Playing Catch Up

It's that time of the semester where I begin to feel as though I am behind schedule. Thankfully a break begins on Thursday and I'll be able to rest and catch up. As it turns out, my teaching load is light at the moment, so I've already begun catching up.

Sometimes catching up is easy. A phone call that had been procrastinated far too long kept getting avoided because I feared it would be an awkward conversation. I finally made the call and thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. (Thanks, Caleb!) Catching up with a dear friend was a joyful celebration.

Most of the time catching up does not require as much labor as we anticipate. A stack of filing that desperately needed attention was mastered in a matter of hours. I'm finding the same situation with my piano repertoire. I feel that I am behind the eight ball since I am currently limited on the time I can spend at the piano. I know that I need some focused practice, but it simply must wait a few more days to allow my body to continue to heal. Today's playing, however, felt more manageable; I felt in control of most of the music and that I'll be fine once I get back to the piano.

Sadly, there are times that catching up is much more difficult. When I was in college, I always ended up needing to read a novel in two days since I had not stuck to the reading schedule. As I powered my way through the book, I missed many of the subtle points and my resulting grades were a reflection of my speed reading. Some things simply require time in order to be fully grasped.

I've been dealing with my own time management issues lately as well as discussing similar situations with several of my students. Personally, I'm not so far behind that I need to panic; some of my students are beginning to learn that they are in dire situations. I'm hoping that they have better results than I did as a student.

NOTE: I will be visiting friends over Fall Break and will not be posting blogs. I will return to my regular schedule next Wednesday with the latest edition of "Hits and Misses." Have a great weekend, y'all!

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