The Squeeze

Hey look, it's September. You may have noticed, I dropped the ball on having an August challenge. By the time I realized I'd forgotten, it was already half way through the month so I decided to let it go.

But now it's September and it's time for another challenge. This one is simple: Do more.

I have three classes this semester and my major goal is to avoid the pattern I've tended to fall into during previous semesters - a pattern of focusing too much on the classes. Let me explain. By focusing too much, I don't mean I've worked too hard at teaching, because I don't think anyone ever can work too hard at being a good teacher. No, the key word here is "focus." Sometimes, the semester gets going and I start blowing off other things because I tell myself that teaching classes is enough work. I tell myself "It's so hard, I deserve a break from cooking/writing/taking Sherman for walks/whatever."

Not this semester, my friends. I've realized in the past that I'm capable of a whole heck of a lot, like whipping out 80 pages of brand new text during my bet with John. So, my challenge for myself this month is two-fold. Part one involves being efficient and on top of my preparations and grading for my classes. Part two involves maximizing my momentum from having an organized schedule again to keep up/catch up with other projects. They say if you really want something done, give the task to a busy person. It's time for me to be that highly efficient busy person again.

For you, I challenge you to take a hard look at your schedule and commitments. I know you're busy. I know you have a lot of important obligations. But, I also know that you can squeeze a little more out of your day. Maybe it's very little, but there's more to be had. A month from now, you might not care that you watched that movie, or took that extra long lunch break, but you'll probably care if you wrote 20 pages more than your goal. Most people have more time available to them than they realize, it's just a matter of squeezing the most out of your time. If you don't believe me, try making a schedule for yourself along the lines of
7 a.m.-7:20 a.m.: Breakfast
7:20 a.m.-7:30 a.m.: Get dressed...
If you can see where all your minutes go, it's a lot easier to get perspective.

Then, once you've figured out how you can squeeze a few more pages/visits to the gym/whatever out of your week, do it.