buenas tardes: a late post

freedom
i had today off, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. even though i still have more than 3 weeks (including 6 call nights) left of this ward senior rotation, my energy levels were already taking a downward turn. that’s not a complaint, by the way — just an objective observation.

for example, an energized and well-rested person probably wouldn’t have immediately flopped face-down on the couch after a day of work (well, it was an 11-hour day, but still just 1 day), falling asleep on her husband (what? it’s so comfortable!) at 6 pm. yet i thought it was the best possible way to start my wednesday evening.

it’s all in the details
i haven’t done anything crazy-exciting with my day off, but i’ve enjoyed it nonetheless. after sleeping 8.5 hours, i had a moderately productive morning which included cycling and yoga. overall, i’ve gotten through a few of the items on my to-do list, such as a car appointment for my battery-draining VW and dental/vision claim forms. boring, but essential, and i always feel better when i don’t have 8 zillion things hanging over my head! which brings me to a question: how do you manage all the loose ends in your life?

my method is okay, but not perfect. sometimes i feel like i have reminders for various things scattered all over the place, which is not ideal. here are the various components to my life-management system

planner: shown above. i know i’ve posted about how i tend to use my planner both to keep track of day-by-day commitments and also to track my plans for workouts, cooking, and other errands that i’d like to run over the course of a given week. if i don’t get something done (ie: i’m just not feelin’ the car inspection today), then i just move the item onto next week’s list. you don’t want to know how many times i sometimes have to rewrite ‘vacuum’ or ‘clean bathroom’! i love using paper because . . . well, i just love it. plus, it looks pretty, never malfunctions, and i can carry it with me everywhere.

file folders: my other non-digital ‘list’ is a set of file folders on my desk in an upright holder. one contains bills to pay, another documents to file (ie, get them off of my desk when i am in cleaning mode), and another of things to do (gift certificates to use, travel info to use for booking, or clinic notes that need to be typed up). when i have a full day off like today, i take the time to go through these, paying anything that needs to be paid and working on some of the other things. however, the downside is that when i don’t have lots of time, i tend to ignore these files. so far i haven’t had any terrible disasters result from their neglect, but it could happen.

email: i tend to use my email inboxes as reminders to do things. the bad part about this is that i have 3 of them! one for personal things (containing right now several people i just want to email back so i can plan to hang out with them!), one for work, and another for this blog (unsurprisingly that one doesn’t get quite as much action). i am good about deleting/archiving anything that i don’t plan on following up on, so that’s good, but the in-boxes can still get pretty full, which renders them less useful. oh well.

so, if you’re willing, share with me your life-management strategies! are you a luddite who eschews microchips and hearts her filofax, or an iPhone/blackberry addict? part of me sort of wants to join the digital revolution, but i just don’t think i could — or necessarily want to –break off my relationship with stationery. we are too happy together.

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7.8.09

workout: i had a great run yesterday AM! i was really happy with my interval paces, and the decreasing-length intervals made it fun. 5 miles total, average 8:15/mi. here is the breakdown:

warmup: 0.5 miles, ave 8:41/mi pace
1600m: 7:22/mi pace followed by 400m jog @ 9:25/mi
1200m: 7:29/mi pace followed by 400m jog @ 10:03/mi
800m: 7:30/mi pace followed by 400m jog @ 10:02/mi
600m: 7:45/mi pace (got slowed by hill + a car crossing the street!) then 400m @ 9:48/mi
400m: 7:23/mi pace
cooldown: 0.6 mi, ave 8:53/mi pace

doin’ time with gliding calm
i’ve always wanted to make this famous baked tofu recipe by gliding calm, but it never happened . . . until today! armed with a half-container of tofu wasting away in the fridge + plenty of time to make a good lunch, i took the plunge.
i was thrilled with the outcome! like miss gc, i just kind of dumped ‘some’ of each ingredient onto some tofu, rubbed it around, and threw it in the oven. very easy — no muss, no fuss. 30 minutes later i had crispy, flavorful baked tofu with an asian flair. it was an awesome lunch (the highlight of my day thus far!) and i will definitely be doing this again!

complaint report: still going strong. i had the urge to complain quite a bit while in clinic, but i only had one major bitch session with a colleague, which i immediately retracted while explaining my anti-complaining mission.