Well when you say it like that maybe I have too much going on

My lunch sucked, but I already ate it all anyway.

(I actually really like RX Bars, but they are $2 a pop, and I think that is basically bullshit).

I am still plugging away at my book and various other projects and now just for fun, I have added a whole new course into the mix that I'll be teaching on a rotating basis.  I am excited and it's a course I love, but geez. Lots of ball in the air.  So to speak.

So, this is my plan for doing everything and not just spending days on end NOT WORKING and feeling bad about it:  SCAFFOLD.  I do this for my students when I design a major project.  I break it down into approachable parts so they can build the assignment slowly.  And I might as well do the same thing for myself.  So, that's what I have been doing, and it;s working so far, in that I am meeting small goals.  I write about 1500 words a day on my novel, for example.  I check in on my memoir about 4 times a week, meaning I add to the outline or notes or free write some paragraphs.  I am still in the research phase f my journal article, so I am reading and taking notes on stuff for my lit review each week.  I am moving really slowly in all of these cases, but I am staying connected to the project and making forward progress.  I have a tight timeline because I want to be done with all of these things by the end of the summer.

By August 15th, I will

• Have taught my revamped summer class, meaning that I will have to you, know REVAMP it by May 15.  (I am making baby steps.  For example, this week, I plan to develop the schedule and put all of the discussion boards online).
• Be ready to teach my fall lecture class, including all lectures, a map for my TA for discussion, course materials and readings, assignments, rubrics for those assignments, and the final exam.
• Have my current class updated and ready to go for next time, which includes choosing a new textbook because the one I use and love doesn't seem to be getting anymore updates (boooooo!).  This will include new lecture slides, a new midterm exam, a new syllabus and schedule, and new lesson plan.
• Design from scratch another large lecture course that needs an official name by March 15-- this is a huge project, as I have to create absolutely everything starting from the learning objectives.
• Prep the basic course that I direct for fall, including updating all course materials, hiring a new slate of TAs, and scheduling staff trainings for welcome week.
• Have a first draft of my novel
• Have a draft of my journal article ready for submission to a publication or a conference that I will realistically be ready to attend.
• Move the memoir to the forefront and start writing it in a more disciplined manner.

That last bullet point kind of sucks because it's hard to operationalize "a more disciplined manner" but I have some weird shit going on that precludes me from being more specific about a word count.  I want to be realistic and aspirational, but not soul crushing or defeatist.  But the rest of them are goals that I can easily break into their component parts and put on my daily schedule in a manageable way.  Or at least that's the plan.  Wish me luck!

Also, the popped collar: