Six weeks out from Chicago! Three days from a tune-up half marathon, four days from jetting to NYC, seven days from strutting the catwalk at Fashion week, ten days from getting the keys to our new house (renters for life)...

Numbers are ugly little monsters as far as I'm concerned. I have no interest in tracking them or putting them together to see create another number. Perverse! And there is nothing more hideous than this shape: 2. But as a runner nearing a goal race they begin shouting for attention. I think about 2:42 and 6:11. I think about how over sleeping by 1 hour on race morning would be like lighting 12 weeks of my life on fire. Man, numbers just get so bossy!

Then I think about the weeks ahead. The next two weeks of life are out of control. How to fit 80 miles into 6 days, 8 hours of sleep, 10 hours of work, 2 hours of commute... into 24? Growing up I was busy too, and I would literally freak the F out all the time. I was a huge stress bundle kid. My dad would come into my room as I tornadoed around in complete despair and he'd say, write down everything you have to do and how long it will take. Then work backwards from your deadline. So my afternoon would look like:
2:35 - 2:45 get ready for practice
2:45 - 3:15 warm up/stretch
3:15 - 4:15 run
4:15 - 4:35 free time/pack homework
4:35 - 5:00 come home
5:00 - 5:15 shower
5:15 - 6:00 dinner
6:00 - 6:45 study for history quiz
....

You get the picture. It's slightly OCD, but if you have a lot going on and you have any shred of ADHD you know how calming a list can be to take all the swirling BS in your head and pin it down so you clear some space to think up there. Obviously my list isn't quite so basic these days and it's a lot more exciting. But I try to find the time to write everything out, how long it will take and work it backwards.

Actually I should probably be doing that right now...

How do you keep yourself afloat when your schedule is slammed?