Making time and workin' it

Lately I've been finding that the hardest part of being in this Limbo area of my life is managing my changing priorities. I have always considered myself good at managing my time - I'm super organized, I have three calendars, to-do lists organized by days, weeks, months.... But lately I've been having a hard time deciding what should come first.

Of course it's easy to look at the deadlines and work on things in order of due date, but it's just not that simple when there are so many categories of work and so many deadlines to meet. For instance, this week I have a Criminal Justice exam, an internship application due, and a law school application due... not to mention 3 or 4 busy-work assignments in my classes. This particular law school is not one of my top choices, so I've pushed writing the required essays back for far too long now and the internship application requires some re-working of my resume and the writing of the dreaded cover letter... Then there's the last chapter of reading I need to catch up on for my Criminal Justice exam and of course I need to study.... But I have to work an extra day this week to be able to make rent.

As my wonderful professors keep reminding me, there are so few days left until graduation and there are so many things that need to be done! On my list of priorities, job and law school applications come first, period. But all the time spent on researching, planning, writing essays and cover letters, and preparing for interviews is not only time consuming but exhausting. So where is the time and energy for school work? After all, there is no way I am going to let the hard work I have put into my academics fall to the side, but after the torture I put my mind and body through last semester trying to "do it all" I know that I have to maintain a better balance this semester or my post-grad plans are going to include some time in an institution.... Just kidding...

So what's my solution you ask? So far it has been to add a few hours to my day and few more items to the list... I know what your thinking - less sleep and more to do... not much of a solution, huh? Well, I started by recognizing that a lack of sleep is going to get me nowhere. Coming home at night after work and trying to unwind from my day AND finish an essay or homework or meet some other deadline is not going to help me produce my best work. So instead I've decided to go to bed earlier - 10:30 or 11 instead of 1 or 2 am.... HUGE DIFFERENCE! Then, I get up a couple hours earlier. That gives me time to eat a good breakfast and get in the reading or research I need to do for the day before I even have to worry about anything else. I've also committed myself to an exercise routine that boosts my energy in the afternoon so I don't drag through work in the evening and I can even get a few more things done before I go to bed.

Maintaining a balance between work, school, and preparing for life post-grad is tough, but finding a way to work your day instead of letting your day work you can help a lot! So, are you workin' it or gettin' worked?