Checking Off Lists: Embracing Efficiency and Our Spaces of Comfort

                We all have our own daily or weekly routines which help us complete our academic or pedagogical tasks.  Depending on how many sections of a particular class you are teaching or how many students you are responsible for in a term, the list of things that one must accomplish each week can vary greatly. I noticed a trend in my own routine this week and it is something that seems to reappear as the semesters wind down. Because I know that the task of grading and giving feedback on final essays and exams is just around the corner I find myself being more efficient in order to complete the lists of other tasks I have to do.

                I am always very good with email. My 24hr email policy is sort of a worst case scenario. My usual maximum response time is something like 6-8hrs (the end limit is if someone sends me an email in the wee hours of the morning when I am actually sleeping).  I embrace inbox zero; it is one thing that I use as a guidepost to see how effective and efficient I am being. If my inbox is getting full and too many things are flagged as “follow up for later” I automatically pause and see what I can do to successfully resolve those lingering questions and issues faster.  The key to inbox zero is using time well. For me a major part of this is commuting time (which for me is about 2hrs on a bus each day). This is a time to catch up on things and also to be more active on Twitter. 

My agenda is the gatekeeper of my life. I use a combination of paper agenda coupled with electronic scheduler on my phone- that way when I am commuting into campus I can see what meetings I have at a glance as I am answering emails.  With three weeks or so left in the term I regularly  try to complete things I had previously slotted for the weekend earlier on in the week (usually by Friday evening). I reflected on just why that pattern has immerged in my end of term routine. My conclusion is that I want to leave time for down time. As the semester winds down it becomes more and more important to try to find time for ourselves, a way to recharge the batteries so that when we have to engage with our students’ work or our own work (writing, researching etc.) we can do so with a fresh set of eyes and a keen mind.

For example, I just finished supplementing and reviewing my notes for Tuesday’s class. This was something I had scheduled for Sunday. Now my Sunday is free to do things that will help me refresh and unwind. A walk, reading a book, cooking, these small things mean going into the new week ready to tackle the tasks at hand (this is especially important for me this week as registration for January courses opens early Monday morning and that first day is always filled with student questions and a heightened advisory role).

This also ties into something else I have been thinking a lot about this week which is how we engage with our academic spaces and how certain places become spaces of comfort.  Walking across campus with a certain tune playing through my earphones, crisp winter air- that was one of my spaces of comfort this week. It put a smile on my face because I took such pleasure knowing I was off to speak with students about ideas and texts that we could really discuss and I was excited to see how they would elaborate on certain themes.  Those small things are important and healthy in an otherwise hectic schedule or semester. It is important to find those spaces of comfort and often we can find those spaces or at least find the time to stop to reflect on those spaces if we embrace efficiency. There is truly something to be said about checking off lists; it gives one a nice sense of accomplishment.  This is why I can now make my way home after a productive week knowing that I have one thing on my list for this weekend which is grading and giving feedback on essays. Tonight I can leisurely take my time at the grocery store and pick out the best ingredients for my dinner tomorrow; small things, important things.  Hope you all have lovely, efficient, and comforting weekends!