August 21, 2020
Time is everything for me. I really like to plan my entire week’s worth schedule on Sundays. I usually do everything that I have planned that week unless I am on a break where a different method arrives. If I ever were to miss anything that I have planned for the week, I will be strict by not rewarding myself. I have previously written two articles at the beginning of each semester with some tips on how to manage time perfectly, However, this time I won't be giving any tips, but instead, you will get an insight on the different challenges going into my new calendar planning. If you haven’t read my previous articles on calendar planning, please click here for semester one planning and click here for semester two planning. Below you will find a few of my challenges and new ideas/revisions.
Coding Problems: This is the biggest challenge I want to give myself from this semester. I want to practice at least five hours every week while experimenting with new problems. When I am working on problems that range from different difficulties, it betters my logic and helps me to be more prepared for interviews or any exams. Instead of having the same amount of time every day, I am thinking of having a different set of times to make myself comfortable to solve a problem anytime.
Revision Tracker: The way I revise each concept is a bit different from many people. I like reading each concept at least three times before the semester ends. I never made a tracker for myself, but this semester, I want to implement this tracker to understand the concepts that I am weak in, and to give myself some more time before jumping into exams. At the end of the day each night, I want to go back and see what concepts were taught and arrange them based on concept name and their level of difficulties.
Learn new technologies: I am planning to give four hours of time every week to learn a concept outside of class. One of my favorite things about this summer break was learning new technologies that motivated me to wake up every day. After college begins, I know I can't give the same time I did during the summer, so I plan to give four hours every week to learn something new. I might succeed or I might completely fail but it is worth a shot.
Interaction time: One of the happiest things about this semester is being the treasurer of the Linux User Group at UIC, but at the same time I want to take care of my responsibilities and interact with as many people as I can in the organization. There are more than 450 people and I might not get a chance to talk to everyone, but I really want to be there for anyone who is asking for help or looking to do different projects. I really don’t know how well our interactions will be defined on a virtual basis, but I plan to give my best.
Workout: When I am keeping my brain busy, I need to give it some time to relax. I am planning on doing some home workouts in the morning and maybe go for a jog/run in the evening. This one or two hours will make me work sharper and better. Not only is this lockdown stressful on the brain, but it is also hard on the body, so moving around a few hours and breathing in nature will replenish, and allow us to think fresh.
These are some of my new challenges I want to take or implement into my schedule. There are a few things that I still plan to follow. Such as trying to give myself a sunday every week, by not doing a lot of work. I still want to try submitting every assignment on time as much as I can, and I still want to make youtube videos, write more and better. However, I want to do these while implementing my new ideas, which might be a challenge at first, but it is only to improve myself and be a better programmer or a better person. Who knows maybe you will discover what once you thought to be a challenge is easy as pie now.