Internship Diaries - Time Management

As I finished up week three of my internship, I finally was tasked with a deadline. The summer season at the REP tends to focus less on meeting deadlines and more on overall organization and efficiency. Today was the last day before upcoming costume fittings and I was told to finish one of three main dresses for the production of Waitress for the promotional photoshoot on June 25th. One of my biggest hinderances to a calm demeanor while sewing is a rushed deadline. This deadline is the opposite of rushed but I still felt a surge of panic and immediately started sewing faster (which is not ideal). I took a deep breath and had to remind myself that sewing when you’re stressed is how you make stupid mistakes, which I do not want to do four days before the photoshoot. Luckily, I’ve been really paying attention to my thoughts, emotions, and actions after hearing about Buddhist practices from one of my summer courses. It may seem unrelated, but with those teachings fresh in my mind, I was able to slow down and focus. Today I was able to complete the attachment of the bodice, skirt pieces, and basically the whole dress except the collar and buttons. The bubble-gum pink waitress dress is now ready for fittings and I successfully navigated my first deadline.