Final Stretch

I don't know about you, but this time of year leaves me feeling scattered. As a professor with two weeks left of classes, I'm scrambling to do it all -- to teach, advise students who are registering for next semester's classes, meet with students who have questions about their work, grade, and find time to do my own research and writing. Let's not even think about my personal life! So how do I manage this final stretch? Ideally the way I manage the entire semester: Moderation.

Plan well, with to-do lists and time management, but plan for more than just work. Plan free time, meaning schedule time away from email, the computer, and work. By carving out time for you - nothing else but your own interests - you'll make it easier to return to work when you must. My free time is filled with activities with family, but I also make my own mental and physical health a priority by scheduling time to run and work out. Like many people, I find working out can substitute for mediation - a period in which I'm focused entirely on being - breathing, running, lifting. And that time lets me return to work refreshed. So while you might not get everything done if you schedule time off, you will work "better" -- more efficiently, productively, and happily.