It has been challenging to juggle school, internships, assignments, along with the rest of life such as friends, the gym, and self-care. I am currently working on several projects for AHO and feeling quite overwhelmed. There is this blog that I need to keep up with, a few administrative tasks, making connections between my university and AHO to implement the Building Bridges program, making connections between my tech-savvy cousins and AHO to create an app for the nonprofit, and being trained as an assistant web designer. I know, it’s a lot. I have been struggling to make deadlines and grew extremely anxious about not being able to handle the workload, as well as letting Zara down. However, I realized that at the end of the day I am a student first. As much as I want to be able to quickly accomplish many tasks, I can only do as much as 8 hours will allow me to. I am someone who loves to help out as much as I can, but I had to be real with myself about my abilities to keep up with these projects on top of everything else. I am fortunate that Zara is so understanding and willing to work with the demands that come with being a student.
For those that are struggling and feeling that their workload is more than they can handle, first take a deep breath. It is easy for students to disregard their own needs in order to complete work by staying up late or skipping meals. Time management is a difficult skill to master, but be realistic about what you can accomplish in the given amount of time. Speak with your supervisor and let them know realistically how much time you can give to do your projects. It is better to communicate your struggles and needs, than to silently suffer and deliver poor quality or tardy work. Don’t worry fellow students, we’re all trying to figure out the work-life balance. Stay tuned for my next blog post, but in the meantime, get your assignments done!
With hope,
Jessa