Saturday, January 8, 2011
Schedule
As finals approach and I seem incredibly busy with everything I have to do, I find myself making between one to four "to-do" lists everyday. I do not know why, but the action of crossing off a completed item on my lists seems extremely satisfying and motivates me to get more things done. I even write schedules for my days with alloted times in which I need to complete tasks. Unfortunately, the other day I realized the parallels between my obsessive scheduling and Nurse Ratched's control over her ward. As Bromden explains her strict and controlling personality, he states, "The Big Nurse tends to get real put out if something keeps her outfit from running like a smooth, accurate, precision-made machine" (28). Kesey metaphorically centralizes Ratched's outfit as the perfection for her scheduled days on the ward. He generates a precise tone with the positive adjectives "smooth," "accurate" and "precision-made," which enhances the unnecessary perfection of Racthed's predominate manner of running the ward. All though Ratched and I seem to have a similar way of getting things done, I feel relief at the fact that her actions seem much more harmful than my own.
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Hannah this is so interesting that you wrote this because I do the exact same thing. Whenever I get really busy, then I inevitably turn to lists. It is a comforting feeling to be able to see everything I need to get done on one sheet. And like you said, the best part about making lists is the feeling when I cross something off it. It is hard to explain but I just love that feeling. Good luck with your list making today.
ReplyDeleteHannah, I too am starting to feel the stress of finals overtake my relief from finishing the data sheet. I've never tried to make lists for my things "to do" because i always feel like I am forgetting to write something down. I might give it a try though for finals because it seems like a good idea!
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your post because I also have a Ratched-like tendency to make lists and schedules. My lists do help me stay organized, and the prospect of crossing off items keeps me motivated to keep working. I have even been known to include things on my list which I have already done, just for the satisfaction of crossing them off.
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