First, I have enjoyed not only Dublin but also the island of Ireland, from the people to the culture and traditions; Ireland is truly a one-of-a-kind place. To start my week on Tuesday morning, I found out that the person I was supposed to be an intern for would be out of town for the whole week, so, besides some remote work, I have not had a heavy workload. This does not mean that I do not have to manage my time and practice prioritizing tasks.
To start, the first way I ensure I can manage my time is to go to bed around seven and a half hours before I need to wake up. I found this amount of sleep to be the perfect amount where I don’t feel tired or groggy. If I go to bed before midnight, when I wake up, I have plenty of time before I go to work. When I do this, I feel like I am not in a rush to work, which helps make the day less stressful.
Then work comes, and although I still haven’t started physically working, I still feel that this will roughly be the same, but there is no guarantee. I think for work to be successful and efficient, I believe that you have to be in a particular headspace to do so, and if you are not in this headspace, not only are you not engaged in what you are supposed to be doing, but I feel like the day goes by much slower. The correct headspace is also how I practice prioritizing my tasks. When you think about work and how to be the most efficient way to do things, your primary concern is work and the tasks that you must perform. Now, from experience, I can say that it is much easier to get into a headspace that prioritizes work when you are interested and enjoy what you are doing. However, if you dislike the work, although not impossible, it can be much more challenging to achieve the “working headspace.”
Once again, the way I manage time compared to someone else managing their time is up to the beholder, and I would suggest that a person should do what works best for them. Luckily, due to my light remote workload this week, I had the opportunity to do a couple of things. I had the opportunity to revisit Kilmainham Gaol, which is one of my favorite historical sites in Dublin. I have always been interested in Irish history, from the fight for independence to the Troubles. I have never turned away from an opportunity to learn more. Kilmainham is known in history as the place where many of the soldiers and political activists during the 1916 Easter Rising were jailed, and 14 leaders were executed. Kilmainham Gaol housed famous Irish politicians, including Michael Collins and future President of Ireland Éamon de Valera. The jail is a somber historical site, but for anyone interested in Irish history, it is a place I would recommend visiting.
Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to travel to Portadown Train Station and then to my family’s home in Coalisland, County Tyrone. For me, it was a genuinely great time being able to see family I hadn’t seen in a couple of years and reconnect with people I hadn’t seen in a while. I know that I am fortunate to have family in Ireland to visit, which helps me feel calmer in a sense because I know that if something were to go wrong, I have many people who are there for me and are willing to help me. Besides seeing family, I also had the opportunity to do a couple of things, like going to see a Gaelic Football match between two senior club teams in Tyrone. The sport is truly fun to watch because the game can be very rough and fast, but at times, it can slow down and become very meticulous in certain aspects, which I thought was very neat. When watching it, I thought about the benefits of Gaelic Football and how its two most significant flaws are the two best things about the sport. First, given how local the game is, there are Gaelic Football teams outside of Ireland; however, for the most part, the game remains local and is played on the Island. Although it is not internationally popular, the local culture surrounding it makes the sport seem unique in its way. Another thing is money; unlike American sports, in clubs for Gaelic Football, there is no financial incentive for the players, which means they play the sport for the love of the game more than anything, which is something I genuinely respect. Due to the lack of financial importance, the sport remains excellent because the primary concern for the players is not the salary or the money they can earn, but rather the sport itself.
Overall, my second week in Ireland was a great one and I am looking forward to next week!
