In the Meantime: The (not So Successful) Balancing Act

I haven't posted in a while. Some of that had to do with me forgetting my password for this site and having to track it down / reset it. Some of it also had to do with being incredibly overworked and overwhelmed with the responsibilities I undertook, that all came to head in the past couple of months, which included

• managing the research project I am on,
• serving as the conference chair for a 200-person conference,
• planning a 300-person gala (that was in conjunction with the conference),
• organizing a silent auction,
• being a teaching assistant, and 
• trying to balance all of this with an associate editorial position,

while yes, still being a graduate student, friend, daughter, human who needs 7 hours of sleep and 3 meals a day. 

As you might imagine, I did not balance things well. Instead, I "pushed myself" along, and ignored the weariness and tiredness to just "push through." Was it successful? Unfortunately, yes. Both the conference and gala were incredible— in large part of the amazing team I worked with. The research project is trucking along. I have finally caught up on the associate editorial position workload. And I am continuing as the TA for this upcoming quarter. 

I say unfortunately, in listing how I was able to "accomplish" these things, because I realize that I have many bad habits in "balancing," that are only reinforced in the successful finishing of tasks. I gave up sleep, gave up meals (I dropped 15 pounds in a space of 2 weeks right before the conference), and gave up working on my dissertation, spending time with friends, and most importantly, taking care of myself and my mental health. Thankfully, I had friends who refused to be ignored and checked in with my through phone calls and food. So now, with the inordinate amount of pride I have because, honestly, I didn't think we (the conference planning team) could do it, let alone do it while juggling all the challenges we had + my other projects, I also realize I have a HUGE asterisk, and that asterisk is the community that helps with the (not so successful) "balancing" act. 

Now onto the dissertation! Sort of. Or maybe I should clean my kitchen and tidy up my apartment first...