I am guilty of stretching myself too thin. I am a doer, an over achiever, and overly ambitious. These things are false positives because in my life they are weaknesses. I don't know how to say no, and to make matters worse I never want to say no. I am always so excited to help, to learn, and to gain new experiences. However, the one thing that I have learned is that you need to make saying no an obligation if you are unable to dedicate yourself entirely to your next cause or goal. I believe that I can give everything I have to more than one item on my to-do list, just not at the same time. This is probably why I have my schedule organized into half-hour blocks...
So, here is my point: if you are going to be spread thin, then do your best to set yourself up for success. In my life right now I have 18 hours worth of classes, I am the president of a sorority, I am obligated to work a minimum of 15 hours a week, I am training for a 10k, I am participating in small group fitness training twice a week, I am volunteering as a research assistant for two labs, I require 8-9 hours of sleep a night to function, I have a kitten and a social life, all while I am also coping with Mono. Now that I am writing this out I am realizing the sticky situation I have put myself in....
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But now is not the time to panic! Now is the time to get organized, and to make sure you are fulfilling all of your obligations. I would like to say that school is my number one priority, and it is, but so are at least 4 other items. You can choose to be overwhelmed or you can choose to tackle each task one at a time, be on your toes, and to get ahead. It sounds impossible, but people do it all the time.
My Dad is my inspiration for succeeding while multitasking. He is probably the busiest person I know. He works a full time job plus another essentially full time job as a preacher, which entails actually preaching, making hospital and home visits, going to council meetings, being available 24/7 to members of your congregation. If this wasn't enough, he is also going to school, and he is still making time for me, my mom, and his dad. I don't know how he does it all, but I know that he hasn't let anything stop him from being everything and do everything he needs to be. So my goal is to do the same.
I wouldn't recommend making some of the choices I have made... It is hard to not be able to come home in the afternoon, or going all day long everyday, but if you do put yourself in the same boat as me, count yourself luck. Because you made this choice to be overly involved and to some extent overly worked. Lots of people don't have that choice! So be so grateful for your incredible opportunities, take care of yourself, and go change the world!! You can do it!! Have grace for yourself and work hard!
