So my first week of life with my new job went by, and I mostly pulled it off. It was definitely a bit rough, as I had a lot of my freelance duties and other regular commitments to fit in around it, and it meant a hell of a lot of driving and frankly less than an hour of downtime at a stretch on any of the last more days, which is for me the highest-stress state of affairs possible. I think I blew the audition I went to on Wednesday due to sheer exhaustion, which is very frustrating, and I went through a tank of gas at an absolutely shocking rate. But I like the job itself-- I'm doing well at providing the essay-writing support the students need, and since the workload ebbs and flows throughout the day, I had a fair bit of time to work on my own writing and other work. That suits me. Also I'm making more money in less time than I was at my previous steady day job, which alone makes it feel like a step up.
So I am fairly certain it will work okay for me, at least if I make a few life adjustments. Since my hours are 11AM to 6PM, my days are back-loaded rather than front, which is very different for me, so I need to learn to make use of the early hours to manage non-work things. If I continue to get up at 7AM like I usually do, I have a fair bit of time before I have to head over to BHCC. I would like to get back in the habit of going in for a workout first thing in the morning, which would be really healthy for me, especially since I won't be able to go to the Wednesday morning ballet class like I have been. I also think I need to get more into crock pot cookery. With all that time in the morning, I can easily put something into the slower cooker before I have to leave and have it ready for dinner when I come home. I've never done it much before, generally I find things cooked in the oven or on the stove to be superior to crock pot methods, but it would be worth it just to have it all ready to go as soon as I walk in the door. I am a creature of habit and routine in the extreme, so it will take a bit of effort to rearrange my ways, but I think it would serve me well in this case.
Also-- and this is a perennial issue I contend with --it's becoming clear that it's time to reevaluate my commitments. Most of the things I'm doing now are things that are important to me and make me happy, but probably not every little thing. I'm sure I could find something to jettison that I wouldn't miss, that would be one less responsibility on my plate. And maybe don't take on anything new for a while. I've certainly got enough to contend with at the moment, and the feeling of being run ragged is encroaching. I want to enjoy the stuff I do that's supposed to be enrichment to my life, not find it all burdensome.
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