My Life Is A Series Of Spinning Plates

Sometimes I really feel that way. I have all these things on the go, none of them all that important to anyone but me and my immediate circle, but when you're living them, they all seem of some importance. And I get this impression that they all require me to give them a little spin, and then move on to the next one, all the while hoping I can get through them all and back to the first one before it stops spinning and falls to the floor.

The other metaphor that occurs to me occasionally is that these things only work when I take the time to look at them. So I turn my gaze that way, and it's all good, and then I have to look over there lest that part of my life starts falling apart, and so on. At work, it can be the various components of my job, whether it be championing Retrospectives, or providing a little guidance to my Feature Team, or mentoring this person or that one, or just playing the role of sounding board to my boss. If I favour one and neglect another, it's not long before something turns to crap. Even at home, trivial things like remembering to check that the PVR's going to record what it's supposed to or thinking to back up the files on Vicki's PC will prey on my mind because I have no confidence that any of it will happen unless I make it so. I'm sure most of this is delusional on my part, or possibly just a case of giving it more importance than it deserves; but the fact is that it's a feeling I have frequently, and I think it contributes to my general sense of being on a treadmill that's going so fast I have to run just to stay still.

Of course, the fact that I didn't take any summer vacation this year may be exasperating it right now. In hindsight, that was a stupid thing for me to do and I'm already planning to make up for it next year with about five straight weeks of summer time off, if I can swing it. And maybe that's all I need.