I am really good at playing little mind games with myself.  Really good.

For example, if I know that I need to get on the elliptical, I start picturing myself in my new, buff body.  I have a ridiculously good imagination, so I can blow through my workout (ok, my “twenty minutes of slow paced panting”) by imagining myself striding along a beach in Costa Rica, my long tanned legs taking me easily through the sand.

See?

Effective little mind game there!

So this morning I woke up feeling great about having a day off, but knowing that I had a ton of school work to do.  I’ve been trying to put together digital portfolios of my students’ work this year. I keep their documents on Google Drive and I needed to check off and quickly read 24 essays and move a ton of documents out of the kids’ folders and into my individual portfolio folders.  Get it?  Read 24 essays, check 24 shared folders and move approximately 300 documents into 24 separate portfolio folders.

Yeah.  On a sunny day off.

Because I know myself oh, so very well, I knew that I’d need a mind game to get through it all.  So I made a plan: I told myself that I would read three essays, then spend 15 minutes with the incredibly seductive mindless book that my friend AmyJo got me reading.  I figured I would get through all the essays that way. Correct: read.  Correct: read.  It was going take about six hours. Perfect!

Then I’d tackle the portfolios.

Organize one portfolio, check Facebook.  Organize one portfolio, make a snack.  You get the idea!  It would have taken me until midnight (well, I have to make dinner and have some wine, don’t I?) but I would have gotten it done.   I HAD to get it done; I have conferences all week, and we need those portfolios!

I poured a cup of coffee and sat down to begin.  Checked my battery status as I opened up the laptop.  Oh, oh, only about 48%.  Where is the charger?

 

OH, NO!!!!!!   MY CHARGER!!!!!  I didn’t bring it home!  I figured I could use Paul’s all weekend!!  But he took his laptop to work! Gah!!!!!!

In a complete panic, I gulped my coffee and started frantically scanning, checking off and commenting on essays. Didn’t stop to make toast. Didn’t stop to write down any notes on anyone’s work.  Didn’t look up, didn’t pee.  After about 20 minutes, I sat back: Done!!!!! The power was down to 40%.

KEEP GOING!!!!

I literally dove into the folders, one after the other. “Student number one- five homework assignments-MOVED! Two essays- MOVED!!!!” On to student number two!  I didn’t spend any time thinking critically (“Does this work accurately reflect the student’s mastery of the voice trait?”) 

Nuh, uh. I just clicked, moved, looked at the battery status, clicked,  moved, checked the status. By the third portfolio, I was in a groove. I knew which essays to move and which to skip. I was on fire!  Finally, it was done!!! It only took an hour, and it was done!  And there was still 5% power left!   I took another ten minutes to review the portfolios. Pretty sweet! They actually looked great.

Phew!  I gasped with relief. I had done it!  I shut down the computer and headed for the kitchen for some sustenance.

Ouch! What the heck did I step on?

Yep.

Paul’s computer charger.

I love playing mind games, but I hate it when I lose…..!