Four years as department chair made me “feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.” (Yes, Tolkien quote for you!) It is not that I was’t working with the kindest, most engaged and enthusiastic colleagues, but more like I wasn’t able to dedicate myself fully to the students in my courses. Time was never really on my side. (Yes, Rolling Stones reference.) Not to mention that I felt so consumed by the job that I neglected writing and was only barely able to take care of myself. The end of this stint called for a summer of reboot in which I reserved time to think deeply about what I can do differently.

I am now on the other side of two very rejuvenating weeks in the Outer Banks and feel like I can start rekindling all that I had left in the back burner. I made a commitment to develop a kind of disciplined schedule that allows for the flexibility to be spontaneous and that starts with keeping a bit of a journal to keep track of where my time is going. Yesterday, the first day of the reboot, was the kind of day I hope to use as a model going forward. This is what it was like:

• Woke up, enjoyed my coffee, and played with Thea (our feline family member).
• Had some undeniably “me” time (watched a bit of a fantasy series on Netflix and read a bit of Candon’s Ronin, a Star Wars novel).
• Leisurely read a research paper.
• Practiced guitar (The Clash’s Should I Stay or Should I Go, Steve Steven’s Top Gun Anthem, and AC/DC Thunderstruck).
• Went on a long bike ride with a friend (with a refueling stop at Rusty Rail).
• Cooked and ate dinner with the fam.
• Indulged in TV time with my babe (had to revisit the original Top Gun).

There is value in keeping a record of what I do in with my time, especially in the unstructured days of the summer. I expect that going back to look at this journal will serve to not forget or neglect anything that I find important which might ”fall through the cracks.” In in the past, I have felt sad when at the end of a time period I looked back only to discover that I was too lazy or undisciplined to carpe diem. Here’s to hoping that this reboot will avoid that.