Holding it Together

It's been a loooong week. Lots of good things, but I didn't balance my time as well as I'd like, and it's only going to get more complicated as the semester progresses.

So, the positives: I finished what I hope is the last, totally polished draft of my Introduction; I sent off my Siddons chapter for comments; I got great and much-needed feedback on my Dorothy Jordan chapter, and started to work through it. I also dealt with (I think?) the last bit of copyediting on my Theatre Survey article, and sent out some important emails about both book and non-book things.

I also made it to a really excellent show by a great local company (Three Sisters Two by Reza de Wet, on now at EgoPo---GO SEE IT), and got to see a live show of my favorite podcast, My Favorite Murder.

OKAY OKAY, it was a great week. I've got nothing to complain about.

Self-portrait.

But I also missed a day of writing because I didn't fully anticipate just how packed the week was going to be, and found staying on top of everything a little more difficult than I have until now. Trying to generate coherent sentences for this posting, for example, is a lot harder than it should be.

I think part of this was getting to actually have a little fun and space away from the teaching/writing cycle--it's sort of like shorting your sleep for a long time and then getting a full night. It's what's best for you, but it requires a re-adjustment. I tried to honor that feeling and take the cue to give myself more down time this weekend (a friend and I did Saturday morning cartoons and it was great), but when I do that, I fear I'll lose the motivation to keep up with all of these habits I'm trying to sustain. I could have made any one of a number of yoga classes this weekend, and made exactly zero of them even though I know going regularly makes everything else easier.

As I look forward to the next two weeks, this one offers some breathing room, but the following is going to be nothing less than BANANAS (multiple events connected to the show we open this week, Philly Theatre Week all over the city and region, applicant interviews for our next grad class and the application reviews in advance of those interviews, plus all the normal things).

To minimize frustration and maximize my momentum, I'm planning to alter some of my goals. I'll try to write for just an hour or 45 minutes a day that week instead of 90, given several early mornings and late nights. Hopefully having that plan in place will help me focus this week and make the most of my time.

I hope it will also help me realize that being kind to myself, and realistic about my limits, is much healthier in the long run than trying to do it all all the time.

And now I bid you goodnight, and leave you with the knowledge that instead of buying a Super Bowl ad this year, Skittles commissioned a musical from Will Eno that starred Michael C. Hall and was directed by Sarah Benson. The world is a wondrous place.