The Writing and Photography Blog of Kevin J Sabo

The upcoming week looks like it’s going to be pretty light, and I am not going to object.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been pushing hard, with work and school. I’ve been pushing in what is typically my worst time of year of year. The bright side is I haven’t ended up in hospital, and I have been tolerating my stress level well, but it has been building.

Over the last month I have taken on more and more projects. On their own nothing has been particularly stress inducing, but once they begin getting compounded on top of each the stress builds.

I’ve had a couple people mention that I need to be wary of my load. I thought I was handling it. Hell, I am handling it. Mostly.

I’m noticing little things though. I’m noticing that my temper has been getting quick. I’ve been getting pissed off and frustrated easier. I’m noticing my sleep has definitely been impacted as well.

All the little indicators are there that I’m starting to slide.

There is, however, one major difference between this time and times previous. I’m seeing it. Additionally, as tired as I’m feeling, I’m not feeling overwhelmed. This is a bit of a storm, but I can still see the lighthouse to navigate by.

Nothing that I have picked up is earth-shattering. School and work remain the top two priorities. They will remain my two biggest chunks of time in my time management, with each occupying 10-15 hours a week.

My graphic design, photography, and church commitments are next for a combined 5 to 10 hours.

Finally comes my writing group, the boards, and mental health advocacy that I’m working towards. These are monthly action items.

What’s missing?

Me time. I need to find time to unwind. Play Red Dead, or whatever game I decide to play. I need to make time to exercise again, because that has all but fallen off for a multitude of reasons. I need to make time to look after household chores as well, because I know when they are taken care of, my mind is clearer and easier to focus.

Looking at my schedule, it’s been feeling heavy. Looking at it though, it’s not about dumping things to make it easier, it’s about structuring it to maximize my time, and do what I need to do to keep myself at peak performance, and that means taking some down time. If I have to cut back on things I will, later. For the moment I’m going to acclimatize to this new load, and hopefully rebound a bit once I get things figured out.

I know I’m no good to anyone if I’m not looking after myself, but I intend to keep pushing myself hard, I just need to do it smarter. I can keep doing everything, I just need to get back to basics as well.

Kevin