One of those days you're happy to see end

Today was full of obligations, and it made for a really looooooooooooong day, but at the end I remembered something I seem to have to learn anew every time: the dreading of work and obligations is much worse than just getting. it. all. done.

So, this was my schedule today:

- Up at 6:30 (after going to bed at midnight, which isn't enough sleep for me).

- Shower, eat breakfast, dress, gather crap, and drive to school, stopping to pick up lunch on the way.

- By 9:30, arrive in our clinic, dig out case files, and write what was essentially a bench brief.

- Around 12:35, finish the brief, print, and run to the law review meeting that started at noon - which, it turns out, had just ended.

- From 12:40-1, scarf the lunch I'd bought.

- From 1-2:15, class - in which I was on-call and presented a case.

- From 2:15-4:15, finish preparing the motion in limine I had to argue in my next class.

- Sit in class for almost 2 hours listening to all the motions before mine.

- Argue my motion in the last 15 minutes of class.

I don't know, it may not look that bad; it's just that it was so non-stop. There really wasn't a moment that I wasn't working on something that had to get done, imminently. This isn't my ideal mode: I tend to be happier with some down time between activities, to let my brain know that one thing is done and it's time to move on to something else. It may be less efficient to work for a couple of hours, then take a half-hour or so (okay, maybe a bit longer) to surf the web a little, answer some (social) e-mails, chat with someone at school, or the like -- but it's much better for my mental health.

That said, I dreaded today more than I needed to. I spent the weekend (and last night) worrying about getting everything done (yes, I did work on this stuff before today, but still) and how horrible today would be, but when I walked out of school tonight I thought, Hmm. That wasn't so bad, actually.

Which isn't to say that I'm going to embrace the non-stop work model, or that I won't end up blowing off huge chunks of time in the next few days because I used up all my energy today.* But I have to try to remember that dreading the work serves no purpose, and is a big waste of energy I could just put toward that work instead.
     

*For instance, I am REALLY tempted to blow off my 8 am class tomorrow. I probably won't, because I should save up my absences in case I need them later in the semester - plus, in this I need to go to class actually to understand the material! - but honestly, after plowing through today, I feel like I'm entitled to. Which makes no sense, but there you go.

Comments

[Jenny]

Oh . . . I feel your pain, I work full time and have class at night. The non-stop stuff is absolutely exhausting! Take pleasure in those short "social emails", they keep you in touch!

Hope your schedule gets (a little) better soon!

[Notorious Ph.D.]

I think I had a day like yours. Fewer discrete activities, but same nonstop schedule. Gonna be like this for a few more days, it seems, but I'm consoling myself with this thought (and it's one that perhaps you might like right about now): it will feel SO GOOD when it's over!

[Susan]

I am totally with you on how draining this kind of day is -- I've had more than I care to remember in the past few weeks. (Actually, last week was like that.)

It's days like that when I appreciate EP Thompson's "Time, Work Discipline" article.

[Innovation and Insight]

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