I’m exhausted. So I’m keeping this musing short, working until 9:30 p.m., and going to bed.

I wonder when I’ll find time to get the rest of my work done.

[1] Yes, DC, I’m using Todoist to manage that to-do list. I’ll muse about it at some point.

[2] If a sentence ends with the time 7 p.m., should I have just the one period after m or two? I’d venture to guess that it’s two. My Chicago Manual of Style is in the office. Perhaps the best bet is to rewrite the sentence.

[3] I was going to say that I stayed up late playing on the InterWeb. Then I remembered that Friday night was my night to explore the preregistration data. I think that’s what kept me up late, but I can’t recall [4].

[4] Yes, I realize that lack of memory is a symptom of both advancing years and decreasing sleep.

[5] Grinnell symphony, a vocal recital, and the evening Dance/Jazz band performance.

[6] More on that in another musing.

[7] Amazingly, coherent musings are hard when I’m tired.

Version 1.0 of 2018-04-29.