Green project update – let’s stop being terrified of time

I’m currently sat at my computer, typing, and experiencing a medium to large amount of stress. It’s that kind of stress that isn’t expressed in freaking out, screaming wildly, or weeping silently in the toilets (it happens to the best of us) but expressed through sitting and smiling a bit maniacally while you inwardly disintegrate with panic. I’m also dealing with it by considering ordering a Sims 3 expansion pack and paying an extra £9 just so it’ll be in my arms by tomorrow at 1pm.

It probably doesn’t help that I can’t go to town on the stress ball Alison lent me while I’m typing.  Not enough hands. Nightmare.

 I’d say, in general, I’m not a very stressed out kinda gal. I just get panicked when I feel I’m running out of time – even if things are actually progressing pretty well.

Feeling the pressure. I am feeling the pressure. (Thanks to bottled_void for the image.)

You may or may not know (you should know) but my Grow Your Own Ideas contest starts in just three weeks time. Three weeks might sound like a lot, but factor in that I only have one full day of work left at USE before going back to part-time, and it becomes a little bit more panic inducing. When I say ‘a little bit more’ I mean a lot more. Like, if an elephant was made out of panic, that is the amount my panic levels are increasing just thinking about it.

The thing is, though, that things are actually going quite well. I’ve sorted out a detailed marketing plan with a breakdown of the fortnight running up to the Grow Your Own Ideas launch and exactly how it’s going to be marketed. So I’ve got tweets scheduled, Student Announce emails drafted, and I’ve allotted three days where my fellow interns and I will be flinging free plants at students on the concourse to try and make them get involved.

No. I’m not kidding.

As well as that, the tasks are all outlined and prepared, I finally have rooms booked for every part of the competition, and we’ve got a recap meeting booked in in the next week. So, why panic?

I think it’s pretty easy to freak out about something when its important, especially when you start counting down days on your calendar as you approach the dreaded deadline. What if you don’t get everything done in time? What if everything goes wrong? What if nobody wants to take part?

I have a few reasons for blogging about this – firstly, stress relief. It feels so much better getting that off my chest. But I also got thinking about how the feeling of running out of time can make you a bit irrational, and cause you to lose a lot of confidence in what you’re doing. This applies to events, like mine, but also to essays – have you ever found yourself going back and editing work you know is already finely tuned, just because the deadline is in a couple of hours?

So, it’s time to take a deep breath. I might be running out of time, but I’ve got the most important parts sorted. Oh, and even with only one day of full-time work left, I still have the awesome might of the USE team behind me who are always there to lend a bit of support if you need it.

Maybe we all just need to sit back, relax, and have a nice cup of tea. If you’ve worked hard and completed the tasks you wanted to get through, there’s probably no need to panic after all.