I often say I haven’t been bored since I was a teenager, and that’s mostly true. Boredom, after all, is just a frame of mind, and – in my view – signifies an absence of both imagination and initiative, neither of which I’ve ever been accused of lacking. In fact, I’ve found that on those rare occasions when I do succumb to feeling “bored” I get into trouble, usually in the form of taking on too many new projects to try to fill the void.

Regular readers will know that I am an adjunct professor of English and public speaking. Usually, I teach summer courses, however, a campus-wide technology overhaul resulted in the cancellation of my classes, leaving me footloose and fancy-free for the next three months. Part of me is delighted. It’s been a long year in more ways than one, and the thought of sleeping in late and spending lazy afternoons on my deck is not unwelcome. On the other hand, part of me is a little worried about my inevitable reaction to having so much free time.

To help allay those concerns, I’ve decided to take a proactive approach and develop a focused plan for how I want to spend my newfound hours of leisure. Hopefully, this will keep me from getting “bored” and getting into mischief or otherwise extending myself.

First on the list is to devote more time to writing, specifically to more creative writing. Life has interfered as of late with my productivity, but now I have no excuse. Whether I dust off the manuscript I’ve been toying with for a few years or I start another one entirely remains to be seen, but the goal is the same: Make like a writer and write!

The second part of my plan is to reorganize my living and working spaces. Years of teaching have left me with boxes of handouts to be sorted and filed. Speaking of boxes, there’s a stack of them in my office, each containing precious memories in the form of photos that need to be scanned and preserved for future generations.

The final item on my “to do list” for summer is to devote time to self-improvement and to developing skills that will benefit me come August when I return to the classroom. The aforementioned technology overhaul at the community college where I teach means training to use a new learning management system, so that’s on my agenda during the break.

All in all, it’s an ambitious – if laid back – schedule I’ve created for myself. Before I begin, however, one task remains: a much needed, eagerly anticipated nap!

Until next month,

Carla E. Anderton