Balance

March and April are the busiest months of the year for me. I advise 1,000 English majors (mostly by myself) and during these months they enroll for courses next year. A general panic sets in, no matter how much I prepare them, and my load piles high: 100-300 emails a week, appointments and walk-ins with at least 40 students weekly asking what they should take next year.

This would be about the time someone like me (responsible, devoted, organized) would work harder and longer, and as a result, start burning out. For the last four years, that’s just what has happened. By the end of April, I’m frustrated and crying, wondering why I stay in this job (that I usually LOVE).

This year I’m trying to work smarter and strike a balance in my day. When I begin to feel the stress mounting, my whole being try to check out and that I just want to scream, I know it’s time to stop, quiet myself, and find a way to fill up.

Yesterday, for the first time ever in this job, when I got to that point in my day, I walked across the street to Starbucks, ordered a macchiato, and read the New York Times. It felt meditative. I savored the coffee, chocolate and caramel in the drink. I focused on the labor protests in France. I was out of my mind (the part that was wrapped up in work) for 45 minutes, and it refreshed me.

Sometimes just closing my eyes for 5 minutes, going "inside", emptying all the stuff out of my head, is enough to relax and recharge.

I’m reposting Lar Braun’s sculpture “acrobat” because it illustrates balance. This time it’s been photoshopped with the “fresco” filter.

I wonder what other people do when they're out of balance?