Student Blog: Tips for Managing Workload as a Theater Student

Speaking from a major procrastinator who needed a time management coach when she was in middle school, managing course workload and extracurricular responsibilities in college all while maintaining something of a social life and mental stability is not easy. Being a BA theater student can be especially difficult as you not only have to juggle theater classes with courses that fulfill general requirements needed in order to graduate, but you’re also taking a wider range of theater courses in different disciplines that challenge what you know about theater (in a good way though!). 

College theater can be a lot to manage and it’s ok if you do not feel you have a complete grasp on what you are doing - I’m a senior and I don’t think I do either. However, here are a few things I’ve picked up from my college experience that are sometimes easier said than done, but may be good to keep in mind for the upcoming school year. 

The first one is to dedicate specific portions of your day to doing work and give yourself some wiggle room in between that and your next thing. A trap that I often fall into is setting aside a certain amount of time to finish a task based on an estimate of how long it will take me. However, I get really frustrated when I am not able to complete what I wanted to in that amount of time, especially when I have something right after, and I feel like I need to rush to get it done so I can go to the next thing. Instead, I prefer setting what I like to call my “office hours” both because it makes me feel professional and because it allows me to focus more on utilizing my time to be productive rather than on finishing something completely. Add this time into your schedule along with your classes and extracurricular activities so you fall into a routine! Even if you don’t get something done, you’ll at least know that you are making progress and are closer to finishing than you would have been before. If you happen to also be in a BA theater program, I suggest designating what type of work you will do each day. For instance, maybe I spend an hour on Monday completing work for a general requirement class, but I’ll spend an hour on Tuesday in a practice room working on a song for my voice lesson. 

You also don’t need to become a work robot during this time. The thought of having to be so locked into work for an extended period of time stresses me out with the fear that I will not be able to focus, but it’s natural to get distracted sometimes. One thing I like to do to help combat this is doing work outside of my dorm. If I do work in my room, I’m more likely to get distracted knowing that my bed is right there and that taking a nap is an option. I also enjoy doing work with friends! I would be lying if I said this doesn’t serve as a distraction sometimes, but I’ve found that it works for me more times than not because it feels like there is someone there to hold you accountable in terms of staying on task. Plus, there’s nothing wrong with taking breaks. 

Being involved with extracurricular theater activities specifically can also be overwhelming considering the pressure to strike a balance between people telling you to try out as many things as you can and the others telling you not to overwork yourself. Theater can be really difficult both physically and emotionally, so try really hard to do at least one nice thing for yourself every day. This could be anything from having a meal at the dining hall with your friends to eating a sweet treat. My advice on not overworking yourself would probably be that it is ok to prioritize certain things. For example, it’s ok if you need to skim a few readings for a general requirement class just to get a general understanding of its content in favor of having more time to practice a monologue. Of course you should always try to give your best effort for everything, but this is just a sentiment that has helped me as I sometimes get down on myself for not being able to give 100 percent to every single thing all of the time. Also, make sure you are listening to yourself; if you feel that you are committing to too much, that may be the case. I feel like there is often the stereotypical advice to try something new in college that is completely different than anything you’ve ever done, but I think it’s ok to only pursue activities that you are interested in. 

These are just a few things that have helped me with college workload as a theater student. I hope this helps! :)