All things considered, I had a pretty good day today. Which is shocking, considering the fact that it’s my Slump Day, after all (Wednesdays suck now, all the cool kids agree).
Here’s what Kellie says to Wednesdays.
I woke up determined to not sink into despair the way I did last Wednesday, and was able to accomplish that by utilizing a few specific strategies:
I set an alarm for this morning, because I knew I had a pretty strict schedule today and didn’t want to have to rush first thing after waking up (90% of the time, I don’t use an alarm anymore, since I never sleep past 7:30 no matter what.)
I purposely allowed myself to think about the fact that it’s a Wednesday (and thus, the seventeen week anniversary of Kellie’s death). Not pushing it out of my conscious mind meant it wouldn’t creep back in at a time when it was less-convenient for me.
I reached out to folks during the day when I felt bad, or sad, or lonely.
I made sure to eat three meals and drink water throughout the day.
And I saw my therapist, which always helps.
My day started early (7am) and was packed. I facilitated a training for three and a half hours, then met with various faculty members and worked on course prep all afternoon, including a couple of course walkthroughs and some tech training for faculty. Then I had a library board meeting this evening, and talked with a friend on the phone. After that, I worked until 10:20pm to finish up the agenda and past meeting minutes for the Curriculum Committee meeting I have tomorrow afternoon.
So all in all, it was about a fifteen-hour workday. Which sucks, yeah—but it won’t be like this every day. It’s just the week before the semester starts, and that’s the reality of life before the semester starts.
I have to get up bright and early tomorrow as well, to drive to another campus for a faculty convocation all morning tomorrow. Wish me luck (and good sleep)!
Later,
Matt