Get Shit Done Week, ending on a whimper …

The beauty of GSDW is that you’ve got a powerful psychological motivation for facing a bunch of shit that has been successfully avoided for a while. Some of the things I did this week, I’ve been needing to do for a very, very long time. And, now they’re done! Hooray!

Plus, the nature of the shit done over GSDW is that it results in immediate gratification — unlike so many of the things we do in academia, when rewards are delayed or are very intangible. It has been very satisfying to be able to scratch concrete items off the To Do list and to see concrete improvements around the house.

On the other hand, I noticed as GSDW progressed, a creeping resentment about the fact that I must set aside a week of my life in order to take care of this annoying shit — or, more to the point, that I can set aside a week because the nature of my academic life means that there are these periods of time in which I am not technically working (i.e., teaching) and in which I am not technically on vacation (i.e., laying on a beach). But, of course, we all know that devoting this week to projects means not doing some of my other work (research, writing, etc.) and that I will have to pay myself back for this time at some point in the future. I think this indicates that it is better to keep GSDW to a short week rather than a full seven days — or it might start to feel as burdensome as anything else would.

I haven’t done much today but I am (mostly) feeling better — or at least good enough to take off this afternoon for my yoga workshop. Then, I’ll be heading out for a little vacation, so it may be a few days before I post here again. Holla!