Just Say NO! to Helping Others

I have managed to give of myself until I screwed myself.

First it started with a campus visit. The the Scheduler scheduled the visitor to meet with me an hour before I have to be across town for a class that I'm taking and can' t (nay, won't) miss. The Scheduler re-scheduled me for one hour earlier (one whole hour!) because that was the easiest thing for her (the Scheduler who is not even going to see the visitor that day). I did not beat her, but said "I'd rather meet with her another day, but I guess that's okay."

I should beat myself for that one.

Then, forgetting that I had that meeting (which, while only one-hour long, basically makes it impossible for me to spend the three-hours in between classes doing last-minute research in Special Collections), I allowed students to schedule last-minute conferences with me for this week--every day until, you guessed it, too late for me to go to Special Collections.

I am so pissed at myself for letting this happen. And the people who taught me to put others before myself. Do you know what happens when you put others before yourself? You end up with no time to do what you need to do, and then you resent the people you're helping.