The relative quiet on Hook and Eye is a good measure for where we are in the term, no? Drowning in marking? Lecture prep never-ending? Class discussion reminds you of Sisyphus? Hey, we’re all in the same boat more or less, I assume. This week was not especially kind to me–but what week 10 in the term can ever be? First, my cat was sick over the weekend. I don’t mean to make comparisons, but, at least, when the kids are sick, they can tell you what hurts. Cats just go and hide, and stop eating, and you know something’s awry. Plus, when I was going to get him, trying to coax him out, and tempt him with what I know to be irresistible cuisine to him, he would just give me these wide-pupiled stares that just made me more desperate. I almost took him to the vet emergency on Sunday night, but settled instead to giving him water with a syringe to make sure he didn’t dehydrate. Then, during the night, he came in my bed, and I knew he was doing better. And that was before the week even started.
However, as crises are wont to do, this one, after passing, served as a good reminder that work is just work, even in huge quantities, and dwelling on that quantity, and its propensity to generate yet more work rather than to diminish, does nothing but increase anxiety, and take away any possibility to relax, and enjoy at least some breathing space. A turning point in my perspective, that one.
It was the switch that turned my fatigued brain around. Yes, it’s a lot of work (between the marking, and the marking, and did I already mention the marking?), but whining about it will make it neither more pleasant, nor more likely to dissipate spontaneously. Instead, I can take better care of said overworked brain by consciously directing my attention elsewhere. I take micro-breaks in-between grading one paper and the next, and procrastinate consciously, creatively, and, most importantly, guiltlessly. For example, I engage in:
– Day-dreaming: Instead of going reflexively to Twitter, email, etc., in-between one paper to be graded and another, I can lift my eyes up from the computer (I grade electronically), and think about all the wonderful things that will await me when I am more time-rich (in 4 weeks, but who’s counting?). Books, Gilmore Girls streaming on Netflix, 3 remaining episodes of Outlander.
– Planning for next term: I’ll be honest with you: I don’t hate grading (ssshhh, don’t tell anyone!). I enjoy engaging with students’ ideas, and I love the spark they give to my own creative process. One word, turn of phrase, or idea can sometimes provide that click that my own ideas need to settle into place.
– Thinking about what activities will fill my weekend. I never–well, almost never–work on the weekend, what with two kids needing and vocally demanding entertainment, and I find this habit to provide the best balance to keeping my brain afloat. What’s going on in the city that is cheap and kid-friendly? What restaurant or cuisine will we try? What’s the weather going to be like?
I know, I know: any of these activities can lead into longer breaks, and procrastination can flourish. So what? What is the worst thing that will happen if you take a break (or a nap, I won’t tell anyone!), even a longer one. It means your brain needs it. It means you might just be healthier in the longer term. It might mean you will be able to do more, and more efficiently, when you come back. So, go on, take that (micro-)break!
Hook & Eye 
I teach a class called “Perspective on Technology” and the hardest assignment I give my students is to have them turn off all their electronics.
No cell phone, no desktop computer, no laptop, no tablet, no television, no radio, no modern technology – for a few hours.
I tell students to use their common sense, not to refuse medical attention if there's an emergency and their mean old professor has asked them to take a day off from technology one day this semester and today happens to be that day.
I admonish them to “Give it a rest, will you?”
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