Calendar Reflection

Free Time *

I admit, I was a bit apprehensive when I was tasked to compile a weekly calendar that charts my hours at school and at home. While I like to think I have good time management, structured organizing of my time can make me feel restricted and pressed for time. But, after it all, I think my week is actually looking pretty good.

Cholet, Dafne. "Calendar" 20 January 2011 via flickr.
Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) License.

In examining my completed Weekly Calendar Sheet, I saw that I am generally very busy on Fridays and Saturdays. However, that is balanced out by my entirely free Sunday, so my ability to complete coursework over the weekends should remain intact as it has in my academic career.

Interestingly, though, I noticed an opportunity in my Monday-Thursday schedule. My classes worked out in such a way this semester that I have large gaps between lectures or between a lecture and being able to head home (I carpool).

I labeled this opportunity "Free Time *." In my spreadsheet, this meant that I had open time slots while on campus for a substantial amount of hours every week. In translation, this meant that if I can reliably use my down-time on campus productively, I will have plenty of time to care of coursework before the deadlines even get close. Combine that with my late-starting classes every other school day, and I think I'll have more than enough time to complete work for my six classes and still have room to breathe.

Reflection on Other Posts

In reading summaries and thoughts from Brandon and Trey on their own schedules, I found that my own schedule is somewhat unique because my classes are spaced out in the day which creates large gaps of time that I spend on campus. As a result, since now I know the value of having these down-times on campus in the context of a busy schedule, I am going to strive to use those spaces of time productively to complete coursework throughout the week so I can attain gradual progress through the work for all my classes. In doing this, I hope to preserve the free time I have at home for recreational activities, and to maintain my Friday and Saturday schedules in which I typically am out all afternoon and night and not able to work last-minute at deadlines during the weekend.