Ever since kicking the job search into high gear, the days are a little different than when I was "only a student." Meetings, networking events, emails, internet searches and more have taken over the time I once only devoted to class work. Talk about re-prioritization! Don't tell my Econ professor, but one of my classes has slipped to the bottom of the totem pole! Can you guess which one?
Here is what to expect if you find yourself in the same boat. (And don't worry, it IS manageable if you're smart about it!)
7 am - 8:30 am: Get up, make coffee, let the dogs out, assess which tasks I can handle while waiting for the coffee to kick in. Decide to begin answering emails, work on taxes, and make a list of what to prepare for class this week.
8:35 am: Refill coffee mug. Get my act together to go to kickboxing.
9:00 am - 10:00 am: Go to kickboxing.
10:00 am - 10:45 am: Prepare for a meeting with our Alumni Association, grab a Luna Bar, rush out the door. Run back inside to grab laptop. You never know, may need it later today... On the way, call my grandmother to check in since she had surgery this week.
11:00 am - 12:30 pm: Meet with alumni. Start planning a Graduate Business Association mentor program with the Alumni Association to go into effect in the Fall.
12:35 pm: Grab lunch at Chipotle. Read through emails on my phone while eating. Find out my meeting later today with a social media guru who is helping me find a job needs to be rescheduled for two days later. Send email to Career Coach at Georgia State to find out status on a couple internship applications and get names of contacts at target companies.
1:00 pm: Receive harsh email from professor letting us know that the group presentation we've worked on for over a month has significant room for improvement. Note: We have to give the presentation tomorrow.
1:01 pm: Panic.
1:04 pm - 4 pm: Pull it together. Breathe a sigh of relief that I have my laptop & that meeting was cancelled, which means the afternoon is wide open! Send an email to the group - all of whom are employed full-time - to let them know I'll handle the editing, then thank my lucky stars that I'm a full-time student with time to work on this. Take a few breaks from the project during which I check emails, follow-up on job applications, do a brief job search for my target companies... I might have gone on Facebook, too. Just for a minute. :)
4 pm: Reinforcements arrive! Ashley, a team member, & I keep working on the presentation. Sheesh!
6 pm - 7:30 pm: Change locations to grab a bite to eat while we keep working on the presentation. Just today, we've spent over 6 hours of work on this presentation, folks! This is exhausting! I need a refill on my Diet Coke. We finally finish up the presentation, then send it out to group for final edits.
7:45pm to 10pm: Head home. Walk the dogs. Catch up on the other work I had to push to the side to work on the presentation. Try to stay awake because I'm exhausted!
10pm - 11pm: Get ready for bed. Read a few chapters of the 2nd book in the Hunger Games series. It's so good!
11 pm: Zzzzzzz....
As you can tell, there's a lot we students have to cram into one day! The good news is, it always gets done. It's weird. Snafus and unpredictable challenges are inevitable, but, remarkably, they can sometimes be a blessing. Had that meeting not been cancelled, there is no way we could have made such headway on the presentation with enough time to prepare. Silver lining, you could say. What I've learned is to swallow the panic and frustration and keep on keeping on. It will always get done, and it will be good enough!
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