I had this very unfamiliar feeling this morning, like I have so much to do that I don’t know where to start and I might not get it done.
I think it’s called stress.
Problem No. 1
I have a training 2 hours away (without traffic) until 4:30 Wednesday, followed by a meeting here that starts at 6 p.m. Then I need to drive a half-hour north to go home to sleep before driving back south for the second day of training that starts at 8:30 a.m.
Nothing to do about that one, I tried. Unless I sleep at a hotel rather than drive home Wednesday night. Which doesn’t solve the whole driving north in rush hour situation, so let’s move on.
Problem No. 2
My display for the 6 p.m. meeting looks like crap. Hand-stenciled letters and a handmade tri-fold foamboard aren’t going to cut it.
Problem No. 3
I haven’t asked my boss if I can take the days off for this road trip I’m planning and we have a major project that probably won’t be finished by June 29.
Like the level-headed human I usually am, I attacked Nos. 2 & 3. I bought the correct-sized tri-fold foamboard at Office Max, in navy. Printed out a new heading in 100-point font and gluesticked away. Looks way professional.
Then I asked for the time off. And got it. Which foreshadows my being overwhelmed next week, trying to get the project done. But we’ll worry about that next week.
Next, I made 25 copies of 14 pages of newspaper articles, and forgot to tell the copier to collate them. So I hand collated them. Because it’s still two days until the meeting, I did not stress about that at all.
Kari Neumeyer 