How to balance and keep moving forward until the end-of-term

Plus a shout-out a movie that is so 1980s that is could be a parody. Yes, we really did dress like that.

Hello and welcome to Academia Made Easier. I am so glad that you are here.

While most of the world didn’t learn about the awesomeness of Keanu Reeves until the 1990s, I had an earlier introduction: the 1986 Canadian movie “Flying”, which to my amazement is available in its entirety on YouTube. This otherwise forgettable movie includes a story that has been a touchstone for me for (bracing myself to type this) over thirty years now. Here it is (go to the 1:23 mark of the movie if you want to listen along):

His name was Blondin and he was the greatest acrobat that ever lived. He walked that wire across the falls a hundred times. … Blondin didn’t think about winning and he wasn’t worried about beating anybody. When he was doing all those amazing things, do you know the one thing he was thinking about? Just getting his ass across the falls. That’s all. Getting his ass across the falls.

This story stuck with me. “Just get your ass across the falls,” I told myself repeatedly during my Ph.D. “Just get your ass across the falls,” I thought throughout my tenure track years. And “just get your ass across the falls”, I think every March as I end the semester on fumes, coffee, and the whisper of hope that comes when the days are getting longer. 

If you, like me, need to just get your ass across the falls and finish off the semester, today’s small thing to try immediately might help.

I couldn’t find a free image of someone tightrope walking over Niagara Falls, so I settled for a photo of a dude tightrope walking in a park.

One Small Thing to Try Immediately: Triage Your To-Do List 

In my past newsletter, “How to triage your to-do list”, I recommended taking two weeks and just focusing on what is essential. I stand by that recommendation, with a small caveat. I now propose you extend this beyond two weeks. 

In fact, I suggest you triage your to-do list until April 30.

What does this mean? Well, it means that decide to do only what needs to be done from now until May 1. This is not the time for unnecessary meetings. It is not the time to take on a new project. It is not the time to commit to more talks or reviews or extra stuff. 

I feel confident that your calendar is already pretty full. I feel confident that you already have plenty of things that you need to do that will take far more time and energy than you wish to acknowledge. (Ahem: grading.) I also feel confident that you are a bit (or a lot) tired at the end of the term and that your body and mind would be best served by just focusing on what is necessary right now.

If you want concrete tips on how to triage your work, check out my four-point to-do list triage plan. The main thing is to decide to do it and then follow through. 

Just get your ass across the falls. All of the extra stuff will be there in May.

Until next time…

This newsletter is a bit shorter than usual. Only one pop culture reference! No cats or dogs! No chocolate or mentions of Saskatchewan weather. But fear not: all of that will be returning soon. Watch this space!

Stay well, my colleagues. 

P.S. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, Blondin continued tightrope walking until he was close to 70, getting to a skill level of being able to carry other people (!) and cook omelettes (!!!) while walking over the falls. And he got his ass across the falls each time. 

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