Do I need a new schedule or discipline?

[RandomInvestor]

Hey guys so I have been following this other schedule for a while and was fine until uni started and now its a bit stressful because I can't put as much work into stuff I want because of uni. So I do 2 uni units thank god I don't do more cause couldn't imagine how I would fit it lol. Anyways This is my new schedule

I learn some investing stuff in my own time from 10:00am to 11:00am. I wanted 2 hours on this everyday. Also keep in my every day the schedule is the same.

11:00am to 1:00pm I do my firsts uni unit I watch the lecture and make notes while watching.

I then go on break for 15 minutes.

1:15pm to 3:15pm I do my other uni unit same thing as before watch lecture video and white notes.

4:00pm to 5:00pm I do guitar practice if I could get another 30 minutes on this could be good.

5:00pm to 7:00pm I do programming/game development

Now I take a 15 minute break

From 7:15pm to 8:45pm I do the first uni lecture again except this time I just make notes instead of watch videos.

And finally from 8:45pm to 10:30 I do my other uni unit and do same thing as I did at 7:15pm.

After 10:30 I don't do anything, I turn off my computer now because I always wake up tired and I have read that one of the reasons is because the light from computer screens so I go bed around 12:00pm at that time usually have a decent sleep, I don't eat before bed anymore. I wake up at 9:00am every day I have been trying to wake up earlier because before I waked up at 11:30 - 12:30, I felt like I lost so much time waking up that late so I got into the habit of waking up at 9-9:30.

They are just some details I thought might help, anyways what is the problem? Well it sorta feels exhausting running with schedules like I believe I get more work done even lately I been keeping track to see where I lose time. But I feel like its driving me insane I got all these deadlines like for example need to start at 10:00am not a minute or a second after. Am I just lacking discipline and need to get stuff done?

One thing worth mentioning I guess is that I am at home every day working on stuff, I want to be successful one day and that's why I do this but it almost feels like its taking a toll on me. Every day is the same thing I love my life and what I do, but I don't look forward to the day like I used to. But for the past few months I have constantly had obstacles that are stopping me, I have gotten over alot though which is good.

Might be work mentioning I have stopped thinking long term lately and about time when it comes to certain stuff and that has helped reduce the stress/frustration by quite a bit.

 

[OmegaTrader]

I think you are over spending time on studying.
6.5 hours of studying on two units is overkill. I did four units and didn't even study 6.5 hours a day.

11-1 = 3
1.15-3.15 =2
7.15-8.45 =1.5

After a certain point in time you get diminishing returns. This is my favourite example.
One chocolate bar nice, two chocolate bars good. three chocolate bars ok. four choclate bars , I feel sick, no more.


More hours doesn't convert to better marks or better learning. The best way to learn in maths based units is to play around with the numbers and have different problems, so you get ball park figures and an understanding where the numbers come from, same with excel etc. For more theory based units it is better to discuss with people and challenge by playing the devils advocate.

I find that is a better way to learn. After three hours the brain is overloaded, some would say 30 minutes is the limit.

Plus you are doing another 2 hours of investing research etc, then add in 2 hours coding far out that is overload.

My personal experience, I could get away with 1 hour per unit each day expect assignments etc.
Lecture is enough if no lecture 1 hour is enough for me. That would free up alot of time to relax.

good luck and relax

 

[Klogg]

Hey guys so I have been following this other schedule for a while and was fine until uni started and now its a bit stressful because I can't put as much work into stuff I want because of uni. So I do 2 uni units thank god I don't do more cause couldn't imagine how I would fit it lol. Anyways This is my new schedule

I learn some investing stuff in my own time from 10:00am to 11:00am. I wanted 2 hours on this everyday. Also keep in my every day the schedule is the same.

11:00am to 1:00pm I do my firsts uni unit I watch the lecture and make notes while watching.

I then go on break for 15 minutes.

1:15pm to 3:15pm I do my other uni unit same thing as before watch lecture video and white notes.

4:00pm to 5:00pm I do guitar practice if I could get another 30 minutes on this could be good.

5:00pm to 7:00pm I do programming/game development

Now I take a 15 minute break

From 7:15pm to 8:45pm I do the first uni lecture again except this time I just make notes instead of watch videos.

