Work-Life Balance.

At our first editorial board meeting this year, my editor-in-chief asked all of us to set goals for the year–a personal one and a newspaper one.

My newspaper goal was to do less micro-managing and allow editors to do their jobs before I jumped in. I’ve struggled with that the past three years. It’s the control freak side of me.

My personal goal was to improve my work-life balance by not working so much after school hours.

Sometimes that just can’t be helped, but sometimes I use work as an excuse to not do things like go to the gym, see movies I want to see, hang out with friends.

Since school started three weeks ago, I have spent time with a different friend at least once a week. One week, I saw a movie with a friend. The next week I spent time with friends who stopped in Omaha on their way to Chicago. This past week, a friend came over and we just gabbed for over two hours. Coming up this week, I’m meeting a friend for dinner.

These are giant steps for me, because usually during the school year, I cling to my anti-social, borderline-agoraphobic tendencies. If I’m not working, then I’m thinking about work, or feeling guilty that I’m not working, so I start to work. It’s a hideous cycle.

A cycle that needs to stop. So this school year, I plan on continuing this month’s trend of spending one evening a week doing something social. It will guarantee that at least for one night I am not focused on work, which is something I desperately need.

So if you want to see a $5 movie on a Tuesday, give me a call. Grab a drink at Starbucks? I’m game. Tell me which Omaha restaurants I need to try, because I haven’t tried most of them. And join me for dinner.

This school year, I need to remember that I have a life outside of school. I need to remember what that life is.