These past couple of weeks, I’ve been running around constantly. I was at a media convention with the Trinitonian over Halloween; we decided the Saturday we got back to cover the election in Bexar county; we were up until 6 a.m. on Wednesday finishing it. Working is all I’ve been doing — what I know everyone has been doing — and we need to learn how to cool it and do less.
Honestly, I feel like a hypocrite saying that. I love being busy and filling my schedule with events to attend and people to see. It makes me feel productive, prepared. When I have no time to myself I feel like I’m using my time as best as I can. There will be no FOMO here.
We all know what this leads to. It’s the only thing I could think to write about for this editorial: burnout. I’ll be the first to tell you that you need to take care of yourself. You must prevent burnout, otherwise you won’t be able to do anything. To do this, however, but I’m telling you that you can’t set yourself up for that in the first place.
You have to do less with your time. Not only because it’s horrible for your health and sanity, but also because you will never be able to do all of that work, even when you feel like you’re on top of it all.
This is advice I’m actively giving to myself, too. I’ve committed to so many things, and though I’m giving all I can give, it’s not all of what these people or things deserve. That’s not to say you must meet everyone’s expectations, but you have to acknowledge when you’re falling behind — when you can no longer handle it.
That workaholic behavior and constant overextension is prevalent at Trinity University, but I don’t think people realize how much it’s hurting them and everyone else in the process. Don’t ruminate on the possibility of hurting others when you’re just trying to do your best. People also need to give you grace when you’re struggling to keep up, but we’re in the midst of course registration and deciding what jobs to keep or to give up. I’m telling you to be cognizant of how your availability could impact the people and things you love.
Sarah Fisher, the editor-in-chief of the Trinitonian for the 2023-2024 year, wrote a wonderful editorial last year about what you owe people. She argues that you owe it to people to make their lives easier, and I agree. When you’re overwhelming yourself with what you’re taking on, that impacts people. You lose time with your friends, contact with your family. You devote less time to classes and class discussions. The organizations you’re in weaken.
How much you choose to do impacts you, what you get out of classes and jobs and relationships. But remember that it impacts other people too. We can’t avoid the community we’re in, and we have to acknowledge that everything we do affects it.
Don’t stress about how every decision you make affects other people, but now is the time to figure out what you can handle. If you’re taking 18 hours on top of working somewhere and you’re on the fence about whether you’ll have time for a class, push it off to another semester. If you’re applying for a job when you have three others, apply another year. You only have so much time, but less is more — for you and everyone else. You owe that time to them.
