So far I've tried to take time to speak on how fruitful life as a Student Affairs (SA) professional can be. Similarly, I've also mentioned how important I think it is for young SA professionals to find something they're passionate about that's related to higher education but not necessarily directly to their position. What I wish to do next is discuss how important it may be for your career to find something outside outside of work to be involved in.
Life in SA is not as simple as your typical 9-5 job. There's often a time commitment outside of normal office hours which is something many SA professionals, like yourself I'm sure, anticipate and actually look forward to. When your career involves students' lives it's hard not to be overly involved in your work. However, in my young career I made the mistake of being too involved in my work and not giving myself enough time outside of work to enjoy myself. There's most certainly a difference between being overly involved in one's work in a positive and negative manner.
As a graduate assistant (GA) for my university's housing department I was required to maintain office hours five days a week from 1-5 pm. I found that most of my work involved communication with other departments and the supervision of work orders that needed completing; with these tasks in mind, I felt that my time would be better spent working in the morning than the afternoon. So, I found myself going to my office early in the day, as early as 9 a.m. on some days, and spending my whole day at work. Let me be clear before moving on: No one asked me to spend this much time in my office. However, I felt that a less-structured. longer office day afforded me time to complete work in my office as well as walk the grounds to check on maintenance requests and visit the maintenance department.
Nevertheless, what I thought would benefit me in not restricting my day to 1-5 p.m. and instead embracing a longer work day eventually resulting in being stressed out in very short order. I didn't allow myself to schedule any time for me! My days were spent working on housing matters and my evenings were spent on class work. This was my own undoing but this is exactly why I'm writing this now! I want other SA professionals, especially younger ones, to be aware of what to avoid doing and what I think should be encouraged.
Let me reiterate, it's extremely easy to wrap oneself up in work and not realize how little the time you afford yourself is. However, it's extremely important to find time for yourself outside of work, without your colleagues, and sometimes even off campus. If you enjoy writing then find a local coffee shop to spend part of your weekends in. Find a book to read. Visit family if they live in close proximity to your campus. Do something! As I said, sometimes you're just going to have to get off campus. Plain and simple. For me, I enjoy visiting a nearby park on the weekends with my girlfriend. There we feed the birds and walk the grounds. If I don't want to venture too far away from home (I live right across the street from campus after all) I try to use the gym at least 3-4 times a week to de-stress.
I see working out a couple times a week as more than an escape from work but also time that I can dedicate to my own mental and physical well-being. Even if I only find time for just one hour at the gym I feel so refreshed and happy that I'm ready for the stress that sometimes accompanies working in SA once the week begins. But maybe the gym isn't for you. That's perfectly okay! I found that some of my colleagues do not nearly enjoy using the gym as a stress outlet as much as I do. Maybe visiting your local bar is more your speed? Personally, I'm not one to really enjoy spending time at the local area bars so my weekend evenings so if I'm not at the gym I usually spent doing something fun with my girlfriend, something that gets us both away from work or our books. A bottle of wine at the comfort of your own home is sometimes all one needs. Maybe you're a Netflix person like myself who can spend part of their weekend binge watching a television series (check out House of Cards!).
Plainly, if you spend an appropriate amount of time outside of work then you may find yourself enjoying the time spent in your office even more than before! There's nothing wrong with looking forward to the weekend as long as you dedicate yourself to your career during the week. That's not to say that your downtime can't be time spent on something related to work. Far be it for me to suggest that your passion related to higher education can't be what you focus on outside of work but let me suggest that it isn't the only thing you follow.
You may find that enjoying time outside of work will be conducive to your performance at work. See, you benefit in two ways! I simply can't begin to emphasize just how important it is to get away from what dominates most of your brain power during the week. It took me months to realize just how important time to yourself, or in the company of a loved one, is. I'm glad that I do now though and I'll definitely take this lesson with me once I land my first full-time SA position.
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