Week 4 ... This is that point in the semester when life as I know it looks bearable (managed, organized, productive) or more like a bear (untamed with little hope of control). Week 4 is that time where the end is nowhere in sight, but the beginning is too far behind to look back.
This is the week when the class schedule I folded myself into last month becomes habit and standard study times take shape ... or, if they don't, they won't.
It's when the first signs of fatigue begin to show ... People take "sick" days. More people are bringing in juice boxes instead of energy drinks (maybe a good idea at the outset??). I know what day it is based on which classes I went to yesterday ... and if my last class was so long ago that I don't remember ... it must be Monday.
If you've ever taken on a large project at work, been in grad school, run a school fundraiser ... anything that felt bigger than you and everything you are, then you know what I'm talking about.
My colleagues and I are in Week 4.
What does your Week 4 feel like?
It would seem I am always sick at Week 4. :-(
ReplyDeleteWeek 4 is when I look at the project list on my whiteboard, and if I haven't made time to work on a project yet this semester, it means I won't for at least another 10 weeks.
I commented to my students the other day: "I don't know what day it is. I just go wherever my computer tells me."
Week 4 has been absolutely insane. In Week 3, I thought I had everything under control, by Tuesday of this week, I realized that I was overbooked (though not double booked, thank G-d) and not very motivated to get things done.
ReplyDeleteWeek 4 is when the initial enthusiasm for my reading and optimistic study schedule becomes more of rote habit, and I begin to take short cuts.
But, Week 4 is also the beginning of the summer job hunt, with opportunities posted seemingly every minute. And Week 4 is when I can talk to my colleagues about nothing at all, or even joke about Pennoyer v. Neff in between classes. It helps that no one has a life outside of school at the moment.
And I also go where my computer tells me to. Too much stuff otherwise :)