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Wednesday, November 2, 2011

All or Nothing

I've been very, very busy the past two weeks. And I will continue to be busy for a while.
I don't know when it happened, but I noticed recently that my day-to-day planner is packed with things. It's so packed, that when I had to find a two-hour time slot for radio phone-answering volunteering, I couldn't find a consecutive 2hours to donate.
How did this happen??

Well, I'm not sure... In an incident in class on Monday, I opened my mouth to offer help to another student group that was missing a person, and only after I said it, I realised that I was too busy to be in ANOTHER group. (Things did work out for that group!.) I've noticed this a lot lately. I will think I'm free and offer to help/volunteer/step in and then remember that my planner is packed and I'll likely screw things up if I offer any help.

I have:

  • school (=3 regular courses)
  • a field placement and a practicum course
  • community volunteering
  • VISA executive duties
  • a part-time job
  • co-hosting duties for a half-hour radio show
  • and a LOT of group assignments.

And I'll have to add volunteering at the Sudanese Centre in the near future, because my Saturdays were too free so I offered to help out with a kid's program.....


The point here is not to bitch about how busy I am and how rushed I feel. Because I don't feel too rushed, and I've been organized enough to feel calm, rather than stressed. Whenever an hour comes up and I have nothing to do, I seem to jump on the computer to (check email) check facebook, read blogs and research interesting things (such as the World hitting 7 billion people, and this site). I have been slacking a tiny bit at the gym and at class readings (only this week, don't worry).

So the point is that it's not all or nothing. I don't have to be 100% busy every day to keep myself entertained. I don't have to do nothing (aka watching TV) when I'm free. I can be productive, useful AND entertained all in one. So whenever the next free hour comes along, I might head to the gym. I might read another chapter for a class. Because all the little things will add up to SOMETHING, and I won't forever be in the limbo of the mindset that is 'all or nothing'.

This morning, I fit in 2 running miles after a meeting with my boss, and between a meeting with a prof. Between meetings and classes today, I ran errands or read a Crisis textbook. I'm slowly learning to USE my free time in small ways that add up, which will eventually help future me feel less stressed, rushed, and silly :)

2 comments:

  1. I think I would rather have this problem than many others - LOL! You are clearly a wonderful volunteer and like to be engaged in the world around you. Unfortunately, all the interesting stuff is happening at the same time as school, work, etc. - LOL! Congrats on fitting some miles in between meetings. :)

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