And finally from 8:45pm to 10:30 I do my other uni unit and do same thing as I did at 7:15pm.

After 10:30 I don't do anything, I turn off my computer now because I always wake up tired and I have read that one of the reasons is because the light from computer screens so I go bed around 12:00pm at that time usually have a decent sleep, I don't eat before bed anymore. I wake up at 9:00am every day I have been trying to wake up earlier because before I waked up at 11:30 - 12:30, I felt like I lost so much time waking up that late so I got into the habit of waking up at 9-9:30.

They are just some details I thought might help, anyways what is the problem? Well it sorta feels exhausting running with schedules like I believe I get more work done even lately I been keeping track to see where I lose time. But I feel like its driving me insane I got all these deadlines like for example need to start at 10:00am not a minute or a second after. Am I just lacking discipline and need to get stuff done?

One thing worth mentioning I guess is that I am at home every day working on stuff, I want to be successful one day and that's why I do this but it almost feels like its taking a toll on me. Every day is the same thing I love my life and what I do, but I don't look forward to the day like I used to. But for the past few months I have constantly had obstacles that are stopping me, I have gotten over alot though which is good.

Might be work mentioning I have stopped thinking long term lately and about time when it comes to certain stuff and that has helped reduce the stress/frustration by quite a bit.

That schedule seems very rigid - and it only looks at the daily schedule. Surely you don't have a lecture every day, so the lecture listening/note taking is not applicable on those days.

Could I suggest that you pick off the most demanding task earlier in the morning? I would assume that to be uni work, although it could be the programming piece, depending on what you're learning. In any case, I would move the guitar practice to the end of the day.

And I have to agree with OmegaTrader. Do you really need 3.5hrs (approx.) per lecture? That's 7 hours on two lectures...

 

[RandomInvestor]

That schedule seems very rigid - and it only looks at the daily schedule. Surely you don't have a lecture every day, so the lecture listening/note taking is not applicable on those days.

Could I suggest that you pick off the most demanding task earlier in the morning? I would assume that to be uni work, although it could be the programming piece, depending on what you're learning. In any case, I would move the guitar practice to the end of the day.

And I have to agree with OmegaTrader. Do you really need 3.5hrs (approx.) per lecture? That's 7 hours on two lectures...

You can think of it as 2 lecture per day for each subject. its around 2 hours to watch the video bit less. Then to do notes without watching lecture(because might not even be avaliable yet) takes less time.

 

[RandomInvestor]

I think you are over spending time on studying.
6.5 hours of studying on two units is overkill. I did four units and didn't even study 6.5 hours a day.

11-1 = 3
1.15-3.15 =2
7.15-8.45 =1.5

After a certain point in time you get diminishing returns. This is my favourite example.
One chocolate bar nice, two chocolate bars good. three chocolate bars ok. four choclate bars , I feel sick, no more.


More hours doesn't convert to better marks or better learning. The best way to learn in maths based units is to play around with the numbers and have different problems, so you get ball park figures and an understanding where the numbers come from, same with excel etc. For more theory based units it is better to discuss with people and challenge by playing the devils advocate.

I find that is a better way to learn. After three hours the brain is overloaded, some would say 30 minutes is the limit.

Plus you are doing another 2 hours of investing research etc, then add in 2 hours coding far out that is overload.

My personal experience, I could get away with 1 hour per unit each day expect assignments etc.
Lecture is enough if no lecture 1 hour is enough for me. That would free up alot of time to relax.

good luck and relax

Thanks for the tips. So instead of the studying at the end of the day should I only do 1 lecture slide instead of 2 every day? Should I replace the end with more guitar practice or a 1 hour break? I before had a day off for sunday now its everyday.

