Multi-Tasking

Things I am supposed to be doing this evening:
Attending a meeting
Cooking dinner
Attending a French class
Preparing reports and information ready for a parents’ day tomorrow
Fixing the problems with my laptop, which won’t print the reports
Marking coursework
Having an early night (early start with those parents meetings tomorrow)

Things I have actually done this evening:
Attended a meeting
Cooked dinner
Decided there is no chance whatsoever of getting to my nice French class
Finished preparing reports and information ready for a parents’ day tomorrow
Uttered many irate words about my laptop, which won’t print the reports
Given up and used Mr TLC’s PC instead
Written this whilst waiting for said reports to print. (A watched printer never finishes, or something like that)

How have I got into this pickle? I have attempted to be so organised this term, but I have still ended up being Disorganised of Disastersville. Yes, I should have prepared the reports earlier, but at the weekend I was drowning in/finishing a load of other work. Arrghh.

I’d love to be more ruthless about some of these things. I remember going on a training day where a young teacher in his second year was asked how he coped with admin and paperwork. His reply: “I throw it all away.” Amazingly, this was true. His strategy was to simply put everything in the bin. If something was actually important, someone would chase him for it, at which point he said “Oh, I seem to have misplaced that, do you have another copy?”

I’ve always secretly admired this strategy, but somehow I’m disappointed to discover that I haven’t quite got the nerve to use it myself.