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Hi everyone. These past few weeks have been the most insane juggling act I’ve ever done. I don’t recall ever being so busy or feeling this overwhelmed by school. Every thing is happening at once! Here’s my to do list, and here are some of the things I’m doing to keep myself from going crazy.

To Do, Week of 12/2–12/8

Psychology of the Middle School Child

Okay, so here’s my bad student admission of the semester. (I don’t even know if I should share this- but other people have done worse I’m sure!!) I completely forgot to hand in a paper that went along with a presentation that I gave last week. Five to seven pages on Freud and the Real Housewives franchise. Totally fine. Papers are all due on the last day of class anyway. I was just trying to stay on top of things by turning them in as I went along.

Methods of Teaching at the Secondary Level

I have to make a few revisions on the lovely classroom management plan I shared with you all a few weeks ago. But that’s not all! For my Teacher Artwork Sample, I have to:

• Create a rubric for my project.

• Assess 60+ finished art pieces from the two classes I taught earlier this week.

• Create a presentation.

• Create a full unit plan around my lesson.

Contemporary Issues in Printmaking

Oof. This class. If you have art undergraduate prerequisites for this program, my recommendation is to take them in the summer! Definitely not in your last full time semester! There are four major projects for this class. I’ve gotten through three of the four. Now, I just have screen printing. Not too shabby, eh? Wrong. My professor might be crazier than me right now. Since screen printing is a fairly simple process, he decided to up the ante a bit (which is cool for undergraduates, but come on, guy), and it’s about the most time consuming project ever, and I don’t have time! Four colors, twenty editions, distributive media. Basically, he wants us to make 20, 4-color prints that can be passed out into the world. If we did the project right, we’ll have passed out all of them but one by the time of the critique. So, I’ve got to make time for that between now and next Tuesday’s critique.

So you’re wondering how procrastination played a role in all of this. I would never lie to you. I procrastinated on some things… pretty much everything but my Secondary Methods class… Don’t end up like me. Here’s what I’ve learned over the past few weeks:

1. Obviously, don’t procrastinate.

It’s easy to go into avoidance when you’re stressed out by even thinking about how much work you have to do. Think about what takes the least amount of time or what work you can easily get done while watching whatever awful reality show you’re into. My poison is the Real Housewives. It started off as “research” for the above mentioned project that I forgot to hand in my paper for. Now, I need to know if Kyle and Kim will ever be close again. Anyway, taking care of the little assignments early will be one less thing you’ll have to worry about.

2. Eat well.

Ramen noodles are not food. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are not food either, no matter how many you eat or how nostalgic you feel when you eat them.

3. Sleep.

All-nighters happen, but they’re always terrible choices that you have to make up for at some point. I had two all-nighters in the past week and a half, and I slept for most of last weekend. No bueno.

4. Commiserate with your classmates.

Chances are they’re in the same boat as you, and sometimes it’s nice to know you’re not alone in the trenches.