Semi-Down Days

I have things to do today, but nothing too pressing. On my calendar is a single meeting--it's important, but requires no advance prep, and I don't have to lead it. The second gig is a short photo shoot with a graduate student. I applied for and won a campus grant to develop an online Master's degree program; the grant will fund the grad student next year to help me with the work. So today is not a quite a down day, it's "semi-down." There's plenty on the short term agenda, and so I won't squander hours spinning in my chair and eating sugary peanuts. But if tasks that could be done today happen to spill over to tomorrow or the next day, no one will worry. Semi-down days are good for catching up and for anticipatory spadework that can prevent deadline panics. Days like these also yield emotional dividends because stress levels can drift downward to health-sustaining levels. The absence of a hurry-up mentality means more time for social banter and the chance of an unplanned, but real, personal connection. Semi-down days are unlikely to become banner days, but that's just fine. I'm ready for semi-down. I'm looking forward to it.