Toenails and Procrastination

Greetings from the mountain hideaway.

Instant karma, Murphy’s law, sod’s law. Call it what you want, but it’s real.

I wrote before how I’d conveniently internalised the wrong deadline for my MBA dissertation. That’s nobody’s fault but my own, and frankly, hardly a disaster. I need to ex-digitate and get it done, and I will. However, the world chose this moment to deliver more clients to the consultancy business, clients who want and deserve time and attention. Suddenly, I’m very busy.

I note how lucky I am to be busy. I’m not moaning much. Honestly.

It’s over a month since I returned from the Camino. The fatigue is out of my legs, and the inevitable melancholy that follows the achievement of a big goal has passed. Yesterday, I was talking to Stu and updating him on the gradual recovery of my big toe.

“The nail is hanging in there!” I laughed.

A few hours later, with a sound akin to unfastening velcro, I caught the nail on the duvet cover. There was no pain, so I assumed all was well and went back to sleep. This morning, I thought I’d have a quick look. (It should be noted that I’m as squeamish as a squeamish thing.)

“Oh.”

My highly technical care regime has been to slaver moisturiser all over the nail and toe and leave it alone. However - the nail was now 90% detached, flapping about. To my surprise, and in my view, credit, I didn’t pass out, and after an interlude of courage-gathering, I removed the nail entirely. I’ll spare you the photos.

I sit now, having applied some dazzling burgundy antiseptic cream, with the toe wrapped in kitchen roll. I assume that a citation for bravery and a medal are coming in the post.

Faced with a deadline, it is a truth universally acknowledged that Stuart will;

a. reorganise the office

b. get embroiled in task management - almost certainly changing task manager

c. agonise over how/where to store notes

d. trial a new start-up routine

e. trial a new shut-down routine

f. embark on a training course or two

All of these have occurred, and there’s even some work been done on the dissertation.

All being well, the paper goes in on the 9th of January, and that’s the MBA done. The assessment on the last taught module went in two weeks ago. That clears the deck to edit and publish “Sean” next year. Not the first time I’ve written that, though.

Right. I have a revised procedures document to draft an issue before laying out the history of anti-money laundering legislation in an academic style.

Oh, the glamour of it all.

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