96%

A purely sarcastic look at people who think they are overworked. I am pretty happy about the 96%.

96%,
my rating for the year,
really, 96.6%.
So, where did the other 
3.4% go?
That's what I want to know.
Ten hours a day I give;
10, sometimes more.--
Ten hours? Maybe that's a stretch.
Okay, eight hours,
8 is a better number.
Eight hours of labor,
and thought and planning;
workshops with students,
meetings with the boss,
and let's not forget 
the annoying coworkers
who demand more time 
than they're really worth --
I guess if you factor in
youtube videos, 
the occasional poem or two,
an unrelated article
and general web surfing
you can cut it down to six.
6 hours of sitting at this desk
staring at spreadsheets,
numbers, student counts;
Writing reports, 
figuring out how to write a report,
and inventing new reports to write.
I think I need to take a walk --
just around campus,
let me grab my clipboard. 
No one ever questions you 
if you're carrying a clipboard;
There is something intimidating
about a clipboard.
I think I will pop into Ron's office
we haven't had a meeting this week --
Maybe it's five hours.
Still, 5 hours of listening to webinars,
conference calls,
faculty staff meetings, 
emails, voice mails, snail mails;
not enough time to get all of this done.
And now I have to answer for 3.4%?

Wait a minute, I didn't take a lunch break;
Leaving an hour early today.

Author's Note

You're probably asking yourself if he wrote this at work, well it was during a break.

Reviews

[Kelly Scheppers]

Everybody's working for the weekend, and according to this, you deserve it, 100% !

[Papaya]

Lol.
I sneak poems in over lunch and breaks too. Maybe even peek in from time to time.
Fun one.

[Shannon]

The author's note! Sounds like a wonderful way to spend the day!

[James]

Fridays are a little slow

[jacob erin-cilberto]

wow, as a teacher i relate...the meetings, the extra curricular activities, giving all those percentages of ourselves...still love it...and often skip lunch breaks...

we do have to answer for the missing percentages, don't we?

[James]

Yes, we do. I was really trying to be sarcastic about people complaining about being overworked in a community college. Even on days when I feel like I work hard, it's easier than life before I got into education. But, yes, I still have to account for the 3.4%.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

oh i agree...i did many things before getting into teaching...30 years of restaurant....supervising in a shoe factory, digging ditches for oil leaks...teaching doesn't even feel like work...it is too much fun...

j.

[James]

Now that's hard work