OK, now that that's over with

Regular programming, such as it is, will resume.

There are some people who live manic. There's always something happening, and typically it's happening RIGHT NOW!!! Because they're late. And the next thing is also right now, and the thing after that is much too soon, and often the really, really important thing, which could be tomorrow, might as well be an eternity away, until it's OMFG it's due INSTANTLY. Such people often live in all caps, and I'm sparing you from that. And if you let them suck you into that life, you can confidently expect a heart attack, or stroke, or high blood pressure.

That describes much of the regular work world, and every day I'm happy I'm not in it any more. My major tool of coping was the important urgent matrix, sometimes called the Eisenhower Matrix. There are 4 boxes. The two columns are headed Urgent and Not Urgent. The two columns are Important and Not Important. Figuring out which tasks belong in which box is key to staying sane. 

Keep in mind that the box you put a task in might be considerably different from the box your boss (and their boss), might think it belongs in. Tact, balls of steel, being the only person that can do your job, and not caring if you get fired are, in order, the best tools for helping to explain to your boss why they are wrong about their box assignment.

I sometimes get fixated on a particular thing in my schedule, and want it done and over with. In many cases I dealt first with the thing that has an assigned due date, even if that date might be later than tomorrow. My thinking was that it would probably take longer than expected, and handing it in early gave them less time to change their mind about what they wanted. I learned that it was hard to focus on other things with the deadline task looming. Oddly enough, having multiple deadlines wasn't a problem. I just picked the first one.

So last Friday morning was a medical date that required several days of a restricted diet and an evening chugging 4 litres of an unpleasant fluid. I didn't do much else that week, kind of dreading the whole thing. Most of you probably know what I'm talking about. If you don't, you'll find out soon enough in the great scheme of things. It all went as well as could be expected, and hopefully I'll never have to do that again. No, I didn't watch the movie.

Like I said, now that that's over, back to regular programming. Except the lane swim hours at the pool suck this week, and the last time I went at the current hours, it was a total gong show. I was sharing a lane with 4 other people, and a few times I wasn't sure if there were 5. People were dropping in and out without letting the other people know. It usually only took a couple laps for them to figure out that yes indeed I do swim quite a bit quicker than they did, and to stop at the end of the lane. A couple more laps, and they learned not to stand in the centre of the lane.

I ended up doing 3K all in one go, in just over an hour, mainly because I could never get in the groove, and I had to look at the end of the lane every time to figure out what the other people were going. Good thing I didn't really care about my time. I just wanted to get it in and done.

Non-swim days, mostly, I try to get out for a walk with one of the cameras. Except today is minus teens before windchill, and I can see the breeze. After a few days of nice weather, I'm a softie again. I mean, yesterday I was outside in a T shirt grilling bison burgers.

Some wintery photos for you.

Of the Day

Driftwood (NZ)

Driftwood (BC), with two serendipity images.

Yukon

Film (new) (Acros II) Fish Creek Mallard Point.

Film (old) Last of a film tour of the plant.