The Three Rs

The expression the three Rs -- reading, writing and arithmetic -- which any American would know, was (according to Wikipedia) coined first by a member of parliament in Britain back in the late 1700s or early 1800s.


Of course it was, considering its irony.

It's almost my three-month anniversary in my new job (on Valentine's Day, funny enough, and I do love my new job). I've certainly been doing a lot of of the three Rs in this new role, as well as a few other "Rs" as well, like Relationship management and eating more in Restaurants.

So much of this job is familiar to me, including the building I work in, and some of the people I work with, that it's deceptive. On some days I feel like I don't have a new position at all and on others I feel exhausted, confused and that there's so much work ahead. When I told the Hub I was approaching the three-month mark he said, "Really, that's all?"

I took this as a good sign, meaning that I don't appear to be having any sort of breakdown, at least from the outside.

And I'm not.

But I did ask a friend, who started a new role in her company relatively recently, how long it would take before it was less all-consuming. She said after three months I'd be less bone tired for sure. And after six, I'd have enough of a clue that normal service could resume.

I'm starting to look forward to "normal service". Particularly on the personal reading and writing front. I haven't been doing enough of either, although I'm trying to give myself a break. I've been doing some, and that's got to be good enough for now.

But along that vein, I wanted to take the opportunity to ask you lovely readers your opinion on something: as time is a precious commodity do you tend to finish every book you read until the end? Or do you allow yourself to stop reading books?


I tend towards the latter and put down books I don't like or can't get into and I wonder if this is the right approach for an aspiring author. It is a decisive question and I'm interested in how everyone approaches it. And while you think about it (and hopefully comment), I've finally, finally got two free hours ahead of me to work on the novel, so I better hop to it.

2 comments

  1. A finished book is not a waste of time but a notch on your belt that you can be proud of. Unfinished books looked at me like dirty laundry or naked light bulbs needing shades.

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    Replies
    1. Love the imagery. No one on the side of "stop reading that book" yet! Maybe finishing books will also be one of my 2017 resolutions...

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