Student Blog: Making it Work

A few years ago, there was a TV show where one of the characters had a new, wacky job virtually everyday. She bust in with a new costume and career plan day after day. That is kind of how this summer has felt for me. In a given day, I am throwing on a ratty t-shirt to go nanny, then changing into leggings for the gym, slipping on my dress for work, pulling on my leotard for dance, and finally settling into my pajamas to do homework. I feel like I am wearing a lot of hats and while I love each individually, striking the balance between all of them has proved to have its challenges. When I look at my calender for the week, I find myself having to decide what to forfeit, what to move around, and what I have to make work, which often makes my head spin. So, I've had to find ways to not only make it work, but find joy along the way.

One of the biggest blessings has been being surrounded with local coffee shops. By getting out and going to a specific place focused just on doing homework, I have been able to keep an important emphasis on that and not let it fall behind. It was easy for me to initially say "I can do my homework whenever," but then I found myself exhausted trying to give my best after being burnt out from the day. Though my wallet may feel differently, going to different coffee shops has made working feel somewhat enjoyable and really been a lifesaver. In addition to finding time for school work in a busy schedule, trying to focus on a lecture while two other family members work from home, your mom is catching up on the phone with every relative, and your dog is barking at some invisible intruder is no walk in the park. 

I know that going to a coffee shop is not like that is some secret life hack that people don't know about, but for me it was a game changer. 

Along with that, my planner has been more useful for me now than ever before. Though I love the aesthetic of a planner, mine usually just takes up space in my backpack as I rarely keep up with it. However, with so many moving parts this summer, using my planner has allowed me to ensure I don't double book myself and make intentional time for social outings to balance out work and schooling.

The biggest tool, though, that I've been using to navigate through this summer has been sleep. In past summers, the chaos has led me to neglect my own needs, setting me up for failure as the school year began. I have been trying very hard to change that. I have found that by taking the extra time to sleep or nap rather than feeding into the "I can't sleep, I have to get this done" mindset has actually allowed me to be more productive. Something that I would usually spend hours on doing at midnight takes me half the time when I feel awake and rested. I can more clearly see that consequences of neglecting my health severely outweigh the consequences of reducing my shift load or taking some time off, which is a crucial discovery.

Even with these tactics, though, it is really hard to navigate through so many important tasks during the summer. Especially with theatre-based work, it can be isolating when your day is starting while most other people's days are ending. Mix that with the burning heat, the Instagram feed full of vacation pictures, and the inevitable countdown for back-to-school season, summer can end being far from the picturesque party that it is for others. Despite this, I have learned to see that there is no one way to "summer" and all it make take is a bit of maneuvering to find productivity and enjoyment during the summer months.