Time is of the Essence

 This phrase is generally used in legal contracts but seems to have become my life motto over the past few weeks. It has become apparent to me that trying to complete two online college courses whilst also trying to recover from hip surgery and return to professional ballet is maybe a bit ambitious and is over-stretching myself slightly...but here I am, doing it anyway. 

As a dancer I am naturally an over-achiever and with this in mind time management and organisation are potentially two of the most important aspects of my life. There is a finite amount of time in each day (known to be 24 hours) which, for me, is never enough but it is what it is and one must just accept it. In order to achieve everything I want to achieve at the high standard I expect of myself, being organised and planning my time are essential. 

In order to plan successfully and create a balance in your schedule being able to prioritise is of utmost importance. If you think about everything you have to do all at once it is extremely easy to become overwhelmed, panic and burn yourself out. I find that if I don't take the time to sit down and plan the week ahead when I receive my schedule, I end up achieving very little that week, as I spend most of my time trying to figure out where to start and fretting about how much work I have to do and how little time I have to do it. 

The key to the plan is flexibility. You have to accept that you cannot predict the future and must allow yourself to be flexible with your plan to take into account any unexpected eventualities (such as a bad day or hormone fluctuations). The point of a plan is to aid you in completing any work with time to spare to avoid that last minute panic of trying to upload an assignment 37 seconds before the submission portal closes. 

Through setting myself (borderline unrealistic) goals I realised the importance of allowing myself time to rest. I used to think that sleeping was an unproductive use of my time (stupid, i know) and would push myself to wake up early and go to bed late in order to fit more into each day. I quickly discovered that this was ridiculous... the more tired I got the more the quality of my work plummeted and my energy levels dropped. 

As I once again find myself stretching my mental capacity a bit thin I am constantly reminding myself of the importance of taking a step back to reset and rest my mind. Yes, I am stressing about impending deadlines and yes, I am freaking out about whether or not what I'm doing even fits the assignment criteria but at the same time I'm allowing myself to take a break to sit by the lake or watch an episode (or five) of a trashy show on Netflix or spend time with loved ones because this creates a balance within my mind. By doing this my work is more efficient. I get more done in less time because I don't have the effects of fatigue and burnout clouding my mind as I try to write, learn and create. 

So yes, time is of the essence, deadlines exist and are fast approaching but it's important to remember the significance of balance. Rest, recover and flourish.