The enormity of the task I am about to undertake is sinking in. True, it's not nearly as enormous as the task to raise a child (welcome to the world of parenthood this Wednesday, Lyds and Geron!), but since my child is a part of what I'm undertaking, I'm starting to sweat it.
Starting a week from today, I will be attempting to work full-time, attend college online full-time (through six online courses at two different colleges no less), raise my child by myself full-time AND I'm a PTA volunteer and the Newsletter editor at Jamie's school this year. I think I must be trying to drive myself crazy. But, I think, this will work for me for one main reason: I am not wired to do things "the easy way". Before, I tried to go to school full-time only. Well, pure laziness and procrastination derailed those intentions. I would always put it off, thinking I had plenty of time to do my assignments, until the due date was upon me and I hadn't put the first line on the page. Same with my housework. "I'll do it tomorrow" became my catch-phrase. Now, I don't have "tomorrow" to do things. I have blocks of time which must be dedicated to this, that or t'other.
So, I'm thinking if I get up every morning between 4:30 and 5:00 (which I've done the past four or five days - including the weekend) and study and clean house, then wake up Jamie and get him ready to roll, then study a little bit more and clean some more before I get ready for work, then get ready for and go to work, I can then pick up Jamie and get home, fix supper and clean up, check over both of our homeworks and get ready for bed, and I should be okay and get everything done. I'll just have to designate a day of the week to study each course, and take copious notes.
Plus, I'll have weekends to study. And I can study while Jamie is at soccer practice (but not during games. I have to watch him play and scream my durn fool head off for his team!). I even have permission to study at work when I'm not busy with reports and other work-related items. But I'll have to carefully manage my time. Oh, and did I mention that I'll also be helping out with his soccer team this year?
But, because I don't have time to procrastinate, I think I'll do better this way. I keep thinking back to all the different things I participated in during high school. It seemed like I was always rushing here, there and yonder, but I got good grades (once I quit being lazy) and always had my homework done on time. I just had to learn to manage my time. For me, that means having every minute of every day planned. And if I want to visit friends and/or take a trip, I'll have to budget that time in and plan for it in advance.
So, if I'm not blogging as much as you're used to, please feel free to rub it in. After all, I've pestered all of you enough about blogging. However, I may just have to pencil that time in, as well, to make me even busier. After all, I DID say I worked BETTER in a time crunch, didn't I?
Have a great week everybody! You know you'll hear more from me before the week is out.
Stinkbumps the Wonder Boy: The rants, ravings and ramblings of a lunatic, overachieving single mom.
3 comments:
You goofball. Yes, you are a single parent, and yes, it is important that you do things for your child, but you are overextending yourself. Give up that newsletter job, anyway. It is probably the one that will cause the most grief. You do have to be at the soccer games, and you can help--but not every single practice. I tried to sub (on vacation days), student teach, take two graduate classes, and raise three kids at the same time. Speaking from experience, there was NOT enough time to write a newsletter.
And I'd say to practice saying no: look in the mirror and practice it, and every time you say it, think, "I deserve some time to myself, although I'd probably be great at that." Cause I know a lot of times it's tempting to do something just because you know you could do it well. So in a way you're kind of doing it for yourself, but really, wouldn't you like to sit down every once in a while and play a board game with Jamie, and laugh at your dog? So, practice saying no, and think about how nice you're being to the whole world by doing that. Cause also, you might start to resent all you were doing and maybe get a bad attitude after a while. It's okay to have a little free time, as long as you don't call it free time (ie procrastination time) but rather "take a bath" time or "call a friend" time or "listen to my son" time.
Actually, the newsletter is the easy part. It only takes a couple of hours a month, and is what I consider "play time" as I enjoy it so much. And I still have time to play a board game with Jamie, and listen to him. That's why I'll do my homework early in the morning while he's sleeping - so my after work hours are his.
Love you all, and I appreciate your concern!
Post a Comment