Oct 28 2008
One Thing at a Time
As you’ve seen if you’ve read my last post, I have rather a lot of things to manage over the next 6 weeks or so.
Now that it is all written out in one big (UGLY) list though, I am finding that I am a bit calmer about it.
I have decided that rather than allowing myself to panic and get overwhelmed by it all, I need to focus on ONE THING AT A TIME.
I have decided, also, that with the exception of the psych paper - which i might well be able to finish today if things go according to plan, I am going to knock off as many of the small things as I possibly can over the course of this week.
The 6 papers for Law & Moral Regulation, for example. They are supposed to be done weekly - but if I take good notes as I read (so that I won’t have to reread the week of class) there is no reason why I couldn’t try to get them done early. Each one requires more than 100 pages of academic reading that makes my head hurt - so I won’t try to get them ALL done at once - but one a day sounds doable.
The short paper for Public Texts is due next week, so that has to be done - I’ve already read everything for that once - just need to sit down and write it; that’s my goal for today between classes. And the exercise for that one is almost finished - hopefully can get that done this morning after my discussion class and before my afternoon class.
And then the short paper and seminar prep for Fiction/nonFiction, and a proposal I need to write re: presenting a conference paper. Oh, and I need to print off one of my short stories for submission to the CBC Literary contest - that has to be postmarked by November 1. I won’t win - but what the hell - I’ll kick myself if I don’t even try.
Most of the novels that I need to read, I’ve read already - there are some chapters of one of my texts that I need to read yet, but I have gone through and marked all of those now, and put it in the washroom 
They’ll get read eventually.
If I can knock off one small thing at a time consistantly over the next few days, I can at least make the list LOOK more managable.
One thing at a time. That is all I need to work on. Just one.
I can do this. I think.
I like the short story about domestic abuse. I definitely think that is marketable and should be.
I know you can do it, too. Taking small stuff of the list is bound to make it easier.
can’t use it for this though - they are very clear about nothing that has been posted online or even read publically (which tosses French Fries as well)