“There are two buckets of self-care in social work,” MSW student Emily Janas said, “The first is finding enjoyable activities outside of your obligations; the second is self-care within the context of work. Crosswords are part of that first bucket, and that’s how I fill my cup back up. You can’t pour from an empty cup.”
Janas is a member of The Michigan Daily’s games staff and has published six crossword puzzles to date. Before The Daily, Janas had never published a puzzle, but puzzles were a love language of sorts. A longtime lover of crosswords, Janas had been designing mini puzzles for friends and coworkers for more than five years. They applied to the games staff on a whim.
Janas lights up when talking about crosswords; they first started doing puzzles in middle school when their parents got the paper delivered. Janas gravitated toward the puzzles section, and their love of crosswords was born. In 2017, they attended Lollapuzzoola, an annual crossword-solving tournament in New York City where they had the opportunity to meet with beloved New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz.
The Times inspired Janas’ own crossword design process. They highly recommend the Times’ online tutorials and tips. When designing puzzles, Janas starts with a theme. They keep a list of clue ideas in their notes app and describe the rest of the design process as trial and error. Working on the games staff has also been helpful because it gives Janas the opportunity to talk through clues and hear others’ ideas. “My favorite part of being on the staff is getting to connect with a different generation,” Janas said, noting they are the only graduate student on staff.
Janas encourages anyone interested in designing puzzles to try it. Many people are intimidated by the process, but, according to Janas, it is very doable. Their No. 1 tip? “Do crosswords!” They recommend using common phrases to come up with crossword themes — the theme for their January puzzle was “at the drop of a hat” — starting small and getting creative with clues. Putting in rare words, unique clues or a clever idea helps a puzzle stand out.
Although designing puzzles is now a job, it remains a favorite self-care practice. They described their position at The Daily as the perfect balance between work and play, noting that connecting with students in other academic disciplines contributes to intentional self-care. Janas also endorsed reading books outside of assigned coursework and being intentional about maintaining relationships from home, particularly for students like themselves who are from out of state.
Janas is determined to make the most of their time and involvement at U-M: They serve as a co-coordinator for the Graduate Research, Outreach, Workshops and Evaluation program at the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, are a member of the School of Social Work’s Curriculum Committee and a board fellow at the Ross School of Business. They are a National Community Scholar and an Advanced Standing student in the Community Change pathway.
After their graduation in August, Janas hopes to work in sexual assault and domestic violence prevention, a field in which they have 10 years of experience.
Janas’ puzzles can be found at the link below.
