Punctuality: luxury of the bored

"Few ever drop from overwork, but many quietly curl up and die because of undersatisfaction."
— Sydney Harris

How often do I hear the equivalent of “you work too much?” My site mates tell me to calm down, my mom begs me to find free time, even my program and country directors forced me to take a vacation. But I’d pay money to see the statistics on death by overexhaustion versus boredom. Twenty ouguyies says they would justify my double-booked lifestyle.

A chapter in the Peace Corps Career Resource Manual (from whence came the above quote) asked soon-to-be returning volunteers to list what had been the happiest days of our lives. Sure, I’ve had lazy mornings of coffee over sunrise, watching movies under snuggle-worthy blankets, and sleepy sun-drenched afternoons on pebbled beaches. But my happiest days were my most productive. See marathon entry. See PCPP entry. See Qatar GLOBE conference entry. Planning a project, guiding it to fruition, blushing under praise – this is my bread and butter. Or fish and rice, as the current culinary situation dictates.

I never particularly liked spring break, school holidays, or even snow days. The immediate rush of escaping responsibility is fleeting at best and usually transitions to unmemorable sloth. Allow me the brief indulgence of a snooze button, then please put me to work. Schedule meetings on top of lunch dates immediately before lessons: I’ll not be more than five minutes late, and it’ll be worth it. Sloppy and frenzied as the process might appear, my results are second to none: you get a quality [insert event/seminar/report] and I am neither quiet nor curling.