It's always Tuesday

You know the Cubs are going to have a rough year when Len and JD agree that it is better to fall behind 4–0 in the first inning, as the Cubs have done tonight, and not the fifth. That way, a team has a lot more time to come back. It makes sense, I suppose, but does not bode well.

Anyway, it’s Tuesday — again. It’s always Tuesday. Or so it seems.

Yes, of course it’s not always Tuesday. (And, no, I have not been experimenting with acid. Or stuck in some kind of Groundhog Day loop.) It is just that I am not a fan of Tuesday, or the way it always seems to be coming around again and again. And again.

Why? Because every Tuesday for work I update the journal tracking sheets, syncing our Word records with the real-time data on the online submission sites. I make note of who has accepted or declined our review invitations, who has not bothered responding, and who has submitted reviews. I invite new refs when needed and add alternate suggestions in case we need them. I then update the weekly agenda so the editors know which papers need a decision, which need more referees, and which require special attention.

Needless to say, it is a time consuming pain in the butt — a job I need to perform every Tuesday. Sometimes I wonder, “Wait a minute. Didn’t I just do this?” Yes, I did. Last Tuesday. And I’ll do it again, next Tuesday.

(Whoa. I guess it took just three innings for the Cubs to come back. After scoring in the second, Starlin Castro blasted a three-run homer to tie the game, 4–4, in the third.)

Do we need to keep manual records when we have an online database of everything? Do I need to subject myself to such bureaucratic torture and ruin Tuesday every week? I don’t know. It certainly does not hurt to have the extra documentation, even though I seem to be the only person who uses it. But you know what? It would be nice to use my time a little more wisely and efficiently. I could continue correcting messy proofs, or start copy editing that massive backlog of accepted papers (a job I was recently recruited to do; that’s how dire the situation is). But I am not sure that day is around the corner just yet.

To be fair, though, Tuesday always means the weekend is near once again. Back in college, I worked all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so once Tuesday was under my belt it meant my work week was half over. Though those two-day weeks are long gone, I still consider Tuesday close to the weekend.

But it also means journal updates, at least for the time being. Thankfully, though, those are done for another week… Until Tuesday rolls around again.

(The Cubs, by the way, fell behind 6–4. However, they tied the game again.)

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