Do you suffer from time management issues? Let me tell you a little about the trouble I am having with managing life. If you don't know already, I am a grad student. Technically that is my job, at least that is how I make my living. Its a lot of fun being a glorified student and basically getting paid to go to school. The downside comes in when you actually realize that it is a job, and you get paid to do research, not go to school. And, ok, the research is actually fun and interesting (at least it should be cause you are going to spend the rest of your life doing it), but that's just it, you get paid to do the research. If you read the unwritten fine print you might find that your job is to do someone else's research and fit the school part in on the side. That's where they get you. Essentially you are getting paid for 20 hours per week, which translates into 40-60 hours per week (depending on how devoted you are to your lab).
Now add in your free time. Wait! Free time? We get free time??
Exactly. You discover that if you want free time you must make it fit into school time. All in all its still doable, and one can get through a PhD program just fine on this type of time management. This is where my problems become more apparent, and of course more fun.
I am currently studying for my Comprehensive Exams (aka Qualifying Exams, aka the last exam(s) I will ever have to take). As you can probably guess, these exams are kind of a big deal. They require hours upon hours of devoted study. Hours upon hours that I struggle to complete. I have basically one week left. Don't get me wrong, I am studying hard. At least its a lot of studying for me. Others might think its not that much, but I have never been a good studier. No, my problem is that I will NOT let the studying take me away from my training. I don't think it should. The training is my release! That is why I love it. I think everyone should have a release because if you don't you would go insane. I'm sure you all would agree with that.
So that's it. I have a lot of stuff to do. Training is a good thing, it keeps me motivated during the day, and refreshes me when I am burnt out from research, studying and just dealing with issues that come up in a regular day. Fortunately/Unfortunately I am a coach as well. I love coaching!!! I could spend all day doing the coaching thing if I could, and some days I actually do. Those days are known as Sundays ;) I say unfortunately because there is more time out of the day that I need to make available. Coaching is not an everyday thing (though it should be), but its at least an every other day thing. So fitting it into my already packed schedule is difficult.
Notice, that I have yet to talk about where I eat and sleep. Well, that is where everything turns grey......Ok, no, I do eat, and I do sleep. I will still take my 30-45min. lunch, and I still take time to eat dinner, though this month the dinner table is usually the desk in my office. Sleep has been an issue. As an athlete in training, sleep is very very important. You should get 8 hours AT LEAST. I've been averaging about 6, sometimes less (4 hours), sometimes more (7 hours), but still too little. It's starting to wear on me. I feel drained all day long, yet amazingly ok for my late afternoon workouts; most days anyway.
Naturally, I am looking forward to the end of these exams. At least the end is in sight, even if its scary to think about it. All of us athletes have to deal with time management. I am no different than the next guy, and maybe even a little better off than another person I know (you know who you are...). I am not a good time manager, but I found that when you have NO free time, time management takes care of itself. I still get everything done, and I still take some time of the day to either catch a nap, or just sit and veg out. This blog is supposed to allow you to follow me in my journey. Welcome to the journey! Its a doozy!
But, don't worry about me. I will still be ahead of you on race day...PhD in tow. :)
