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StumbleUponDiane: I'm Sure There's an Easier Way
"Between work and school, I have zero downtime."Age 50
Doctoral student and communications director
Single, no children
Long Island, NY
On paper, I can fit everything in my schedule. But in real life, something new is thrown into the mix on an hourly basis, and I find myself scrambling to get everything done. This means that I'm often so exhausted -- a typical day for me is 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. -- that all I want to do is sleep on Saturday instead of doing the things I want and need to do.
On top of a full-time job that includes a three-hour daily commute, I'm a doctoral student, so I'm constantly trying to catch up on reading and homework (which I try to do on the train on the way home from my job, but that doesn't always happen). I'm single, so staying social is important to me: On the weekends, I go to ballroom dance parties, take dance lessons, catch up on phone calls and sometimes go on a date. The weekends are also when I fit in all doctors' appointments, hair appointments, massages, etc., and when I go to the gym and cook my meals for the rest of the week.
The two things I wish I had more time for are rest and cleaning, believe it or not. When I'm taking classes, and particularly when I'm finishing up the semester and writing papers, my entire home life suffers -- Christmas chores have to wait till the semester is over, cooking and cleaning don't get done, and even talking to friends on the phone interferes with my plans to read, write, study. It's to the point where I go through my mail once every six months because it piles up in my room. My biggest nightmare is filing papers and finding a place for all of my stuff -- not just paperwork, but extra clothes and little gadgets and things around the house too. I'm sure there's some easier way to handle all of the things in my life, but I haven't figured it out yet.
Send Diane Your Best Advice for Finding More Time!
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