The thing about spring is not only does the weather get significantly better as Mother Nature brings everything back to life once again (thank you so much) but the pace of life itself also seems to multiply exponentially as well.
Or maybe I’m just getting old.
It’s entirely possible that now that I’m mid 50ish my body’s rhythm is more in tune with winter’s slow, plodding, limited, restrained style of getting thing’s done.
Actually I think I’ve always been a little on the slow side. That’s stylewise, not necessarily intellectualwise but, hey, I’m no Einstein either.
Just ask any production manager that’s ever worked with yours truly if I’m slow.
Or, better yet, ask my wife. Or, maybe don’t.
You see, I do get things done, but on my own time, so to speak.
I have trouble getting started on things. Like spring cleaning.
But once I get started, watch out, sort of. To me it seems like I’m getting a lot done but not compared to what my wife can get done, who has no problem getting started on household jobs, in fact she has trouble stopping, so as a couple it kind of works.
I always remember the Jay Leno joke about how a man gets one thing done on his list, like changing a door knob that’s likely been on his list for weeks, maybe months, that in reality takes about 15 minutes.
He’ll then feel so good about himself and what he’s accomplished he’ll proclaim his accomplishment to the world, get the wife and kids to come and witness his masterpiece and proclaim “I think I’ll get the guys to come over and check this out, can you make up some sandwiches, honey?”
I always figure one of the reasons I’m in the newspaper business is because of the deadlines.
I used to give tours of the building and tell the school kids that “putting out three papers a week is kind of like cramming for three final exams a week.”
I think it was meant to impress them at one level, being an insecure human and all that stuff I constantly have to justify my existence on the planet, but I was also trying to explain what we do here with a comparison that they could relate to.
I suppose I was trying to explain the pressures of deadlines and everything too, but then why was I looking for affirmation from 10-year-olds anyway?
What I didn’t say, however, was that if I didn’t have a job where there were deadlines staring at me at every turn, I wouldn’t get anything done at all. There’s nothing like a looming deadline to put a pick-me-up in your pace.
I know everyone has deadlines in their job but I do believe the ones in newspaperville are a little more steadfast than most, the paper goes out whether you have your act together or not. Ahem.
So, of course, the obvious solution is to impose deadlines on myself for my non-professional life. You know so I can get things done around the house.
That might help me pick up the pace around the homefront and actually get started, and maybe even complete, some of the things I need to do now that spring is in full swing.
But, now that I think about it, then home life will resemble work and it’ll feel like I don’t have any time off. I’m going to have to sleep on that one. But right after my nap I’m going to….
