Define "work"

I think most of us can agree that we struggle with keeping balance between our work lives and our personal lives. I know that for most of my professional life, I’ve struggled with trying to have a social life of some kind while balancing a demanding job. (Is there any other kind of job?) So what happens when you throw grad school into the mix?

Mine is an unusual story. I’m in the weekend program for working professionals and I’m not working. I should qualify that statement. I’m not working outside the home and getting paid. I am working, however, at handling all the paperwork and legal documents that come with trying to sell a house in Florida and I am working at trying to find a new job. Trust me when I say looking for a job is a full-time job.

Every so often I go on the usajobs.gov website which posts the available jobs in the federal government and I may find one to apply for. It takes about two hours to complete one application. Despite uploading my resume, which I think is pretty clear, I must then turn around and answer anywhere from seven to 10 essay questions on the experience I have in various fields and how it correlates to the job I am applying for. By the time I complete one application my brain hurts.

It can be quite challenging to do reading and writing assignments for graduate school after completing 10 essay questions or running around looking for a notary public to notarize all the documents needed for a closing. Even though I’m not “working”, I find that I don’t do my homework until the evening. Just like my “working” classmates.

So how do I maintain balance? It’s like I’ve said for the last two weeks. Prioritize and sacrifice. Homework is a priority so it takes preference over my desire to go and see D.C. as a tourist. Hopefully, the Capitol will still be there once I graduate. And hopefully I’ll be “working” before I graduate.

Millicent