Back in March 2020, when we optimistically thought we were going home for two weeks to "stop the spread," I made a list of 14 things I could do in those 14 days:
- Hang out with my daughter. Like many college students, she is unexpectedly home for the rest of the semester. A golden opportunity.
- Learn new technology. In the space of one weekend, I've moved from face-to-face teaching to online instruction. There's a whole new list of instructional tools to choose from!
- Write! Whether it's working on my books or proposing new articles, unexpected time at home can easily become writing time.
- Read. Still on a roll from my 29-day challenge, I now have an opportunity to make this a full-fledged habit.
- Clear off my dining room table. A drop spot for both my daughter and me, this spot quickly spirals out of control. Is it too late to make a Lenten resolution to clear it off and keep it that way?
- Clean out drawers and closets. Love doing it, never have/make time for it.
- Rediscover my kitchen. Is it possible that, without time constraints, cooking and baking can be fun?
- Clean the basement. What a great time to create space by getting rid of what we no longer need.
- Take advantage of online opportunities. Webinars. Online classes. Virtual museum exhibits.
- Write a letter. Or send a card. Old school cheer to someone else stuck indoors.
- Laptop love. Pare down my inbox. Reduce the number of tabs that give my students heart palpitations.
- Update my online presence. LinkedIn. Goodreads. Pinterest. All suffer from benign neglect.
- Pull some weeds. Shh. Don't tell my husband. He calls it ground cover. I call them weeds.
- Do my nails. Gotta get some self-care on this list, right?
As of today, I have 16 days until my first fall semester responsibility (an introductory event with my First Year Seminar students) and 20 days until classes start. Here's my wish list, some of which I shamelessly stole from the post above). The little + or - in parentheses? My prediction of whether or not I'll actually accomplish it.
- Read/listen. Finish one more Audible book and one more physical book. (+)
- Write! No specific goal here. With three projects in active rotation, I have plenty to choose from. (+)
- Paint the upstairs bathroom. It's been on my list for a while. I have a feeling it's going to stay there (-).
- Reclaim my office. Again, it's been on the list for a while. I was making progress until I gave my daughter a table from the office and all the stuff on the table ended up on the counter. (+/-) Improvement is a distinct possibility. Reclamation may be too much to hope for.
- Pare down my inboxes (home and school). This one's a continuation, and I've had some significant success. Just need to keep at it. (+)
- Write a letter and/or send a card just because. I love this one so I'm putting it the list again. (+)
- Visit my daughter in Pittsburgh. I'd love to do this, but suspect that the time crunch here will push this one off the list, especially since she's coming for a visit this month. (-)
- Do my nails -- twice. I packed the stuff I needed to do this at the beach, sure I'd find time. I didn't. (+)
- Finish the jigsaw puzzle I started earlier this summer. And, after this one, I'm going back to 500 piece puzzles. I just don't have the time to get bigger ones done in a timely fashion. (+)
- Make more progress in the basement. The same giveaway weekend that pushed my office into disorganization inspired a significant improvement in the basement. Hoping to build on that. (+)
- Watch at least three online webinars/TED Talks. I had TED Talks on my vacation list, but didn't get to them, and I have a webinar recording from earlier this summer waiting for me, as well as some opportunities on another site I just joined. (+)
- Hidden organizing projects (aka drawers and closets). Almost took this one off this list, then remembered the items from my Pampered Chef order that are still in need of homes. (+) They can't stay where they are!
- Shelf liner: kitchen. Started this earlier this summer. Just need to get back to it. (+/-) Depends on how much the current situation annoys me.
Even though there are 16 - 20 days remaining in my vacation, I'm stopping this list at 13. I'm sure I'll come up with a few more things and, when I factor in back-to-school prep, I have a better chance of making all those + signs actually happen if I underplan.
How about you? What's on your rest-of-summer list?
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