Finding the time to do, well, anything can be quite difficult. There are only so many hours in a day. Twenty-four hours may seem like a lot on paper, but when you factor in the daily regimens that you must do — such as eating, sleeping, and bathing — on top of taking medications, going to school and work, all while trying to keep yourself healthy and have enough time for yourself, it can be a lot to handle. It is something I struggle with a lot. So much to do, so little time — I am sure you have heard that saying before. So how did I crack the code to managing all of this? Well, unfortunately, I have not.
Some days I have it together and other days I do not. While I would love to say that I have it all figured out, that would be a lie. Honestly, I just try to take things on a day-by-day basis, but there are a few things that I try to keep in mind during the week.
One thing that I do is check my schedule to see what I need to do for the week. From there, I will try to schedule my daily routine accordingly. Back in 2019, I had a lot of morning college classes and I would usually get up early in the morning to do all my treatments so I could be ready for the day. I would usually get up at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. so I could do everything. At that time, I had 8 a.m. classes so I did not have much choice.
That process worked for a while, but eventually I did get sick and wound up going to the hospital. Especially when I started taking six classes at once — not because I needed to, but because I felt I had to.
I was rushing to the finish line so I would not get left behind by my peers, but I ended up just rushing my way to a hospital bed.
In return, I received all six grading letters of the alphabet — an A, B, C, two D’s, and an F.
After that, I learned a valuable lesson — do not take on more than you can handle. Make sure whatever commitments you agree to are things you can realistically accomplish. As CFers, we already have a lot of medical obligations (if you would like to refer to them as such). It is something I really had to think about.
Recently, I got a job working part time in the evening. It was a difficult adjustment to get used to because this was my first job ever. Luckily, since I worked in the evening and it’s not that far from my house, I was able to do all my treatments before I left the house. And because I had two days between shifts, I could relax and recharge my battery before the next workday rolled around.
However, I am now back in school, so this has complicated things and now I must readjust my routine again. While I am only taking one class this school year, it includes an internship in which I must complete 150 hours by the end of May or else I will have to pay out-of-pocket to complete it the following school year and risk receiving an F. Unfortunately, there are not too many opportunities for me to intern nearby, so now I must travel a distance on the days that I do not work.
I was starting to get really stressed out about it. I still am. Especially since I started to feel myself getting more worn out each week. I was even considering quitting everything altogether. Even though I am on Trikafta® right now — and it is working well for me — I still have a limit and I am not trying to push it. I am not trying to make myself as sick as I was in 2018 and 2019. Finding the time to do it all is exhausting, but I do not want to quit any of these projects.
So, after thinking long and hard about it, I decided to stick with them since I believe these things will benefit me in the future. However, I have also started taking some time for myself to unwind and relax. Taking a breather is so important for your mental health. The last thing I want is to burn myself out.
Managing time with CF can be exceedingly difficult when there is just not enough time in a day, and the entire process can be extremely draining. What I am trying to do now is create a schedule that works best for me and to stick with it, while still giving myself some time to rest and stepping back from a few things, if necessary, so I can take my time with everything that I need to do.
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