Self Care?

Written by Robert Caldwell

Picture taken outside the Hall of States

The most important skill I’ve learned from WAIP, is the ability to maintain a work-life balance. The term “work-life balance” means different things for everybody – but the bottom line is a healthy juggling of work and self care in an attempt to reach the highest possible levels of both happiness and productivity. In other words, if you haven’t gone grocery shopping in two weeks, and you’re on your last pair of socks, maybe don’t go to that next networking mixer. Maybe, you should stay in, buy fresh food, do your laundry, and get some extra *wait for it* … sleep?

I want to point something out, this isn’t the gripe of an entitled millennial who loves complaining – you have to work hard to chase your dreams. Hustle is the name of the game, and there are a lot of people jockeying for a spot. If you want to be at the top, then you have to accept that there will be sleepless nights, bloodshot eyes, and the moments where you’re so tired that you reuse coffee grounds from that morning to make a second pot at 3 a.m. (something I witnessed a fellow WAIPer do this semester). However, there is a point of what economists call – diminishing utility.

The law of diminishing marginal utility states that as a person increases consumption of a product while keeping consumption of other products constant, there is a decline in the marginal utility that person derives from consuming each additional unit of that product. So how does this apply to a work-life balance? Let me put it this way: at a certain point you will get more utility (economists go-to measurement for usefulness or satisfaction) from staying in and taking care of yourself than going to sit in on the 15^th resume building workshop of your lifetime. This does NOT mean that after you attend x amount of networking events in a few weeks, that you’ve met everybody in the whole District of Columbia. Also, it is still an essential pillar of the DC intern experience to attend congressional meetings, think tank events, and maybe an parade if you're feeling so ambitious. Rather, you could spread your networking out over a few weeks – go to one event, and exhaust those connections completely before being bombarded with more business cards and post-work coffee meetings. Find ways to combine exploring the city, and getting a bit of work done on the side.

Being deliberate in times of work also affords any individual the luxury of being more deliberate during their times of play. Maintaining this self-awareness when switching between work and relaxation was a lesson that translated into improved self-care, and subsequently more productivity throughout my WAIP experience. This balance helped me make the most of my internship while I was in DC, but it also showed me the importance of maintaining balance – especially during periods of high stress. Work hard, but don’t forget to play hard (and try to eat healthy … and sleep … and call your mother … and do your laundry once in a while).