Many rabbit owners out there are full-time students, and we all know it can become difficult to keep our rabbits and school work balanced. Sometimes homework is not completed, or the rabbits do not get cared for as well as they could be. This month in Splitting Hares, we will address these issues, and give you some tips and tricks to keep your life in order.
With our busy lives, rabbits can get pushed to the back burner, or brought to the front, and school work be neglected. As much as we try to balance our responsibilities, it can become difficult. The first key to successfully balancing life is to make and follow a schedule. Block out time for homework, extra-curricular activities, rabbits and other responsibilities. If you just can’t fit everything in, you may have to decide what is most important to you. One of my long-time rabbit breeder friends said to me, “Make rabbits a priority. It's easy to get sidetracked with work, school assignments or extra curricular activities. Sometimes you have to just schedule a block of time to sit down and focus on the rabbit tasks that need to be completed. It doesn't always happen on its own. You have to be deliberate and consistent in making time for it. Also, keep a schedule. There are certain things that HAVE to be done. It's easy to get sidetracked by cuddling babies, assembling toys or "extras." If you have two hours to spend with the rabbits, make a quick mental checklist. Once the necessary chores are done, extra time can be spent playing with them."
Timing is also important. If you are a morning person, get up early, and feed the rabbits first thing in the morning. Or if you are not so much a morning bird, feed them as soon as you get home. You have been sitting in a building for the past six hours, Get some fresh air! But as soon as you are done feeding, start on your homework. Always make sure that your responsibilities are all completed before you go off to hang out with your friends. Feed all your animals, and finish all your homework before you do the fun stuff. Remember, your friends can wait, but your animals depend on you to survive! Georgia Peach Rabbitry says that “it's a lot of work.... I'm in college full time, in a great relationship of 2 years, work part time, run my rabbitry of 30 holes, and help my dad with the laundry mat that he got into after he was let go from IBM... It can be overwhelming sometimes, but if you learn to manage and balance... you'll do fine. Be an early riser! I take 8am classes so I can make the most out of my day. Nobody is going to take care of my rabbits, so I have to do it all myself. When I feel like my social life isn't doing too good, I invite friends over for a cook out and play date with baby bunnies lol When school ends I can pick up riding again. There will always be a give and take”
Studying with your rabbits is a good way to spend time with them while getting your work done! try “teaching” your rabbits whatever it is you have to learn! They are great listeners and love to learn. Teaching others is a studying method that many teachers encourage their students to try. Also try doing your homework outside with your bunnies. Set up an outdoor pen for them, and you can sit in it with them and work. Just be sure you actually work, and you don't just play with the bunnies. Try to use rabbits as a break when doing homework. Instead of coming home and just going right out to your critters, do a set amount of time of work, then a set amount of time playing with your rabbits. Maybe do you Math homework, then groom two rabbits, then do English, and make some bunny toys.
Most importantly, Have fun! We do not own rabbits just to add to our busy schedules! If something is overwhelming you, just step back and take a break. If you just take a short break, and then come back to the issue later, you will be able to think more clearly about what you need to do to fix the problem. Don't let things stress you out. Bunnies are great stress relievers, as they will just sit on your lap and let you pet them. Baby bunnies make especially great stress relievers!
With our busy lives, rabbits can get pushed to the back burner, or brought to the front, and school work be neglected. As much as we try to balance our responsibilities, it can become difficult. The first key to successfully balancing life is to make and follow a schedule. Block out time for homework, extra-curricular activities, rabbits and other responsibilities. If you just can’t fit everything in, you may have to decide what is most important to you. One of my long-time rabbit breeder friends said to me, “Make rabbits a priority. It's easy to get sidetracked with work, school assignments or extra curricular activities. Sometimes you have to just schedule a block of time to sit down and focus on the rabbit tasks that need to be completed. It doesn't always happen on its own. You have to be deliberate and consistent in making time for it. Also, keep a schedule. There are certain things that HAVE to be done. It's easy to get sidetracked by cuddling babies, assembling toys or "extras." If you have two hours to spend with the rabbits, make a quick mental checklist. Once the necessary chores are done, extra time can be spent playing with them."
Timing is also important. If you are a morning person, get up early, and feed the rabbits first thing in the morning. Or if you are not so much a morning bird, feed them as soon as you get home. You have been sitting in a building for the past six hours, Get some fresh air! But as soon as you are done feeding, start on your homework. Always make sure that your responsibilities are all completed before you go off to hang out with your friends. Feed all your animals, and finish all your homework before you do the fun stuff. Remember, your friends can wait, but your animals depend on you to survive! Georgia Peach Rabbitry says that “it's a lot of work.... I'm in college full time, in a great relationship of 2 years, work part time, run my rabbitry of 30 holes, and help my dad with the laundry mat that he got into after he was let go from IBM... It can be overwhelming sometimes, but if you learn to manage and balance... you'll do fine. Be an early riser! I take 8am classes so I can make the most out of my day. Nobody is going to take care of my rabbits, so I have to do it all myself. When I feel like my social life isn't doing too good, I invite friends over for a cook out and play date with baby bunnies lol When school ends I can pick up riding again. There will always be a give and take”
Studying with your rabbits is a good way to spend time with them while getting your work done! try “teaching” your rabbits whatever it is you have to learn! They are great listeners and love to learn. Teaching others is a studying method that many teachers encourage their students to try. Also try doing your homework outside with your bunnies. Set up an outdoor pen for them, and you can sit in it with them and work. Just be sure you actually work, and you don't just play with the bunnies. Try to use rabbits as a break when doing homework. Instead of coming home and just going right out to your critters, do a set amount of time of work, then a set amount of time playing with your rabbits. Maybe do you Math homework, then groom two rabbits, then do English, and make some bunny toys.
Most importantly, Have fun! We do not own rabbits just to add to our busy schedules! If something is overwhelming you, just step back and take a break. If you just take a short break, and then come back to the issue later, you will be able to think more clearly about what you need to do to fix the problem. Don't let things stress you out. Bunnies are great stress relievers, as they will just sit on your lap and let you pet them. Baby bunnies make especially great stress relievers!