99 bottles of beer on the wall

This old count-down song was a favorite on road trips.

I have a count down clock on my computer at work that lets me know how many days remain until grades are due. This clock is not (necessarily) just showing me the light at the end of the tunnel. It's not there to give me encouragement that I can grit my teeth, grin and bear it for just another XX days. I'm not like Fred Flintstone, dashing down my dinosaur at the quitin' time whistle.

I am, however, very goal oriented. I need milestones, signposts, markers and measures to help me overcome a sometimes heavy work load. It's overwhelming when I realize I have over 600 essays (roughly 60,000 words) yet to grade this term, plus 600,000 words of their journals to read, plus 150 final exams to tally...all that can get to be a bit burdensome.

The clock tells me, however, that there's only 56 days (including weekends and holidays) to get all the above done, regardless. It tells me that, for better or worse, I sure as hell will be done by that deadline, no matter what. It helps me pace myself, stay on task, keep my eyes on the monitor and fingers on the keyboard.