Routines

Ever felt life is so timeless (no time) and that there's always not enough time to accomplish the many things on our minds? Sometimes we don't even have time to ourselves, to breathe, wind down, stare blankly into space, or feel sorry for ourselves. It doesn't help that with my profession, there's almost always 'tarbaos' everyday and over weekends. Sounds sucky, yah?

That's when I feel something must be done to treat myself (slightly for the moment) better. It all boils down to setting priorities and following routines. Just like taking care of a baby or toddler, routines are what humans basically thrive in (I feel). The basis for any routines is to set priorities. So these are what I set myself out since the last Sept hols:

During the school hols (as a pre-empt to the following new school term), I shall strictly set aside the first one-third of the available time (and days) to plan all my lessons for the new term. This would include doing up the 10 weeks of lesson outline and overview, plus the powerpoint slides so that when the term starts, it's like I've already drawn my magazines of 40 rounds and am ready to step into the killing fields with my M16. I only need to focus on executing the pupils... I mean the lesson plans. This also means that during the course of the term, I only need to be bogged down by daily markings which are less brain-draining then writing lessons. That is, my school days become 'easier' since I've eliminated a significant part of the term load (lesson-planning). Of course the opportunity cost is the time 'lost' during the hols. Well, lose some time now to gain more time in the future. It's also me to prep things in advance - 先苦后甜.

Next, with the better or more free-up time, I shall dedicate my Friday nights to finish up all the tarbao work for the weekend, thus freeing up my Sat and Sun with my family. It sure is productive for me (in punching the keyboards or marking books) to lock myself in the air-conditioned study room, with the 2 cats lazing behind me and background CD playing my favourites. Just like the old days.

What's next for Sat and Sun nights (day times are already absorbed by Boyboy and housework)? For Sat nights, I'll watch a movie on my computer. Funshion.com is a godsend. Almost all movies and serials can be found, regardless of genre. I've actually streamed and downloaded quite a number of misses from the big screen. I've no problems with watching movies on my study chair and in front of the PC monitor in my study room. If I need the audio stimulation, I can always put on some decent headphones which had came along with my PC then. Setting aside this time also gives me the excuse to clear them from my hard disk. At least there's definitely something to look forward to every Sat.

As for Sun nights, and if really there's something that I have to download from my brain, I'll blog! Blogging is giving myself time to reflect and touch base with myself. If there's nothing to blog about, it gives me even more flexibility to decide whether I should catch up with any newspaper readings which I've missed during the week, or if there's some chores that I've procrastinated, or if the TV is not hogged by my wife, I can actually sit down and play my wii. Not forgetting (if there's really absolutely nothing to do) to feel blue and depressed about the coming work week. Ha...

So far so good, and my overall level of happiness is higher than previously. Let's see if things will continue to meet my expectations.