Spent
“Real meaning and growth come from figuring out our own way, rather than following instructions.”
- Gordon Byrn, taken from http://www.gordoworld.com/gblog/2007/02/phase-two-training.html#links
I have worked the last 20 plus days continuously. The weekends were used merely for catching up on sleep, running errands—like going shopping for the week, dropping off and picking up dry cleaning, mixed with the occasional semi-social event—and then it was off to the office. I wasn’t working full days on the weekends, but it was enough time to keep the momentum of work progress in full tilt and enough time to keep me from fully recovering. I refer to such habits or protocols for living as “combat mode.” I wasn’t off the Reservation bringing back “one of my guys,” but it’s probably the accounting equivalent of it.
Combat mode ended today around 2:00 PM. I got the last signature I needed from one of our directors, reviewed my work to make sure that everything was in good order, and filed it away. Once this happened I could feel my energy level drop dramatically. You can only run on adrenaline for so long before you hit the Wall. I wish I could say that I have been super productive with the remainder of the day, but I have basically been worthless. With the Big Job done, I wrote follow up emails regarding administrative tasks, and spent the balance of the time waiting reading historical posts from Gordon Byrn’s blog.
I have a brief reprieve now before another onslaught of work starts again next week. The individuals I report to are reasonable people who always acknowledge when people kick it into overdrive. I have been given tomorrow off as recognition for such efforts. A few people have asked what I plan to do with the time. I usually would respond to the question like this: “I’m going to crawl into a large bottle of single malt Scotch whisky and not come out for the next two days.” This is not what I am going to be doing, exactly. What I am trying to say in my often dramatic and sarcastic way is this: I’m not going to do anything that is remotely productive, recognize just how fried I am, and enjoy some serious down time.
To mark the ocassion, I did go add another soldier to the collection. I have had my eye on bottle of Balvenie whisky for quite some time. The differential between the 15 year and the 21 year was $100 USD. The logical Twin won the argument and I purchased the 15 year single malt. I'm sampling a small glass as I write this. It ranks highly in terms of value and enjoyment.
I have about two weeks worth of data as it relates to my financial experiment. For the most part, my disgressionary spending is pretty minimal. For the most part, my recurring high dollar items relate to swim lessons, hair cuts, the ocassional bottle of Scotch whisky, running shcoes or other clothing needs. I'm a pretty low maintenance and low expense guy.
One of the things that I have noticed is that as I began to become aware of what I was spending--as I was tracking it on a nightly basis--my spending habits began to change. This is the basic principal of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Too bad that that college professors don't blatantly point this out in physics class and relate it to personal finance.
Anyway, so that is what has been going on in my life. Things are going well, but I am spent from this past push. I'm sure I'll have some thoughts to share once I decompress.
Namaste
- Gordon Byrn, taken from http://www.gordoworld.com/gblog/2007/02/phase-two-training.html#links
I have worked the last 20 plus days continuously. The weekends were used merely for catching up on sleep, running errands—like going shopping for the week, dropping off and picking up dry cleaning, mixed with the occasional semi-social event—and then it was off to the office. I wasn’t working full days on the weekends, but it was enough time to keep the momentum of work progress in full tilt and enough time to keep me from fully recovering. I refer to such habits or protocols for living as “combat mode.” I wasn’t off the Reservation bringing back “one of my guys,” but it’s probably the accounting equivalent of it.
Combat mode ended today around 2:00 PM. I got the last signature I needed from one of our directors, reviewed my work to make sure that everything was in good order, and filed it away. Once this happened I could feel my energy level drop dramatically. You can only run on adrenaline for so long before you hit the Wall. I wish I could say that I have been super productive with the remainder of the day, but I have basically been worthless. With the Big Job done, I wrote follow up emails regarding administrative tasks, and spent the balance of the time waiting reading historical posts from Gordon Byrn’s blog.
I have a brief reprieve now before another onslaught of work starts again next week. The individuals I report to are reasonable people who always acknowledge when people kick it into overdrive. I have been given tomorrow off as recognition for such efforts. A few people have asked what I plan to do with the time. I usually would respond to the question like this: “I’m going to crawl into a large bottle of single malt Scotch whisky and not come out for the next two days.” This is not what I am going to be doing, exactly. What I am trying to say in my often dramatic and sarcastic way is this: I’m not going to do anything that is remotely productive, recognize just how fried I am, and enjoy some serious down time.
To mark the ocassion, I did go add another soldier to the collection. I have had my eye on bottle of Balvenie whisky for quite some time. The differential between the 15 year and the 21 year was $100 USD. The logical Twin won the argument and I purchased the 15 year single malt. I'm sampling a small glass as I write this. It ranks highly in terms of value and enjoyment.
I have about two weeks worth of data as it relates to my financial experiment. For the most part, my disgressionary spending is pretty minimal. For the most part, my recurring high dollar items relate to swim lessons, hair cuts, the ocassional bottle of Scotch whisky, running shcoes or other clothing needs. I'm a pretty low maintenance and low expense guy.
One of the things that I have noticed is that as I began to become aware of what I was spending--as I was tracking it on a nightly basis--my spending habits began to change. This is the basic principal of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Too bad that that college professors don't blatantly point this out in physics class and relate it to personal finance.
Anyway, so that is what has been going on in my life. Things are going well, but I am spent from this past push. I'm sure I'll have some thoughts to share once I decompress.
Namaste
posted by Zen_Accountant at 9:19 PM
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