Nitty Gritty Work

I am such a procrastinator, especially when it comes to the kind of work I need to do before surgery.

Today, I wrote my syllabus. It is hard to foresee how everything will come together. I think I finished most of it, but now it is the nitty gritty details. Did I remember all the readings? Did I put the due dates for the assignments? Are the .PDF readings uploaded into Blackboard? I also need to proofread what I have and edit it. Did I include all the assignments? Are the guest lectures on the schedule? Etc. Etc. Etc.

I also need to score candidates for a job search committee that I am on. I have 13 applications to screen and I need to make some determinations about whether or not candidates met the minimum criteria. And because of Affirmative Action, I need to be really clear about why a candidate did not meet a requirement.

I also need to address about 20 comments to a chapter I wrote. The comments are kinda detailed - some more than others - but it's boring work and I have been putting it off (in the name of spring break and/or more pressing tasks like the syllabus) for a couple of weeks.

Blah! Details details! Nitty gritty boring stuff.

This kinda work comes with the territory, though. People sometimes wonder that we are only in class 4-6 hours a week. The reason is that we are dealing with this kind of stuff. Plus imagine preparing for a 2- hour talk a couple of times a week. And committee meetings, writing up minutes and/ or figuring out what classes you will teach when. Then there is research, analysis of data, writing, finding money for new projects.

But enough complaining, huh? I get to decide what to do when. That's the beauty of the job!