Timely Thoughts

I spend over 15 hours every week in the student newsroom. I produce the live newscasts on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There are definitely strong rhythms in the newsroom. When breaking news comes in and we're pushing to get everything ready in time, the rhythm of the newsroom is buzzing. There's energy in the air and the rhythm is fast, steady, and pulsing. There are accents when something needs to be fixed, or a problem comes up. In the booth, I try to maintain a calmer, yet still strong, steady rhythm as I communicate with newsroom staff.

As the sun goes down, my rhythm picks up. I move faster and get more things done because I feel the pressure of the end of the day. In contrast, my afternoon rhythms are slow and relaxed. I think of jazz music as a comparison. I can see the rest of the day ahead of me and I feel like I have time to get things done...so I don't.

Strangely enough, I've noticed a pattern between the weather and my overall rhythm for the day. When the sun is out and the air is clean and clear, my rhythm is bright and cheery. When it's cloudy and gloomy, my rhythm is more somber and slow.

Today I had 3 hours of dance practice. The last hour of practice went really well. There was an upbeat, motivated rhythm between me and my partner because we worked hard and communicated well. That rhythm has continued with me throughout the rest of the day--another domino effect.

My morning rhythm starts pretty slow and continues to speed up until I enter the room of my first class. This happens because I tend to oversleep but still be pretty groggy when I wake up since I'm such a deep sleeper. Other mornings, when I oversleep a lot, the rhythm is fast and furious during my whole (condensed) routine. I don't think my morning routine will ever feel peaceful and slow. It's just the nature of my routine and schedule.