My summer is about to begin
The only thing standing between me and summer is one final due today at noon. All I have to do is grade it, turn the grades in, and I am done with this school year.
The trouble with free time
What do I have planned? Not enough. I have sixteen interns to supervise over the summer, and I have a lot of time to do things. But the problem with a lot of time to do things is that it’s too easy to do nothing. The old saying is that work expands to fill the time. My experience is the opposite: Nothing expands to fill the time. I watch reruns on my computer, surf for hours, and engage in ‘horizontal snoring meditation’ (i.e. naps).
The best use of my time
This is a question I’m going to keep asking myself over the summer — “Is this the best use of my time”? This question, if I’m being honest with myself, is the best motivator. Sometimes horizontal snoring meditation is the best use of my time; other times, it’s a waste. Many times, writing or the like will be the best use of my time. But this should keep me from too much dawdling.
Setting goals
I need to set some goals for the summer. Goals should be SMART. Which means:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Action Oriented
- Relevant
- Time-bound
Goals help motivation by giving focus and standards and deadlines. I have not made my goals SMART yet, but here’s the beginning:
- I will work on writing/plotting at least 2 hours a day
- I will finish a short story or poem once a week
These may be overly ambitious, but I need to push myself or else I will get sucked into the void.
My work cut out for me
If I can stick with the goals (and if they’re realistic) I should have a fruitful summer. We shall see.
Words Like Me 