I had a great day yesterday. I completed a review (hate those!), organized my office, and read through the review comments on my manuscript again. I listed everything I need to do, grouped by task (changes to data, information I need to find in the literature, text edits) to break it into manageable chunks that I can assign to daily to do lists. Unfortunately, today didn't go so well.
I spent much of the day chasing information for one review comment that I thought would be simple to address. Not so much. I think it will end up being something that we'll deal with in the rebuttal but without much alteration of the manuscript text, but of course I'll have to consult with Research Advisor, who is away. I couldn't keep myself on task, so even though I didn't carpool today and I could have worked late, I left at normal time and went shopping.
I also spent part of the day buying a plane ticket to Florida! My BFF invited me to spend a long weekend at her uncle's house where we can stay for free. I hesitated. But then I remembered all the times she's asked me to do fun stuff and I said no and then last year when I said yes. Last summer we went to Florida for a week with her parents and it was just great. So I'll be taking two days off in May. But that's what life is meant to be about -- spending time with friends and enjoying some time off after hard work. Two days isn't a big deal. Even after a day off this month for visiting my fam at Easter. Whatevs.
I went shopping because getting the plane ticket made me want new things for the trip (and other stuff). So I spent $88 at TJMaxx on an umbrella, new sandlish shoes, sunglasses, a sunhat, workout pants, athletic socks, and good smelling spray stuff for our sheets. I feel bad about the consumerism. But I WANTED.
14 comments:
Good for you for taking the time to have some fun! And by the way, the vast majority of decent-looking clothes in my wardrobe were purchased right before a trip. The lab rat look just doesn't cut it when I'm on vacation! :-)
Pictures of the sunhat please! (this can wait till after Florida though ;)
It important to balance work and life. Have fun, you deserve it!
You know, we all need time off in order to re-energize. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself as I prepare to take a week and a half off when I really *should* be working on my dissertation.
Which part of this is irresponsible? Sounds to me like you are just living your life. :)
You got a lot for $88, I wouldn't feel irresponsible at all!
it was nice to read your post as i slowly realize that i'm probably going to have an 'irresponsible' day. i had my first written prelim deadline yesterday, and I hadn't realized how much it had taken out of me until I physically could not get out of bed this morning. i rolled in to my office an hour late, and just caught sight of myself in the bathroom mirror and i look like ...well,... unsightly. so for today i am assigning myself some mindless data entry, desk organizing and mental house cleaning in prep for next deadline. sometimes, you just need a day to regroup.
you bff condone's your spontaneity and reasoning with yourself to have some fun! yay florida!!
It's important to treat yourself! And leaving work after a full day is not irresponsible!
We all need a little time off now and then. I'm sure you'll have a great time in Florida!
Please do not feel irresponsible, I'll be racking up about 5 weeks of vacation this year, and I don't feel irresponsible! It matters what we do when we are AT work, and then we should be able to enjoy. I'm glad you'll step away for a few days to take advantage of the sunshine.
You all said the same things I would say if you had written the same post. I wouldn't feel bad about any one of those things, but doing all of them in the same day made me feel like kind of a slacker. Actually, I had trouble focusing all week. Not good.
Hey, good for you. Now stop wasting your energy beating yourself up and feeling guilty.
I have news for you- that's how EVERYONE deals with revisions. A little bit of painful crap at a time.
Yay for the trip! And hat!
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