- Reading Day -

Wednesday is my reading day. No, not reading for myself, but a day I've set aside for reading dissertations, manuscripts of colleagues, manuscripts for review, and so forth. This semester I've decided to set aside a certain amount of time for that and no more. That way I have a much better sense of my calendar. I can say: "I'll get this back to you on day X." I can also say: "I won't be able to get to this until day Y." That in turn allows me to protect my research time, which in the past I've often found eaten up by this kind of reading. And truth be told, I think I'm reading just as much material as I used to. I'm just using my time better.

It's also rewarding to feel at last somewhat in control of my time.