Making Difficult Decisions
Time management. Priorities. Scheduling. They are terms that are frequently tossed around, especially for college students. “You can’t do it all” and “don’t spread yourself too thinly” are phrases that have been routinely said to me when I am under stress and face pressure due to competing priorities. In my experience, it took a few years to finally accept and then internalize these phrases. I had to learn, and I believe that everyone eventually must learn, the ability to confidently say “no” to an opportunity that will overload one’s already-full schedule.
I have found the same to be true for many of my peers. They accept obligations and take on positions only to subsequently find themselves in a state of continual “burnout.” Their work becomes less productive and of lower quality because they struggle to get essentials such as good sleep. It is not uncommon for my peers to complain about how many all-nighters they’ve endured this semester or how they haven’t eaten all day due to their tightly packed schedule. They struggle to meet or even remember deadlines, and everything begins to blur in their minds.
I have experienced this degree of burnout myself, but I now make a conscious effort to educate fellow college students about my own experiences and how we self-sabotage when we say yes to everything. I am usually met with shrugs followed by yawns. “It is what it is” is a common response I receive. However, often times we can lose sight of our own control over such situations. We must prioritize our obligations and be honest with ourselves about sacrificing quality for quantity. We must make difficult, yet informed, decisions about what we should take on versus what we should turn down. While it is obviously essential to work hard and challenge oneself, determining your own burnout threshold where you’re no longer challenging yourself positively is key. This is where your overall performance declines. Everyone’s threshold will be different, as everyone’s lifestyles and work habits are different, but everyone has a threshold.
How do you determine your own threshold and make such decisions? I have a few suggestions. First, determine your non-negotiables. These are obligations you must keep and duties you must continue to execute regardless of how time-consuming they may be. For me, these are my college courses — my academic obligations. Next, determine how much time you must allocate to your non-negotiables to do them well. It is especially important to be honest with yourself. Next, deeply reflect on each position you hold and/or each project or activity you are involved in outside of your non-negotiables. These are your negotiables. How much time does each require per day? Per week? What are you currently gaining from each? After determining your non-negotiables, you should have a general idea of how much of your time is available for your negotiables. You might have no time left while still being able to perform well and live a productive life, and that is okay. If you have room for some, rank them. Are there some that involve less time, and is that most important to you? Or, is one obligation so compelling that you are willing to spend more time on it per week and subsequently not engage in other activities? Now, you should have a better idea of what is important to you and what you can realistically handle.
I may make this process sound simple, but I know that it is not. It is complex and emotional. I have had to stop participating in roles that I have loved because of the limited time I had available for them. Realizing that you can’t do everything you want to do all at the same time is frustrating. However, once you accept the fact that it is okay to say no to things that you do not have time for, your personal, academic, and professional lives will change for the better.
Unfortunately, I have had to make one of these tough decisions. While I have adored my time working for Skillsoft and one of its agencies, C Space, I realized I do not have adequate time to allocate to my internship obligations while still performing well in my college courses and other academic pursuits. My remote courses have been more time-consuming than I originally anticipated. It is important to adapt to novel circumstances, which I have been forced to do this semester. I also have had to accept my schedule’s limitations as a result of such circumstances. While I will not be continuing my internship this fall, I will rigorously apply what I have learned throughout the semester and in the future. Because one cannot participate in everything, it is essential to get the absolute most out of what you can participate in. I am extremely appreciative that I was able to achieve this and benefit from an incredible internship experience. I had to make a difficult decision to achieve balance. The limit of twenty-four hours in a day and competing priorities will always challenge us, so I encourage you to be honest with yourself about what you need to do to achieve balance in your life.
