There are some days when I accomplish more than I thought I could in a week. There are other days that drag on but lead nowhere. And there are the occasional days when despite my best efforts nothing works and I make negative progress. The trick is to recognize the good days and the bad days early enough. If it’s a good day, I prepare to spend a lot of time taking advantage of it. If it’s a bad day, you are better off going back to bed than ending up further behind than when you started.
Today was one of the bad days. It seems that usually my mood is independent of the type of day I’m having. Today, for example, I was not in a bad mood at all. I slept in and didn’t get breakfast or time to prepare a lunch, but it didn’t bother me. Lunch plans fell through, but I remained unfazed. My projects stubbornly refused to yield themselves to my will and steadfastly retained their bugs. By noon, I had accomplished very little, I was hungry, and I was not about to get shut out.
I decided to call it a day. A quick email to the boss and I was out of there. Flex time is convenient, but sometimes I think it’s better for the company than it is for me. After all, if I leave on the bad days and stay for the good days, they end up better than average.
Of course, the moment I arrive at home I get emails saying someone is going to visit me, and another saying I should go see someone else. Figures. For the next five hours I accomplish absolutely nothing. I watch the Simpsons, I sleep, I snack, and I don’t even try to accomplish anything, knowing full well that today is a day where any work you attempt sets you further back.
I did bike to racquetball, where I lost all four games, but I didn’t get angry or start on my spiral of suck. I was a little surprised that I was even capable of playing four straight games of singles. Apparently I have more stamina than I thought.
So now I am at home, wondering what to do until bedtime, anxious to work on my many projects, but wary of the wrath that touching them today could incur. Today has been a wash, but that’s better than a bad day, and I’m optimistic about tomorrow.