Did you know that someone has to decide how high electrical outlets go on a wall? Or where to put soap dispensers in the showers? Or that the floor should be painted Big Rapids Blue instead of Bayou Blue? I certainly didn’t! The Intramural Sports Building, the first collegiate recreation building built specifically for campus recreation, finally had it’s grand opening celebration, but living through the whole renovation process was an amazing thing. While I personally had little to do with the actual renovations, I still learned a thing or two during the time the building was down.
First, I certainly took a lot of space for granted. Storage closets have become life size Tetris games because when you have years and years of things and more things accumulated, it takes an engineering team just to fit everything back into a space. Shelves need to be put together, old equipment from twelve years ago needs donated to someone else who will use it and doors need to be figured out how to be held open (referee whistle lanyards work wonders!)
Secondly, it appears the tighter a deadline, the closer a staff can come together to get things done. Having a building that was supposed to be completed August 1, be turned into August 15, be turned into September 6, be turned into CAN THIS THING JUST BE OVER ALREADY, can certainly be a stressful time. But there are only certain things you can do to make a project like this get completed quicker. You can’t just bake people cookies to have them work quicker…not that I tried… When things get stressful, that’s the time to band together and get all hands on deck for when the big party is about to come. Because as soon as the ribbon gets cut, it’s business as usual and you’re going to need help someday too.
Finally, personal wellness and taking care of yourself are hugely important too. Yes, sometimes life is going to be hectic and project A needs to get done before project B before project C and D can be even thought about. But take a second and step back. Do they really need to get done on the timetable that you think they do? Or can you actually leave at 5:00 pm and go to dinner with some loved ones and get a good night sleep for once? Life goes on without you and so be aware that you need to be healthy in order to even complete projects A – Z.
Life is going to be hectic. It’s going to take a lot of people to get things done. Just remember that people will be in your corner when things get really hectic. And there’s always coffee.
