Find Your Moments Between (Repost)

A repost from Dec. 16, 2014! Happy Holidays to all!

One of my favorite singer/songwriters, Ben Rector, has a lyric I love: “Life is not the mountaintops, it’s the walking in between.” It’s resonated with me since I first heard it. Before Ben, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart arguably said it better: “The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.” Both these quotes could mean so many things to so many people, but for me, it’s a reminder to enjoy life on the way—the good and bad and everything in between. In student affairs, this translates into finding moments joy and meaning at work.

 Our days (and nights) are full of meetings. We love to meet. Staff meetings, student meetings, one-on-one meetings, division meetings, committee meetings—the list could go on for hours. It’s easy to feel bogged down with so many meetings. On those days with a packed schedule, I crave the walking and silence in between. It’s an opportunity to catch up with a friend, ask a coworker or student how they’re doing, or grab a delicious coffee while walking across campus to the next meeting. It’s during these moments (and during other not so busy days) when I’m developing the relationships that make the work more collaborative and enjoyable.

 Full disclosure: my number one strength is relator. The next is maximizer. And I’m a new professional. So there’s no surprise to anyone that I use the moments between projects, events, and meetings to chat with others, and at times even to get more work done. But it’s not just about how productive I feel when this happens—it’s much more. I feel that utilizing those moments gives me energy and helps me find joy in the work that I do—regardless of what’s going on. They give me a personal stake that cannot help but make the work more fulfilling. There might be days full of daunting to-do lists, big changes, or student conflicts, but I still try to take the time between those peaks of activity to talk with others. Now, taking ten minutes to chat with your coworkers about non-work related topics probably sounds miserable to some. To you I say: use those moments for yourself. Find energy, excitement, and peace. Forge your own set of habits that make the workday more enjoyable for you. It can bring unexpected happiness to the long lulls of stresses.

 The other moments in between are the evenings and days where I don’t have anything going on for work. On days like this it’s so easy to say that I’m going to catch up on work, but instead, sometimes I try to work on anything except work. Though I feel the need to spend evenings cleaning out my email inbox, I put it aside for a bit and work on my holiday gift lists and projects for alumni involvement at my alma mater.  I work on finding creativity through calligraphy and planning social events for my friends. I work on myself. My job doesn’t define me, but it is an important part of my life, so taking time to clear my head bodes well for balance.

 We encourage and empower our students to do what they love and to find balance. And I know that there are many student affairs professionals who love their jobs. But I also know that positivity can be tough to maintain when dealing with the hard side of student life. It’s easy to let yourself get heavy, work late, and feel stressed when there’s so much going on at a job where you care deeply about your work. We say take balance seriously, and we should. But balance doesn’t have to be just vacations and days off; it can live within your workday in the walking in between.

Erica Zamora is the Residential Community Director for the Service House at Southern Methodist University. She received her B.A. in Communication from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas and her M.A. in Higher Education and Student Affairs at New York University. Feel free to connect with her at @ezamora2 on twitter.