Well it’s already 2012, and that means only one thing: I’m in the second of two taught semesters before commencing project work in the summer. How time flies…

I spent more hours than some would consider sane on my dissertation proposal, but after handing it in (and enjoying a week of lounging around doing – well, not much), the (second) hardest part is over. Bar work spent on a couple of research methods assignments and two essays in may, there is ample time to perfect my working-socialising balance.

I’ve always been a believer in the work hard play hard ethos; rewarding good behaviour, if you will. But as the intensity of work increases, it’s often hard to keep this in check. Especially if I hope to join an orchestra in Gateshead. My dad always said to me: ‘Alex, there is no excuse for not having enough time, you need to make time’, and it’s only recently that I have begun to understand what he meant.

For instance, setting my alarm just half an hour earlier gives me an extra half hour in the gym, or out catching up with old school university friends, or – one of my favourite pastimes – meeting new people.

It may not sound so, but with a bit of planning it definitely is possible to enjoy both sides of the university coin. It’s time for Alex 2.0