Today's Activities

As I've noted in other blog posts, I usually feel way behind and like I'm constantly juggling way too many things. I had my annual gyn appointment recently and mentioned it to my doctor. She noted, 'well, you can control that can't you?' Well, yes and no...Several projects are ongoing and funded externally so it would be hard to just stop work on them. Some, sure I could control. Learning to say 'no' better would help some certainly.

I was telling my postdoc that today seemed rather frenetic as I had been jumping back and forth between a slew of different activities today. Yesterday, a friend told me that my Facebook updates made him tired just seeing mine. I laughed but realized he has a point. I've been feeling rather burned out this summer, as this summer has been very busy (like most summers are for me it seems).

We had a faculty meeting yesterday and our chair at the end of it told us to all go home and not come back till Monday. I looked at him like he was losing his mind. Obviously he doesn't realize that my syllabus still isn't finished for my class that starts Tuesday AM, I haven't even started creating my Blackboard Learn site (which is new this semester since they change BB about every year it seems and everyone is complaining about how bad the change is this time), my desk is so messy I can't even see the top of it, I need to get quotes and order incentives for 1400 kids and teachers, I need to hire a new person for a project, I won't even mention the papers that I'm behind on (sorry colleagues!) or the new grant proposal I'm supposed to be writing now either.

Even with constantly feeling behind and overwhelmed, I feel very lucky to have a job that I love and to work with such great students, postdoc, and colleagues. We're now in week 8 of Bo's being laid off. This adds to the stress of everything for sure! We're hopeful that something will come along soon. He's working every network he has right now to try to find something. If anyone has any contacts in the planning/zoning or wireless industries or knows of any related job openings, please let me know.

To cap off this long blog post, here are just a FEW of the disparate things I've done already today:

• bought donuts for RAs on one project who are in an all day training
• got gas in my car
• got to the office before 8 AM
• responded to 50+ or so emails today
• met with a potential employee about joining one of my projects
• reviewed draft of a survey
• worked on my syllabus on and off all day
• reviewed some info on the new BB Learn site
• emailed 2 companies for quotes on flashdrives, talked to one on the phone, exchanged other emails back and forth with them
• ate lunch
• talked to an RA about project updates
• emailed another RA about a chapter I wanted her to get for me
• skimmed the texts for my class
• reviewed a ppt file for a student who is defending her thesis proposal in the AM
• emailed staff about materials that were supposed to have been moved
• returned phone calls to several people
• reviewed another ppt for ASA presentation next week
• and numerous other things that I can't recall right now...

Hopefully tomorrow will be less frenetic, though I have 2 students defending their thesis proposals in the AM and then Callen's meet the teacher in the afternoon. Should be a good day!