Brain Dead After Vacation and Labor Day Weekend

Michelle Sandlin - Life's a Beach!

Michelle Sandlin – Life’s a Beach!

It seems pretty simple. Take a short 6-day vacation to sunny San Diego, California, then come home to a 3-day weekend. It was supposed to be like having a 9-day vacation, which it was, except that today is the 10th day, and it is a day of Hell!

Anyone else feeling that way?

I should point out that I was actually doing some work during my 9-day break, but even with that, I am stuck with the realization that there is never really ever going to be a day when I truly feel like I am caught up.

 

I was once at a conference or event, and I remember someone saying that they had recently declared email bankruptcy. That was about the coolest thing I had ever heard of at the time, and I have often fantasized about doing the same.

Now, it is too late. People don’t care if you answer their emails anymore. They just wait an hour (or less) and start texting you or sending you messages through Facebook and LinkedIn. They will tweet you. They will tag you. They will find you.

There is no escape!

So how does one do it? How do you prioritize without procrastinating, and create realistically manageable “To Do” lists that don’t seem more like a “Wish List?”

By the time I end up on page 2 of my “To Do” list, it really becomes more like a mockery of the whole process. The words next to each unchecked check box are really just there to remind me that I have more to accomplish than is humanly possible.

So, I put the cap back on my pen. Close the pages of my trusty Moleskine. Turn off my Macbook, and slowly walk away…

Michelle Sandlin on Drums

Michelle Sandlin on Drums

Three minutes later, I find myself sitting behind my drum kit. Sticks in hand, and relying on the other side of my creativity to sustain me until I can again face the heckling laughter of my “To Do” list.

 

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