Finding Balance During My MBA
I had been out of school for about seven years before I started my MBA, so I was nervous about work/life balance during the program. How would I handle group projects while also making sure I had time to see my husband? Would I end up living in the library? Would I have time to join any clubs? What was this Thirsty Thursday that all the second years kept talking about?
When my Mod 1 team met for the first time, we all had multiple pieces of our lives we were trying to juggle – school, moving, and wedding planning, to name a few. Seeing that everyone was dealing with the same major transition helped me feel more confident in setting my own priorities. Mod 2 arrived faster than I expected, and I started to find my routines. I had my favorite study spot in the library and carved out time to make dinner at home even if I had to get back to studying right after.
Before I knew it we were already in Mod 3. With new case-heavy classes, the internship search in high gear, and an additional client project for a Global Field Seminar I was taking over spring break, I started to feel a bit overwhelmed. There were so many deadlines, projects, events, and team meetings – seriously, so many team meetings.
At the same time, I marveled at everything I was getting to do. At the end of each day, I hadn’t just gone to class. I’d brainstormed strategies for our pharmaceutical client. I’d researched business models for our microgrid tech client in South Africa. I’d put together a panel of alumni for a club event. I’d interviewed for a summer internship. I’d had classmates coach me on how improve a presentation. I’d gone to a concert at the Brighton Music Hall or tried out a new restaurant on Beacon Ave. I could see how much I was experiencing and learning each day, so even when I was feeling tired at 11:00 PM on a Tuesday night or in hour 3 of a team project meeting, I was excited to get up the next day.
Even while juggling deadlines, I carved out time for non-Questrom activities. I live fifteen minutes from the Coolidge Corner library, and so always have a pile of novels to give me a break from thinking about strategic positioning. I know that I will feel better about Friday nights that I spend with friends instead of in front of my laptop – and I won’t be productive then, anyway. Every Saturday morning, I make myself a pot of coffee and catch up on favorite TV shows. Designating times where I don’t work helps me be more focused when I am working and lets me fully relax when I’m not.
Balance for me is less of a day-to-day goal and more of a holistic one. Instead of thinking in terms of a to-do list, I try to think in terms of overarching goals. Am I learning? Am I seeing myself grow? Am I spending quality time with people I care about? If I’m feeling out of sync, what’s causing it and how can I fix it? Taking the time to appreciate all that I’m doing – both at Questrom and outside – helps me keep perspective and reminds me to build in downtime where I can. The point of the MBA for me isn’t about the next graded assignment, it’s about the full experience of these two years at Questrom and in Boston. I’ll raise my glass to that at the next Thirsty Thursday.
Laura Chanoux is a First-Year Social Impact MBA Candidate at the Questrom School of Business