IMG_3710My dissertation is off again.  I’m catching up at work. And most things in the world are going well for me.  Teaching online is a fantastic way to make a living.  What I love most is that I am able to give more individualized attention to each student.  Being able to do so from pleasant locations is an extra bonus.

Building my routine, organizing each day using Asana, masking distractions with Pandora and headphones have been the most effective way for me to stay productive while enjoying where I am.

Today though I’m being productive not to the sound of my favorite Pandora station, but instead to the sound of sprinkles and birdsong.

With my dissertation draft (still only in chapter three of five) sent off for revision and comments I had some extra time this morning to get some extra things done.  These mornings are great.  I do my best to organize my days with the most important tasks first.  The most important tasks have the longest terms.

The first thing I do in the morning is to go to the gym with my teenaged son.  Simply the most important longest term goal I can think of is to have a good relationship with him and to improve my health. (On days when I wake too early to get him up I write here first while I wait)

I drop him off at school and then move onto another highly important task.  Breakfast with my two younger sons for the same reason.

Most mornings I also try and deliver a breakfast in bed to my wife.

Then I get down to writing.  The moment the boys are all out the door heading to school I work on the next most important task.  The dissertation.  I have an hour blocked off for it.  30 Minutes of mandatory writing, then I have permission to cry about my lack of progress in the 2nd half hour if I hit a wall, but most times I fill the whole hour.  I do look forward to when the dissertation is done and I can use this time to start writing a few books I have begun to outline.

Then I start on my day job.  Student questions, student grading, student feedback, and student outreach.  I try to keep my mornings completely student focused.  The days that I’m lucky I can convince my wife that we should roam to a random coffee shop.  I love the mornings when I can get ahead of everything and end up with an hour or two of “free time” I tend to use that time to go down my list of students and ask the question what does this student need from me today or this week.

I break early for lunch, clean the house as I go and if I’m lucky I can convince my wife that we should treat ourselves to lunch out.

After lunch and until the boys get home from school I try to focus on whatever project of the day is here.  When I’m caught up I use that time to look for opportunities for efficiency or automation in my day.