For a bit over four years I worked a demanding full time job while also getting my Master's degree and maintaining a relationship with my spouse.
I don't really have any insightful tricks, I just found the time.
When friends would go out, I would choose to stay in and either get some rest or do work. My weekends were fully allocated to my graduate work. My spouse was understanding and supportive but ultimately I spent less time with her, my family and friends.
I felt most overwhelmed when I planned out what I needed to get done next - that feeling usually went away when I started working.
One semester, in an effort to finish my degree faster, I tried taking an additional class. A little over two weeks in I found myself physically and mentally overwhelmed and unable to keep up with the work. Upon reflection, I realized that in an effort to keep up with the work, I was putting in 95+ hours of work per week. For me, that was unsustainable, so I dropped a class.
Most importantly, in retrospect, I regret it. Looking back it's pretty obvious to me that the compromises I made were misaligned with what actually matters to me. The tricky part for me was that it was really hard to see when I was in the middle of it.
I also think that my excessive workload actually took a lot of the joy out of the work I was doing. And for me, I think I'd rather go 50mph and enjoy the ride adjusting the direction as I go than 150 mph holding on for dear life in who the hell knows which direction.
I don't really have any insightful tricks, I just found the time.
When friends would go out, I would choose to stay in and either get some rest or do work. My weekends were fully allocated to my graduate work. My spouse was understanding and supportive but ultimately I spent less time with her, my family and friends.
I felt most overwhelmed when I planned out what I needed to get done next - that feeling usually went away when I started working.
One semester, in an effort to finish my degree faster, I tried taking an additional class. A little over two weeks in I found myself physically and mentally overwhelmed and unable to keep up with the work. Upon reflection, I realized that in an effort to keep up with the work, I was putting in 95+ hours of work per week. For me, that was unsustainable, so I dropped a class.
Most importantly, in retrospect, I regret it. Looking back it's pretty obvious to me that the compromises I made were misaligned with what actually matters to me. The tricky part for me was that it was really hard to see when I was in the middle of it.
I also think that my excessive workload actually took a lot of the joy out of the work I was doing. And for me, I think I'd rather go 50mph and enjoy the ride adjusting the direction as I go than 150 mph holding on for dear life in who the hell knows which direction.