what to do first

By the time the end of the day rolls around my mind is such a Grand Central Station of things I need to attend to that I could never begin working on a focused piece. I need to write in the morning. First thing. Before I let my mind wander off to other more mundane and topical items. How to rewrite a piece of curriculum, how many people must I email in order to accomplish this single task of hiring this individual adjunct, I need to reread this text so I can teach it in a few hours or a few moments, I want to read the news and see how badly John McCain has done in the last polls, my colleague’s daughter is competing in Olympic trials – when are they on TV and can I remember to record them, I need to copy this tape for my brother, and I’m waiting for my new windows – when will they be able to begin work, this desk is an untenable mess – it must be straightened for my mind to work properly, and that cabinet with the plasticware – stuff falls out when you open it, I bought these new pots and pans and they’re still not put away because the cabinets are too unwieldy to welcome new visitors, I need to work on that article I said I’d co-submit with my friend – I’m afraid she’s no longer talking to me it’s been so long, and the assessment plan for next year – that needs tending to or I’ll start off the year confused, I’ve remade the course schedule and to abide by it I’d need to rearrange next semester which is impossible so how can I get around that, oh hell – there’s that brand new course I’m teaching in the fall that I haven’t even begun to think about yet, I need to read these four articles, and boy oh boy I wish I could just sit down and read a book – what in the world was that like. I need to write before all this stuff wakes up too. The morning. That’s when I need to get here. Before the rest of my brain wakes up. Blog first.