3 Ways: Balancing Time Through Scheduling

It is very important to figure out how to balance you time as you gain aspects to your life. During school, I have to balance my academic work, my dorm job, my social life, my personal time and my ability to keep a reasonable outlook on the future. This past summer, I was balancing an internship, tutoring, family time, and my own personal time while I tried to figure out where I want to go after graduating from MIT.

I will share a few tips for balancing your time.

• Keep a monthly and daily calendar

Keeping track of your upcoming events can give you a great sense of pacing so that you don't end up transitioning from lazy empty days to a frantic crush.

A daily calendar is very useful for finding time to reflect. I try to make sure that I wake up and go to sleep at the same time, allotting time before I sleep to reflect on the day and to set goals for the next. This time of reflection has totally changed how I view my days: I see what I have been successful at and what I should alter in order to improve.

You can read about and look at my old planner here

• Start the day with a To Do list

When you start off with a To Do list you are beginning your day with a promise to get certain things done. It keeps you accountable and helps to break up the large monthly projects into smaller pieces that you can tackle.

There are plenty of ways to keep a To Do list. My planner is where I keep my daily list; on lazier days I will keep a list on my blog. Other people prefer to use apps on their phone or laptop. It really doesn't matter how you keep this list so long as you do. Similarly whatever style or format is just a way to keep you focused.

• Plan enjoyable activities in advance

I don't mean that you need to have a schedule for your next netflix binge. Rather, know that there are going to be days where you want to just sit around the house. Plan a day for that the same way you plan a day to go out for tea with friends you haven't talked to in a while.

When you make sure you have enjoyable things to do, you make sure that you don't burn out. It's often after an aimless walk around time that I have the best ideas so I plan to walk before I study.

3 Ways: Balancing Time Through Scheduling

It is very important to figure out how to balance you time as you gain aspects to your life. During school, I have to balance my academic work, my dorm job, my social life, my personal time and my ability to keep a reasonable outlook on the future. This past summer, I was balancing an internship, tutoring, family time, and my own personal time while I tried to figure out where I want to go after graduating from MIT.

I will share a few tips for balancing your time.

Moving

I am moving into an apartment!

That's right - I'm moving out of the dorm and into an off campus apartment.

I'm super excited for the move; I can't even describe how done I am with dorm life and how excited I am to have my own space.
With a caveat, I am moving in with a friend, and temporarily, her boyfriend.

I'm also going to be getting intense with my MFA internship so I hope to have real things to talk about rather than the radio silence I've been imposing on you guys.

As soon as my furniture arrives I will have tons of pictures to post.

Moving

I am moving into an apartment!

That's right - I'm moving out of the dorm and into an off campus apartment.

I'm super excited for the move; I can't even describe how done I am with dorm life and how excited I am to have my own space.
With a caveat, I am moving in with a friend, and temporarily, her boyfriend.

I'm also going to be getting intense with my MFA internship so I hope to have real things to talk about rather than the radio silence I've been imposing on you guys.

As soon as my furniture arrives I will have tons of pictures to post.

Me, myself, and I

I am struggling. 
I am really honestly struggling most of the time. 

When I say that I'm struggling, I don't mean that I'm failing. I mean that I have kept myself just above water all on my own with no fall back plan.

I am going to MIT on scholarships and my part time work. I don't have a fall back. I couldn't transfer out of an engineering degree without losing my scholarships. I can't get a lower GPA or I will lose my scholarship. There is no one to pay my student contribution. If I lose my job, I don't have a relative to give me one. If I don't pay my bills, it's my credit on the line not a family member's. I don't have any such family members. Even my FAFSA recognizes - I am an independent; it's just me.

There is really just me. 

I am doing the best I can with the resources I have.

I have by all accounts done exceptionally well. Something like 50% of foster care alumni haven't completed a high school education and something like 15% end up in prison. 66% will be homeless, go to jail, or die within a year of leaving the foster care system at 18. Foster care alumni have higher rates of depressive episodes than the general population. Suicide rates for teens is about 7%.

I have completed high school and am working towards a degree at MIT. I haven't self harmed in almost a year. I have a plan of action for my depressive episodes that involves a stable clinician.
  
But when I look to other students at MIT, I see kids with very different resources. A lot of kids here have parents with PhDs. Some of the parents can help their kids with their work. Most of the kids here are not first generation; a good college has been expected of them since always. They go home to their mother and father knowing that they are safe and loved, unconditionally. They can email their psets to their parents and expect the questions to be understood and maybe even some guidance in answering them.

I don't have any of that. I don't have the financial security of college educated family. I don't have the educational support of STEM educated parents. I don't have the emotional security of being able to go home to my bio family.

This isn't meant to be a source of pity. I don't spend my time sitting around feeling sorry for myself. If I did I wouldn't be where I am. But I do need to deal with this reality. Because of the tendency to 'curve' class grades,
I simply mean to acknowledge that this responsibility is on my shoulders.

This is the reality I have been dealing with since I was 14.

I have learned how to deal with things to keep myself safe and head above water.

But I would like to have my grades from MIT show my skill. Not just my managing to survive skill. But my actual skill, when I am at the same place of safety as the other students.

Me, myself, and I

I am struggling. 
I am really honestly struggling most of the time. 

When I say that I'm struggling, I don't mean that I'm failing. I mean that I have kept myself just above water all on my own with no fall back plan.

I am going to MIT on scholarships and my part time work. I don't have a fall back. I couldn't transfer out of an engineering degree without losing my scholarships. I can't get a lower GPA or I will lose my scholarship. There is no one to pay my student contribution. If I lose my job, I don't have a relative to give me one. If I don't pay my bills, it's my credit on the line not a family member's. I don't have any such family members. Even my FAFSA recognizes - I am an independent; it's just me.

There is really just me. 

I am doing the best I can with the resources I have.

I have by all accounts done exceptionally well. Something like 50% of foster care alumni haven't completed a high school education and something like 15% end up in prison. 66% will be homeless, go to jail, or die within a year of leaving the foster care system at 18. Foster care alumni have higher rates of depressive episodes than the general population. Suicide rates for teens is about 7%.

I have completed high school and am working towards a degree at MIT. I haven't self harmed in almost a year. I have a plan of action for my depressive episodes that involves a stable clinician.
  
But when I look to other students at MIT, I see kids with very different resources. A lot of kids here have parents with PhDs. Some of the parents can help their kids with their work. Most of the kids here are not first generation; a good college has been expected of them since always. They go home to their mother and father knowing that they are safe and loved, unconditionally. They can email their psets to their parents and expect the questions to be understood and maybe even some guidance in answering them.

I don't have any of that. I don't have the financial security of college educated family. I don't have the educational support of STEM educated parents. I don't have the emotional security of being able to go home to my bio family.

This isn't meant to be a source of pity. I don't spend my time sitting around feeling sorry for myself. If I did I wouldn't be where I am. But I do need to deal with this reality. Because of the tendency to 'curve' class grades,
I simply mean to acknowledge that this responsibility is on my shoulders.

This is the reality I have been dealing with since I was 14.

I have learned how to deal with things to keep myself safe and head above water.

But I would like to have my grades from MIT show my skill. Not just my managing to survive skill. But my actual skill, when I am at the same place of safety as the other students.

Happy Thanksgiving

Ah, I'm packing up for my trip home for Thanksgiving. Please take a little time to show gratitude to those you care for and especially to yourself as the busy holiday season goes into full swing!