 

[Cam019]

RandomInvestor, I agree with Klogg, your schedule seems very rigid. I am a full time university student myself (4 subjects) and I also work casually and am studying VSA and honing my technical trading skills in my spare time, amongst other interests. I like to take a more relaxed approach to my schedule. I have university 3 days per week. Monday for 5 hours, Tuesday for 5 hours and Thursday for an hour. I attend all my lectures and tutorials because this is my allocated time for taking notes. I also do study outside university classes but only when I am feeling it and I like to do short focused bursts of about 30 - 45 minutes then a break. You need to give yourself a break regarding starting or finishing a deadline right on time. Life can be unpredictable and to think that each and everyday you will be able to stick to such a tight schedule is just not sustainable in my view. You can very easily burn yourself out trying to stick to such a strict schedule. I need almost equal parts university and study to equal parts fun activities in order to keep a balanced life. I hope this gives you something to think about. Good luck with the studies.

 

[Tisme]

One tip I learned and gave to my children and the other free loaders in my home:

Anything subjective, no matter how much you disagree, make sure your assignments and tests reflect the lecturer's own viewpoint; no matter how much it grinds. If necessary rote learn it, you can cultivate you own opinions after the cheeseboard has been packed away.

 

[luutzu]

One tip I learned and gave to my children and the other free loaders in my home:

Anything subjective, no matter how much you disagree, make sure your assignments and tests reflect the lecturer's own viewpoint; no matter how much it grinds. If necessary rote learn it, you can cultivate you own opinions after the cheeseboard has been packed away.

Yup. Good advice.

One of the rare Distinction I got was merely reading the lecture notes and repeat it in the final exam.

And if the lecturer publish a book or something, just read that and refer to it plenty of times in your research assignment.

And note too that if you copy one person, it's plagiarism... copy the same person in the same way but put their name in bracket at the end, that's research.

 

[RandomInvestor]

Thanks for advice guys though I'm not that smart and in one of the subjects I am doing now (which I am repeating) I summarized notes quite a bit and failed it. I'm not that smart and have trouble remembering information is why I included more study time.

I'll be back with a new schedule soon.

 

[RandomInvestor]

Alright guys so I got my new schedule tell me what you think

10:00am to 12:00am 2 hours in total I do accounting (that's part of my investing stuff, so far I have been reading this book and any word that I don't understand write it in a notepad file for reference)

15 minute break.

Then from 12:15 to 2:15 I do my programming (this is Unity 3D stuff I am working on some project to build some skill then will work on a serious project)

1 hour break (I feel like this might be too long, but in this time I walk my dog and eat and that)

3:15 to 5:15 I do my 2 hour uni study or could be less if doing a lecture video then its around 2 hours but if its just notes then less, I could add more.

15 minute break

5:30 to 7:30 Other uni unit 2 hours same as above.

7:30 Start doing guitar practice to 9:00 then maybe either have a break and play some games then start getting ready for bed around 10:30 or read some more accounting or do programming.

What do you reckon of this guys?

 

[barney]

What do you reckon of this guys?

Hi RandomInvestor, I admire how regimented you are prepared to be .... personally I'd probably fail miserably if I tried to lock myself into such a rigid schedule, but that's just me.

I think only you can work out how much time you need to spend on whatever you need to do, but I'd still try and give yourself some flexibility. Doing the toughest study first makes sense, but I'd also not tie everything down to an exact time (unless that is how your personality works best) ... The incentive would be if you got things done faster, then give yourself a reward for the time saved.

Being a guitar player myself I'd be slipping in a few riffs in between every other task just so you don't get bogged down with regiment and no fun ... ie. After each study session rip into 10 minutes of guitar (doesn't have to be serious practice ... just enjoy it.) Do your serious practice after all other chores are done for sure but after your "practice" just play some more random stuff to finish.

Of course you could just do what I did as a young wanna be rock god ... just play guitar and fit work in if and when I had the time

Good luck with it all.

 

[OmegaTrader]

1) Prioritise uni and passing. Failing has a financial and time cost that is really expensive. If you are failing then also cut back on non essential activities. What is better failing costs 000's or learning about investing/guitar. Fun but uni should take priority first etc

2) 2+2 doesn't always equal 4. Again, it is not about 5 hours = distinction or 2 hours = pass. It is about understanding and also getting the marks. Understanding helps if you get stuck especially in an exam if a tricky question is thrown. Getting the marks is about focusing and assignments and directing the study to maximise marks. Eg Put time into assignments not ever detail of a lecture. Wrote learning will pass you but alot of people get stuck and just choke when the question deviates. You don't need a schedule, you don't need to know everything.

