Researcher Discovers that Computers Eat Time

For the last few weeks--since we got back from Memphis in early August--I've been working like I haven't worked in a long, long time. So far, I've pumped out close to 40 pages of a draft of my Fitzgerald Chapter and right now I'm on the home stretch of finishing up this article, which is a revision of my May conference presentation and my first chapter.

All summer I wanted to be able to work like this. I tried to set a routine. I tried to accomplish something every day. I even tried getting up at 6AM to get work done before my 8:00 class. But all summer, it seems like all I did was sit, trying to figure out what to do with myself until we picked up Little Man at 3:30 every day. The clock would stand still and I would fight the urge to give up and just go get him 3 hours early.

Now, however, I've discovered that computers actually eat time.

I sit down to work at my trusty desktop at around 9:30 every morning and suddenly I realize that my eyes no longer focus, my stomach is growling, and it's noon. After lunch, the same thing happens. Just as I am getting started, I realize it's either time to go teach or time to pick up the munchkin. After he's in bed around 8:00, I sit down once again, only to discover the clock is suddenly far past 10:30 and I've missed Oprah once again.

I'm accomplishing a lot, but there's never enough time to finish what I start. But the good news is that I feel like I'm finally getting into the professional mode I've been attempting to approximate for the last few years. I hope I can keep it up.