By Helena Smith 

This Friday, I think I hit a new record in how many times I had to check the date. It just wouldn’t sink in that the week had gone so fast, last time I checked it was Tuesday. Safe to say it has been the most manic week yet. Whilst I found the face pace and pressure invigorating, having overcome the week and taken the time to reflect, the importance of making sure you have time to reset has really hit home.

This week of deadlines was probably the perfect opportunity to put into practice about what SCA have been encouraging us to do from day one in terms of creating good habits that will help us not only produce high-quality work but also survive. For example, making time in your day to switch all the apps off running your head and meditate.

I regret to say that I fell into some old habits in the inertia of the week, consequently breaking all the efforts I had made to start new habits such as meditation, in the previous weeks. Recognising this I can’t help but feel annoyed. In hindsight, there were definitely points when I know taking a timeout would have helped my focus. It seems though I thought I was getting somewhere these new habits, I need to be stricter to ensure I don’t let them slip when the mist of adrenaline drops as a result of a deadline heavy week.

So, in a new effort to prevent this from happening again, my wall has required a new note with the words “you cannot expect change to happen if you don’t change anything”. Again, this was something cited to us fairly early on in our SCA education, as somewhere that encourages you to be the best possible version of yourself through continual evolvement. Though it is only after this week that the words have really resonated with me. I need to place the same importance on ensuring I follow through with my positive changes as I place on creating great work. Having the quote placed strategically eye-level next to my bed, I hope that if I get caught up again in old habits it will catch me at the right time to make me think twice. I’m not sure about everyone else but those moments before I sleep are often when my most profound realizations happen.

On a lighter note, but still, on the same train of thought at the art of resetting yourself, I have thoroughly enjoyed all the tone of voice and persona classes we have had this week. I dread to think how many hours I stared at a screen during my younger years playing Sims, creating characters and playing with family dynamics. So, this week has been a sort of dream for me has been able to delve back into that headspace. Not to mention that my journey’s to and from school and have now become a whole lot more fun as I start filling up my ‘persona draw’.

So for me ‘resetting’ has been a bit of theme for this week. And I have thought how maybe what I find enjoyable in terms of resting myself into thinking like a certain character could help with what I struggle with in terms of resetting and taking a timeout. I need to reset myself into the persona of who I hope to be at the end of this year. A fulfilled, calm and strong person, healthy in both body and mind. When the heat starts to inevitably rise again I think it could be a technique to try to first reset into this persona and what she would do, to then be able to recognize and action a need for a timeout and stick to those good habits.