multitasking

The major benefit of grad school is, I think, the ability to multitask. When I was a grad student taking classes, I had to:

• plan for the next class I was teaching
  
• grade papers
  
• stay in touch with my department and professors
  
• keep up on department news and politics
  
• take 4 classes, each of which involved
  
  
  
  • at reading one reading apiece
    
  • usually at least two papers
    
  • weekly discussions
    
  • a zillion different theoretical constructs/approaches
    
  
  
• keep my house in workable order and cleanliness
  
• keep my then-date now-spousal unit appeased
  

How did I do it? What makes this all the more fascinating is that I had a fairly active and regular social life, as did all my friends (each of whom were balancing similar workloads). But then, I was on fire. I could do thousands of things. The world was my oyster.

Today, I've had to take care of some students. When I finish with them, I find myself having to adjust back to writing. I go in the bathroom to shave, and I have to run back to the computer to type something important. I finish shaving, come back to type again, and have to run back to plug in the razor to charge...because I know otherwise I'll forget it. I have to then clear blocks where I can write, because when I actively work on my own stuff, I can't really do much else.

Sometimes, I find myself wishing I had half the mental faculties and multitasking ability I had in grad school. But then again, it did take me several years to get the dissertation done, so maybe I'm just being nostalgic.

Now, what did I have to do next?