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April/May 2004 Issue
Avoid Spring burnout
by Jennifer Shike
Pig sales. Pig shows. Track meets. Show entry deadlines. Finals. Baseball games. FFA contests. Veterinary visits. Field trips. End-of-the-year parties at school. 4-H meetings.
Spring is officially underway, and with the warmer weather comes a new line-up of demands on your family’s schedule. It’s no secret why kids and parents are experiencing greater burnout than ever before. Everyone is busy. And we live in an era where busyness is normal and expected.
But does that necessarily mean that it’s good?
Kids learn by example. If parents are overcommitted, their kids will most likely follow in their footsteps. Before you know it, everyone is running low on steam because they are taking on too many responsibilities.
Choose your commitments wisely. I understand what it’s like to be interested in many things. I can’t count the number of times three great things happened on the same day, and I could only be a part of one. This makes it even more difficult to choose which activities to say “yes” to, and to which activities to say “no.”
Tim Geare and Tim Sanford share an interesting approach to choosing commitments in their article, “Helping Too-Busy Teens Beat Burnout,” on www.family.org.
They suggest that before making a new commitment, you should consider what might be sacrificed because of the commitment. These sacrifices can include sleep, family time and relaxation.
Ask yourself these questions.
1. What is the cost of saying no?
2. Can I afford to say no?
3. Is it wise to say no?
Then, base your decision on your ability or willingness to say “no” to the commitment, rather than your desire to say “yes” to something new.
Geare and Sanford explain that this method isn’t easy – most choices will not be between the bad and the good; they’ll be between the good and the better.
Get organized. Once you figure out which commitments you will make, it’s time to get organized. When your NJSA Calendar reaches your mailbox in December, you can get an early start in planning next year’s show schedule. When you know which commitments you will make, planning becomes much easier.
Keep the calendar in a location where everyone in the family can take part in the responsibility of meeting show entry and ownership deadlines.
Purchase a three-ring binder for your NJSA materials. Use your binder to keep pedigrees, health papers, NJSA handbook, and show flyers in order. It’s a good idea to keep a few copies of your registration papers, health papers and show entries in the binder, too, because all NJSA shows require copies of these documents.
This binder is also a great place to store past issues of the NJSA newsletter, “The Pinnacle,” – a helpful source of information for NJSA shows and events. The newsletter has a handy contact list of the NJSA Board and Director of Junior Activities on the back page in case you have questions about a show or event.
When you keep these items in one central location, check-in and registration will become much easier and faster at the shows. You will also spend less time “searching” for important information and papers when you are at home.
Have fun. When you commit to the activities you love (and stay organized), you will have more fun. NJSA shows are designed to be exactly that – fun.
Our goal is to create an environment where youth and their parents can come together to spend quality time with friends, enjoy the atmosphere of a well-organized show with quality livestock, and appreciate the competition of raising the best hogs possible.
If you are trying to commit to too many shows in a year, then you will not enjoy this time to spend with your family. As much as I want to see you at all of our shows, I’d rather see you having fun at one of our shows.
We have a full year ahead in the NJSA. Avoid spring burnout by choosing your commitments wisely and getting organized now, so we can all have our best year yet in the NJSA!
