Working Ahead

Remember those fun standardized tests we all had to take in school?  With the #2 pencils, and the pressure, and the little circles to fill in completely?  And remember the teacher/test monitor intoning that "when you reach the end of the timed section, whatever you do don't work ahead?"


Well, I'm doing it.  Working ahead.  It's Wednesday evening, and I'm writing tomorrow's post, since my only other options are 1) get up at 5 a.m.; 2) wait until I have finished my scheduled paid work mid-afternoon, and take up what's left of the day before an evening meeting getting my post written and published; or 3) (gasp!) missing a day!


It's probably not a good sign that I frequently feel lately that the only way to get tomorrow's work done is to have started on it last week.  Methinks I may be trying to cram in just a wee bit too much stuff.  


Why do so many of us have such a hard time accepting our human limits, and the complicated math related to hours in a day, days in a week, weeks in a year?  When did everyday life take on these monstrous proportions?


Of course, this kind of effort to get the jump on the near future works against my mindfulness goal of being here now.  It's more like trying to be there now.  As in the place I'm not yet.


However, another habit I'm trying to train my mind away from is that of black-and-white thinking.  So maybe working ahead isn't all bad, or not always bad.  In fact, I imagine I'm going to think it's pretty good in at least this instance when I wake up better rested than I might have tomorrow.  And when some of the afternoon remains when I might try to get some writing done on my novel.  As long as I don't spend the time on Friday's to-do list. . . .