Undergrads, graduate students, faculty and staff
met over dinner to discuss what we'd like to spend more
time on, less time on, and any suggestions we have that
have helped us do so. Here are a sampling (not
necessarily in the order that they were discussed):
1. Prioritize, and lower your standards on items
that don't really matter (like the punctuation in this
email!)
2. Cultivate good relationships with the office
people, and those in the know in the dining halls.
They are the ones who know procedures, shortcuts, how to
process which paperwork and in what order it needs to be
done. And, in an emergency, they are the ones who
know how to bail you out.
3. Try to set aside some cookies in the
freezer--then you can bring a variety the next time you
need to bring something somewhere.
4. Laundry is overrated--if its not really dirty,
don't wash it yet. But find a way to keep it out
of the clean pile so it doesn't get forgotten.
5. If you don't know where to go, ask someone
rather than getting bogged down with it.
6. Don't feel bad about not going to the gym when
you'd really rather be getting your exercise out of
doors.
7. Find people to do things with. Our little
lists made us realize most of us want to be more
physically active, several would like to dance more, and
there is an African Dance class on Wednesdays at the
Westcott community Center. This kind of builds on a
pre-dinner discussion: some of us knit, others
would like to learn--we foresee some lessons in the
future.
8. Pleasure reading: Book clubs have merit, but
require you to have read a specific book or portion
thereof in a specific amount of time. Instead, get
recommendations of books that friends have enjoyed, and
put aside 15-20 minutes at the end of the day.
9. Find a (or several) delivery place.
Because so many of us are already overtasked, we
planned that those who could would bring something
to contribute, and those that couldn't would bring a few
dollars. We pooled the funds and ended up with an
almost complete meal, and some nice discussion with some
folks we wouldn't otherwise have had the opportunity to
meet.
We did get a little off the track of the balancing theme
later in the discussion, but since some of us wanted to
spend more time with friends old and new, maybe that's
not such a bad thing.
This potluck supper was coordinated by the Graduate
Student Association and the ESF Women’s Caucus.
