Regimented Life

Lately I’ve been slicing and dicing my day up like a sushi chef. “Time Management” has replaced Dan as my middle name. There’s something about Americorps’ structure that promotes this. Wake up at 7. Work until 4:30. Physical Training 3 times a week from 5 to 6. Cook dinner 2 times a week. You get the idea. In the end, we get about 4 hours per night for ourselves. To see what I’ve got to do on any particular night, I pop open my handy dandy mini-notebook, flip to that day’s half page, and see what I’d jotted down that morning. It always reads “To Do: Evening, 2/xx/09” (I consistently forget what year it is.) (As an aside, flipping through said notebook would lead many readers to question whether I was a schizophrenic (A Beautiful Mind) or a serial killer. Not for what it says, but because of my hand-writing that resembles a lie detector reading. Accompany this chicken scratch with jet black ink and an unwillingness to stay within the lines and I look like a future Rain Man. I wonder if hand-writing classes exist… I’ll have to look it up.) But then, Bam! I’m planning my hours, estimating the time it takes to complete tasks. Just stepping up my game. Distractions? No worries, my rigidly planned schedule doesn’t allow time for distractions. Unannounced team meetings? No problem, just push back one To-Do for the next night. Dinner? No way, there’s no time. Friendship? Not worth it. Hygiene? Pshhhhhh. Nobody here cares if I smell like 6-month-old-refrigerated-chinese-food, right? I’m in Americorps, and I’m gettin’ things done!

Disclaimer: Some parts of previous text are merely fabricated for dramatic effect. Do not worry; the entire team has never complained about “that kid who smells like a rotting carcass” or asked questions like “should we force him to shower?” There is nothing to worry about.





This is the most productive I have ever been with my free time, and it’s gratifying at the end of the day.