Well... here we are...finished the second full week of classes and I have already worked through the last two weekends. OUT OF BALANCE. Several years ago, I realized that grad school was not an experience that lent itself to having much work-life balance. Life was work and work was life. So... I used to dream longingly for the day when I finished my doctorate and could actually live again. Not that I didn't enjoy my work; it's just that my work became so all-consuming that I'd lost many of the things I loved that didn't revolve around my activities at the University. Like theater... I LOVE the theater. I love music, too--especially live performances. I love to read fiction--especially fantasy-type fiction. Love it. And I love plants. Get this...toward the middle of my masters degree, I became so consumed with work, that I neglected my houseplants to the point of nearly killing them and had to give them to my mom to rescue! So I did and she saved them... but I was missing out on a big part of my life.
Now... I'm finished. I finished grad school last year. Yay, me! Well... I'm finding that old habits die hard. I am back to my old tricks of planting my "butt in chair" in front of the computer for hours at a time.
Well, awareness is the first step to beating any addiction. I am A W A R E !!! I am going to squeeze in some fun and relaxation--no matter what. Even if it's just 30 minutes a day of reading inspiring quotes, laughing with a loved one, listening to some great music, or taking a walk around to look at the lovely flowers and shrubs around campus. I am also back in the gym. What I realized about working out and chilling out is this: Intellectual workers can do their work much more efficiently and effectively when their bodies and spirits are well cared for. Not rocket science, right? I know. So, why do we tend to neglect our bodies when we get a bad case of academic tunnel vision??
Well, no more. I am breaking the cycle of crazy. I am going to continue to work hard, but I am also making time to take good care of the one and only body and spirit I have. I want sharp intellect, but I want a healthy body and spirit to go with it.
So, to all my frantic and workaholic dissertators, researchers, and educators: Please, PLEASE, take good care of your careers, but take even BETTER care of your self.
:)
Dr. Tra
