Like to do. Have to do. Did do. Doobedoobedoo.

 OK, post #2 so I'm caught up.

Things I'd like to do:

get the new bed set up

organize my office

organize the rest of the house

set up the roomba

organize my projects and notes and tasks

vacuum

grocery shopping

laundry

cooking

break down boxes

games night

Things I have to do:

submit my assignment that's due today

do the readings for this week by tomorrow

prep for the readings and assignments for next week

get some kind of food into me (I guess optional today since it's Yom Kippur)

feed cats

Things I did today so far:

Abhisheik (a weekly ceremony I try to do with as much regularity as I can, though I missed last weeks)

Finished my assignment that's due today

These blog posts

My weekly review that I try to do every Monday

My morning exercise and meditation

Not horrible, but considering how long my lists are, I'm thinking about what to do if my todo lists simply get longer and longer, never getting shorter. At some point they become useless, simply making it take longer for me to find the things I'm actually going to do, amidst all the stuff I'm not going to do. I have a partial solution to this. I make a much smaller list, day to day. and week by week. Daily, I try and keep it to one thing I really try to get done, besides all the stuff I simply have to get done. Weekly, I take a small subsection of my longer list, the things I'd most like to get done, along with everything I have to get done, and write it up for faster reference. This works decently, if I'm keeping up with it. But on weeks like the last two, where I've been behind, it means things slip through the cracks.

Part of the problem is there are so many todo's and bits of information flying at me, that simply figuring out what to do with them all is a part time job. I need a better filter, between what's worth my time and what can just get tossed in a 'maybe later' box. Though maybe I just need a habit of doing a little bit every day. It doesn't have to take that long, if I know what to do with things. It's one of those "a place for everything and everything in its place" scenario's. If I just have to put stuff where I know it goes, it can happen fairly easily. If I have to think hard about each piece of info, there's no way I'll ever keep up with it.

Still fiddling with this system. It's not bad currently, but it's not all there yet.

Gonna get back to it!

- I Out

Writing papers, doing chores.

 I think it's been two weeks. I must have been busy. Suzannah just left yesterday for two weeks. Fully into the swing of things, writing papers, making reference pages in APA format, reading and taking notes. I'm hoping to get a bunch of stuff done while she's gone, but I think that may be wishful thinking. I don't think I'll be any more productive. Though I'll be playing with her less, I'll also be doing all the chores, and I won't have the extra energy I get from her presence.

She's gone to be with her sister, who's having a baby soon! That's exciting news.

OK, I'm gonna end this update so I can write the next one and rules-lawer my way into being caught up.

Little things. Less reading. Counting ducks.

 "I take great joy in the little things" -thought during my sit spot Aug 24th

I'm finally caught up on my readings. It feels nice. Now I can start catching up on all the stuff that I haven't had any time to think about. Though there is still plenty to do in terms of class work and assignments. But it seems more manageable this week.

The little bits of actually getting to sit with people in the most practical class we're in, feels good. That seems like a good sign. Still a bit early to count my ducks though. 

Tonight is pizza night. Not that it's a regular thing, but it feels celebratory. Today, after early morning classes, I took care of a bunch of tech-support stuff that needed to get done. I suppose the question for this week is, how much can I catch up on all the non-master's life stuff, during an off week, while staying on top of the school stuff as well?

The quote at the beginning is a reflection on how much I enjoy being present to the little details of nature as I sit outside in the morning. There is so much beauty in a still toad spending the day between the slats of the bench I'm sitting on, the tiny beautiful pink flowers of lady's thumb, or a bug exploring the wood porch planks. There is of course breathtaking beauty in some of the truly wild places on earth, but it can be found in more humble settings, every day.

A lot of reading

 This master's degree is a lot of reading y'all.

Especially problematic as the orientation call people inadvertently lied to me, telling me none of the reading was due on the first day of class. It was. So this last week I've been trying to read through two weeks worth of assignments. Blegh. I will almost certainly not be caught up by classes tomorrow afternoon, but I've been reading my butt off and will at least be close. With my nose to the grindstone I should be caught up by the end of this next week.

Doing that much reading is unpleasant for multiple reasons. One, the brain just gets tired after a certain amount of time. These ain't fluffy fantasy novels. Even if they were, that much reading of them in a row might get to be too much. In addition, I've been spending less time with Suzannah, and helping out less, as I've put all my time into trying to get caught up. So she's not happy either. Rough week, but I sincerely hope it will get better, as I get caught up, more efficient in how I do things, and have a little bit of a life again. That's all I've got time for, gotta get to bed somewhat early so I can do it all again tomorrow.