I always know I'm in trouble when I find myself humming Simon and Garfunkle tunes: "Time, time, time, see what's become of me, as I look around for my possiblities, I was so hard to please".  Smart guys, that Paul and Art duo.  And they've been serenading my low points for decades now.

I should explain.  This low point isn't an emotional low; at least I don't think it is.  It's a low point that comes from being over-extended, and then overwhelmed.  I planned not to be overextended or overwhelmed; I planned to be doing nothing but preparing for my comps, starting last week.   And then I revised my plans when faced with reality; now I planned to be spending no more than a half-day a week doing anything but preparing for my comps.  And now, with the week pretty much over, I've spent maybe a half-day preparing for my comps, and the rest trying to get other things done, and doing badly at it.

I don't succumb to overwhelmedness (I'm sure that isn't a word, but what the heck?) very often. In fact, I've not done it for years.  But it's particularly daunting this time.  My friend Caren says the beginning of the solution in these situations is twofold:  first, you sit at keyboard or with pen in hand, and perform what she calls a "mind dump"; second, you apply strong filters and focus on one thing at a time, until you're not so overwhelmed anymore.   I'm pretty good at the "mind dump" part, though it does seem to fill up again as soon as I empty it.  (Hmm.. this sounds suspiciously like the laundry basket, making my thoughts comparable to dirty underwear. Yuck.)  The filtering is tougher.  But I can learn.  Right?

Having followed Caren's advice in this regard before, I did so again.  It helped.  But one day wasn't enough.  I need more time, and of course, that's what I'm lacking. 

Nonetheless, I got one hurdle jumped today: a searchable database that I'd been working on for months finally went on-line today, and all those eagerly awaiting its arrival have been notified.  Of course, I didn't actually do anything for this database; I conceived of it, designed it, and did the early research.   The remainder was done by a designer, a research assistant, and two programmers.   So why do I feel like it's an accomplishment? My accomplishment? Because it took so much of my time, dammit!  Those people don't even talk the same language!  I not only had to manage, and co-ordinate, I had to translate!  Do you know how much time (mostly unbillable) that takes?

So, progress is being made. Painfully slowly, but being made nonetheless.  And I am confident that I'll slog through, develop filtering skills in time, and keep on keeping on.  Which is always better than the alternative, I figure.

"Hang on to your hopes, my friend.  They're bound to be a better ride than what you've got planned."  Thanks, Paul and Art. I needed that!

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