Back to School

Back to school time is stressful. Figuring out your new schedule, teachers and classmates along with juggling your homework along with the rest of life can feel a little overwhelming and takes more of your precious time. Going back to school in my 40's I am more excited about this than I ever was back in my 20's. Still, it is stressful (eustress=happy stress) and can have the same negative results on your health as bad stress if you don't monitor it.
Whew, what a whirlwind week it has been! Not having done math, particularly algebra for over 25 years I tested into an Elementary Algebra II math class. After attending a few days of the class I decided I had forgotten too much! I was sitting in the tutoring center every day this week, even though I had the desire to learn I didn't necessarily have the time to do this every day. So, I removed myself and went back to Elementary Algebra I. I am happy to begin with reviewing integers. :-) Even though I could have probably figured out what was going on, I decided that the amount of time and stress it was going to add to my day would soon make this positive experience become negative.
Often times I have to remind myself that schedule overload is not healthy, even if I am having fun at what I am doing it can lead to stress and that often results in making me sick. Who has time for that?!?  How many times have you started something you love and then quit because it became too overwhelming or time consuming? Giving yourself boundaries or limiting your schedule can make everything you do more rewarding in life. Sometimes this means saying "No" to something you would really like to do. Setting priorities and not over committing yourself will leave your schedule open to say "Yes" during those times you really want to add something extra to your schedule.
I'm so happy to be off for a run right now and not spending my time in the tutoring center.