Last week, I started an internship at one of my favorite restaurants which made my schedule busier than ever. I am now working a daytime job, going to class, and working at night which has left little to no time for my boyfriend and most importantly myself. I am new to this busy lifestyle and thus far my path has been rocky.
At first I struggled with loss of sleep, and the extreme tiredness started to paralyze me during the day. I went from being energetic in my day job to falling asleep at my desk. On top of this, my boyfriend and I started fighting all the time. He was upset that we went from seeing each other every night to then seeing each other about three times a week. Instead of talking things out we fought over everything. Lastly, I started to fall behind on easy tasks in my daily life like doing laundry and spending time with my dog.
I knew I could not keep living this hectic life, so I decided to sit down with my mom and ask for help. She suggested creating a schedule, and that is just what I did. On Sunday night after I came home from work I made a mental schedule of what my week was going to look like. I knew I had to work at least 3-4 shifts at night which meant I had 3 or 4 other nights open for my boyfriend or me time. I then wrote everything out so I could visualize my schedule.
When you are organizing your week it is important to know your priorities
My Mom reminded me that school is a priority, above work, my internship, and my boyfriend. Remembering my priorities helps me decide what I should be doing and when I should be doing it. With that said, I always do my homework first because education is my main priority in life right now. Thanks to Canvas I can see my assignments way ahead of the due date, which helps me work ahead.
After my Mom helped me figure out my class and work schedule, she then helped me with my boyfriend problems. Here is my tip to all of you: if he is not supportive of your part-time job now, then how is he suppose to support you full-time job later in life? Thankfully I have a very supportive boyfriend who is willing to work with me and my new crazy schedule.
Sometimes that perfect schedule you make in your mind goes flying right out the window
This week I ended up picking up an extra shift and missing date night with my boyfriend. To add on, I had to close at work the next night because someone else missed their assigned shift, so I missed yet again another opportunity to see him. We finally got our date night in on Saturday and went to a cute hole in the wall restaurant which made up for all the missed dates!
Many times you are going to have to sacrifice one thing in order to do another
Making time for myself is tricky, especially when all I want to do is sleep in any spare time that I have. Personally, I have to get my nails done every two weeks. To schedule in this “me time” I leave one job an hour early to get my nails done. Many times you are going to have to sacrifice one thing, like working an hour less than usual, in order to do something else like getting your nails done. Also, at night I spend one hour watching an episode of whatever tv series I want. Right now I am watching Vampire Diaries and I am finally on the last season!
I hope you learned from my crazy couple of weeks that mapping out your week ahead of time and prioritizing your commitments is a good way to stay organized when you have to juggle a busy schedule.