Confession: over the past couple of weeks, I've been extra stressed and extra sooky and overall a horrible person. There are a few excuses reasons for it:

-hormones
-house hunting
-sleeping crappily
-uber busy work schedule
-minimal friend time/fun time/TIME in general

I have been working like a banshee the past few weeks (do banshees work?? What IS a banshee?) Anyhooters, I've been working like an EMPLOYED banshee and all work and no play makes Amy a total nightmare.

This week, I have a little strategy put in place to help offset my failing sanity: the 6 o'clock challenge. The idea is that at 6:00 PM every day for the next five days, I will unplug my computer and stay off it until bedtime. Whatever work doesn't get done before 6:00 PM is going to have to wait until the next day. I'm simultaneously terrified and excited.

Some people might think this is irresponsible or that I'm becoming a nine-to-fiver, AKA a royal slacker. Not the case. Even if I start working at 8:30 and knock off at 6:00, that's nine hours, give or take half an hour for lunch. That's plenty of time to get everything done.

The idea is that putting an end-of-day deadline on myself will force me to work smarter, more efficiently, and more productively during the day instead of putting things off and letting them pile up until I end up spending half the night hissing at my MacBook with eyes crossed from exhaustion. It will mean a rigid to-do list that I'll be crossing things off all day long, with chunks of time carved out for every item (sadly, I'm getting kind of excited about making a list for tomorrow). Annnnd best of all, with daylight savings time back in all its sunshiney glory, it'll mean getting some fresh air, guilt-free, after work and NOT be getting home after dark!

I'm pumped to get stuff done tomorrow, get organized, and not spend my evenings this week in a crying, sweating ball on the couch hunched over my laptop and rocking back and forth with bloodshot eyes and a can of Red Bull at my side--I spent enough nights doing that when I was in school. I am a sane adult who can manage her time without resorting to things like speedballs and paying the neighbour's children to do her proofreading for her. The 6 o'clock challenge will save my sanity, if not my life.