In 2021, I graduated with a Masters in Special Education with certificates in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This degree took me two years of mostly virtual education and programming. During this time, I intended to sit for the BCBA exam and apply to become a BCBA. Therefore, I was obtaining about 1,500 hours of experience, meeting with my supervisor and contriving ways in which to direct and indirect supervision.nd so, I say “contriving”, as I did all of this during the pandemic.
Throughout earning my degree, I took two classes per term (three in the second year as I decided to add the ASD certificate). I was a full-time special education teacher, part-time personal support worker (PSW) for two clients with various impacts of ASD, coached and consulted for various adaptive sports organizations, and more. Needless to say, I was busy.
How do we balance our busy work lives, manage school expectations, and take care of ourselves at the same time? The common answer is: we don’t. It would seem that some choose not to work, others see their grades or quality of products for school dwindle, and most compromise their quality of life outside of this. Our personal lives suffer- sometimes physically, most of the time mentally, and all of the time socially. It’s not enough to tell you to “find balance.”While finding balance can seem unattainable, below are some ideas that have been helpful for my journey of navigating through busy life seasons.
Compartmentalize
The best advice I ever got (now as frequent reminders) is to schedule my life in blocks. While I consider myself the master of multitasking, it doesn’t mean I’m doing a lot of great things. It usually means I’m doing them just OK, when ideally, that’s not how I want them done. Quite literally, to balance a busy life you need to schedule when you will do school-related activities, work-related activities, and certain personal tasks. No, you don’t necessarily need to schedule bathroom breaks, but if you spend an exceptional amount of time scrolling through reels or sipping your coffee, you may need to put time constraints so you can get everything done.
Make Lists
When everyone and their mother want or need something from you, you’re bound to forget something. Therefore, write it down! Science has spoken- it’s not enough to hear or talk about an expectation;writing it helps commit to memory, too! When you inevitably forget, it’s there in your notes. Some are successful in not using my method of notebook and pen, so do what’s doable. Make lists according to the aforementioned compartments of your life and you’ll feel so much more focused and productive.
All-in-all, the basics of personal organization are excellent ways to balance the hundreds of expectations put on you. These tips are not only beneficial to the supervisee, but the supervisor as well. Not enough discussion exists around the concept that supervision can often take away from a supervisor’s bandwidth and focus on their normal day-to-day tasks. In addition, a supervisor’s abilities will be largely influenced by their passions and motivations as it relates to topics like those on the task list and organization by both parties will keep the supervisee’s and supervisor’s experience productive and mutually beneficial (Hartley, et. al., 2016). Whether self-imposed or not, schedule your time, document such expectations, and don’t forget to schedule time to relax and recharge. When in doubt, login to Tracker! and relish in the fact that you have one less thing to organize!
Works Cited
Hartley BK, Courtney WT, Rosswurm M, LaMarca VJ. The Apprentice: an Innovative Approach to Meet the Behavior Analysis Certification Board’s Supervision Standards. Behav Anal Pract. 2016 Aug 1;9(4):329-338. doi: 10.1007/s40617-016-0136-x. PMID: 27920964; PMCID: PMC5118256.
