Okay.
It is my fault.
I must stop double booking myself.
I keep a calendar. I post appointments on my i-phone with buzzers and all sorts of reminders.
I even write myself Post It notes and place each in strategic spots around the house and office to remind myself (yes, I have been called the POST IT QUEEN, numerous times). And, yes, I do read the notes.
It is the tight booking that is the actual problem. Plus, at least three times a week, when I think the day is perfectly timed, I have an extremely worthy new development that pops up.
You would think after years of handling logistics for several TV stations, a couple of newspapers and internet sites that this would be down to a science. Well, folks, it is all because of my ambitious plan to cram more hours into the day than exist!
Thank goodness I have tremendous energy. But, right now, just thinking about all this, I want to enjoy a relaxing massage at the Y and slow it down, just a wee bit. (Great idea!)
The beauty of living in Saratoga County is that you can pretty much get anywhere you need to get in under twenty minutes. But, why do I give myself five minutes? Recently I have suffered the embarrassment of receiving two speeding tickets which means it is time to slow it down and give myself more time. I never got a speeding ticket while taking Metro North for 20 years. Duh!
For some odd reason I still think I can be in two places within a half hour of each appointment. I admit it. I cannot. And, I still try. But, today, I stop. STOP.
When I took Metro North from Greenwich, Ct daily, I caught trains to and from WABC at 66th Street, including a shuttle, without one speeding ticket. And, while working on West 57th Street as the Managing Editor for WCBS, again, not a one. Hmmm! I even had to take very expensive daily taxi's despite the fact that WCBS was closer as the crow flies; the subways to the far West Side simply were not as efficient as the trip to the UWS.
I always made it to work with time to spare and the trip home, well, I took my time. I used to run for a train but I stopped.
And, that is the point, I've finally learned to do the same here. Take it down a notch and I will be fine.
Driving everywhere to meetings and barely giving myself enough time is a stupid combination.
Starting today, I will stop trying to cram in more than I can physically make happen. Intellectually it makes perfect sense. Now, I have to be disciplined.
Yes, I absolutely enjoy the challenges of filling my day to the brim, stretching the hours into amazingly productive 24/7 cycles but when I realized today I double booked appointments, again, today and still had to write this wonderful and fun blog, I finally figured out, enough is not enough.
Yes, I want to cram more hours into my day, Saratoga, but, I won't! Now, I've got to run to my 11 am appointment. But, it is only five minutes away. Phew!
Elaine Hume Peake 
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