And the Graduate Adventure Begins...

Yesterday I began my first grad school course.  I think I've been feeling as if, because my degree program is exclusively online, I can weave it seamlessly into my everyday life.  Not so.  An accelerated 18-month master's program does not slip into one's life unnoticed.

I posted this sentiment on my Facebook profile last night and a friend commented, "welcome to no time ever!" I've always struggled with time management.  Actually, I'm surprised I don't have a tag for it yet.  The fact that workaholic me said right off the bat I need to make sure I set aside time to practice piano, play WoW, and watch movies is a good sign, though.  I'm no stranger to burnout, and every once in a while I take great pains to avoid it.

However, I feel distinctly ready to break out Stephen Covey's Seven Habits again.  At times like this I need to remember, above all, how everything we do is a choice.  Putting away dishes while a pot of water is boiling.  Getting lost on Facebook, spying on people I haven't spoken to since 2003.  Using my early Saturday morning to write, not clean or play video games, because I know mornings are where my ideas live.  Sitting down at the piano.  Watching a movie with my friends or husband.  Working extra hours because I feel overwhelmed by my workload.

Each of these things represents prioritizing one thing over another.  One of those half-hour jags on Wikipedia could have been a half hour of writing practice.  I need to remember that making time for fun stuff is okay (not to mention necessary!) and I should feel good about viewing each time expenditure as a conscious decision.  Would I really decide not to write on my manuscript so I could spend 45 minutes reading about people I don't know on the internet?  Do I feel comfortable justifying an extra hour at the office—which, let's face it, is not going to be the thing that makes the difference in terms of praise or achievement—in favor of cooking a nice dinner with friends I'm intensely thankful to have in my life?

At first I feared all this time crunching would lead me away from the blog.  I think it may do the opposite.  It may make it better.  Incidentally, the first articles I've had to read have focused on creating multi-dimensional definitions of success by recognizing your own needs, values, and work style.  As I continue to face plenty of challenges and shifts in the course of my life, this sort of critical thinking will serve me well.  It will also, more than likely, give me plenty of fodder for my writing.  We'll see where this big adventure leads, but I'm quite hopeful the challenge will prove worthy of my efforts (and vice versa).