Student Work Day – Day 36-44
I think Finals went quite well (as in, as well as they could have gone), although the very last one was rather frightening...The main thing though is that I got through finals with minimum stress, full nights of sleep (actually, I found myself sleeping in more than usual...oops), and good preparation for tests. I can't say that things couldn't have been better, though!
The student work day has worked out really well for me this last month and a half. Less stress, more “focused play time”, like video games and hanging out with friends. I haven't been perfect, but I'm hoping that a few adaptations, along with a fresh start next semester, will help improve it even more! Here is one change I definitely want to make to the work day:
Set personal deadlines at least one day ahead of real deadlines.
This is to help me feel more in control of my schedule, as well as to prevent last minute rushes in which I turn in assignments 4 minutes before deadline. So the rule will be, if I can't get an assignment (or the bulk of test preparation) done at least one day ahead of the deadline, I've got to put in some extra hours. Hopefully, with a fresh start I won't even have to think about this at all, but it'll be a good rule to have in any case.
I've also been thinking about whether I can start combining some extracurriculars (research? My part-time job?) into my workday, but only time can tell! For now though, I'm finally home and will be thoroughly enjoying myself, while continuing a slightly modified form of the workday for various projects, hobbies, and piano! Yay!
Student Work Day – Day 22-35
Whew, it's been quite a bit of time since my last update! Here are some significant happenings, study-wise, since then:
1) Thanksgiving Break wasn't as productive as a normal school week, but looking back, that was to be expected. Still, I had a good time in Vermont and relaxed...or slept during those long car rides.^^
2) The student work day is still going quite fine! Sometimes I'll hit on a bump like a longer afternoon nap than expected, or resistance to work, but all in all, staying in the library surrounded by studying students is a good thing for me. I haven't actually gotten any of the rewards I listed in an earlier blog post because having the evenings free is a reward in itself!
3) I've noticed that my room has been getting messier. I spend less time there, so there's less motivation to clean up, and when I am there, there seems to be a million better things to do than to clean my room. This is pretty different than before, when I think I was using cleaning my room as a way to procrastinate on starting homework...
4) Finals have begun! My first final is tomorrow evening. I'm more ready for this than I have been for any previous (math) final, and less stressed about it to boot. Overall, with my finals nicely spread out (three days between each one), I'm having a very reasonable end to the semester. Today I finished off the last assignment for my FWS (freshman writing seminar), which meant I got to move my "GERST 1170" folder to the "Inactive" folder in my computer files! It was exciting, I swear (it was a good class, by the way).