Three Days (or Five Weeks) and Counting...

I have very little time to get everything done and yet I am still finding it hard to actually just do it. I was in a meeting this afternoon that took up 90 minutes, time during which I could completed at least two items on my to-do list. I now have a follow-up meeting scheduled for another 90 minutes tomorrow afternoon, which I could really do without. Thursday is going to be manic, as Boss Lady is away on Friday and for the first half of next week, so will probably be trying to get her own things done before she goes. I still have lots of paperwork on my desk: several files which need to be put away, papers that need to be either filed or shredded and various other things that can probably just be put in the recycling. The trouble is, I just feel so shattered, that the prospect of getting it all done in time is an exhausting one. Not to mention the various emails I need to follow up on, payments I need to reconcile, invoices I need to check and then raise and various other payments I need to process.

Will I get it all done? I doubt it. I need to finish anything that I have promised will be done before I finish, or at least let the relevant people know if is not feasible. I need to get rid of anything that is unnecessary, tidy up my email inbox, save important emails and any other documents on the shared drive or in the respective paper files and then generally just have a tidy up of my desk and my pedestal. Instead of just starting all this, why do I feel the need to write about how I am not going to be able to do it? It probably seems like an utter waste of time, time spent writing and talking about things instead of spent actually doing them. I think I like to write or talk to make sense of things in my head, to give myself a kind of pep talk, to plan things out so that I can actually see in black and white what needs doing. I do like writing lists and making plans. The execution is where I fail slightly. I have three full work days in which to finish it all.

After work tonight, I need to stop by the supermarket and get some goodies for Miss T, whose birthday is on Thursday. I was planning to buy some yummy stuff that she likes to eat, as I don’t want to get a random gift that she probably won’t use. I need to get her a card and was also going to get Boss Lady a thank-you card for her support this year and a general thank-you card for the team, because I’m really going to miss working with the three of them. I had been planning to make cupcakes, since Boss Lady got me a book of cupcake recipes for my birthday, but I would have to make them tonight, as tomorrow is the last day that everyone is here before I go. Instead, I may make the Rice Krispies squares (in both plain marshmallow and chocolate varieties) I have been planning to make, considering they will require very little cooking or preparation. Since Mr. G and Boss Lady are both vegetarian, I’ll have to stop by Whole Foods to see if I can find vegetarian marshmallows. If not, I’ll have to revert to plan B. I don’t have a plan B as yet, but I’ll think of one.

Aside from the work-related stuff I need to get through, I also need to have a serious tidy-up at home, in preparation for the arrival of Lisacles (aka Lolly), who is staying the weekend. I also need to do some laundry, wash up the cutlery and utensils and clean the bathroom. Additionally, I still have to finish my two essays for my lay-preaching course. They are only short (one and two pages respectively) and I have pretty much completed one of them and am about two-thirds finished with the other. I can probably do that tonight, if my shopping expedition isn’t too time-consuming. I have three evenings in which to get all this done.

Assuming I complete the majority of my to-do list, I have a lovely, relaxing weekend of fun to look forward to, which is just what I need. Five short weeks to get through, before I have some proper time off. I’m counting down!