Today has mainly been devoted to working on the first marked assessment exercise for the TU812 Managing Systemic Change module I am studying. I’m taking a brief break to update my blog and then I think a couple more paragraphs will be enough to get the first draft finished. It is going to be a bit too long so tomorrow I intend to look for nips and tucks to bring it down to size and then I’ve got up until Wednesday morning to apply some polish while all the while having something that would be submissible.

It has taken a fair amount of time, not least because work tends to expand to fill the time available. If I could only have managed to spend 3-4 hours on it, I think I would have got it done but, with more time, I combine writing with further study, developing my thoughts, rewriting but also, crucially, continuing to learn. However, this evening Jane has been watching a couple of DVDs and I decided to stay in the same room to benefit from the log fire. I think it is fair to say that this was a distraction!

It hasn’t hurt too much as it gave a change of pace but watching films or even letting the radio play are things I’ll want to avoid when time is really tight. I think they keep on pulling the mind away from what it should be focusing on so you end up spending the majority of time trying to get back on track. It reminds me of taking the scenic route in the car – often very interesting but a lot slower. Anyway, a final sprint and I’ll be where I wanted to get to before the end of the night.