3) Failing is most of the time due to lack of commitment and priorities. Although I think uni is bs and a major ripp off. I never failed a unit and always put in effort but not overkill. Given the poor standard of uni, there are so many ways to pass and so many loopholes. I have seen international students pass and they can't even converse with me to a good standard in english!! Most of the time when people fail it is because they are focusing on work or social or are just lazy. People with learning problems is a different story, but I would say that is the exception to the rule.

Also

One tip I learned and gave to my children and the other free loaders in my home:

Anything subjective, no matter how much you disagree, make sure your assignments and tests reflect the lecturer's own viewpoint; no matter how much it grinds. If necessary rote learn it, you can cultivate you own opinions after the cheeseboard has been packed away.

I disagree, I purposely challenge the mainstream viewpoint. I think you can get respect that way by saying these are the numbers but I disagree with them and here are the downsides of the analysis. It shows you are actually thinking. It also helps when you get stuck

I remember the lecturer said to everyone here are the questions for the assignment , q1 is the easy one do that the answer is straight foward q2 and 3 are ok and q4 is ambiguous don't answer that one. Then turns to me and says I know which one you are going to do and you will be the only one.

hahaha

Give them hassle, argue with them in a respectful academic way of course.

Unfortunately this devil advocate thinking leads you realise that uni itself is major bs run by an anti-competitive cartel.

my two cents

 

[RandomInvestor]

Hi RandomInvestor, I admire how regimented you are prepared to be .... personally I'd probably fail miserably if I tried to lock myself into such a rigid schedule, but that's just me.

I think only you can work out how much time you need to spend on whatever you need to do, but I'd still try and give yourself some flexibility. Doing the toughest study first makes sense, but I'd also not tie everything down to an exact time (unless that is how your personality works best) ... The incentive would be if you got things done faster, then give yourself a reward for the time saved.

Being a guitar player myself I'd be slipping in a few riffs in between every other task just so you don't get bogged down with regiment and no fun ... ie. After each study session rip into 10 minutes of guitar (doesn't have to be serious practice ... just enjoy it.) Do your serious practice after all other chores are done for sure but after your "practice" just play some more random stuff to finish.

Of course you could just do what I did as a young wanna be rock god ... just play guitar and fit work in if and when I had the time

Good luck with it all.

Sounds like a good idea haha, my general practice is my old stuff that my guitar teacher gave me I need to go over it more but its mainly practising solos because I am a very sloppy guitar player lol. I am worried I will get carried away past 10 minutes haha.

 

[RandomInvestor]

1) Prioritise uni and passing. Failing has a financial and time cost that is really expensive. If you are failing then also cut back on non essential activities. What is better failing costs 000's or learning about investing/guitar. Fun but uni should take priority first etc

2) 2+2 doesn't always equal 4. Again, it is not about 5 hours = distinction or 2 hours = pass. It is about understanding and also getting the marks. Understanding helps if you get stuck especially in an exam if a tricky question is thrown. Getting the marks is about focusing and assignments and directing the study to maximise marks. Eg Put time into assignments not ever detail of a lecture. Wrote learning will pass you but alot of people get stuck and just choke when the question deviates. You don't need a schedule, you don't need to know everything.

3) Failing is most of the time due to lack of commitment and priorities. Although I think uni is bs and a major ripp off. I never failed a unit and always put in effort but not overkill. Given the poor standard of uni, there are so many ways to pass and so many loopholes. I have seen international students pass and they can't even converse with me to a good standard in english!! Most of the time when people fail it is because they are focusing on work or social or are just lazy. People with learning problems is a different story, but I would say that is the exception to the rule.

Also




I disagree, I purposely challenge the mainstream viewpoint. I think you can get respect that way by saying these are the numbers but I disagree with them and here are the downsides of the analysis. It shows you are actually thinking. It also helps when you get stuck

I remember the lecturer said to everyone here are the questions for the assignment , q1 is the easy one do that the answer is straight foward q2 and 3 are ok and q4 is ambiguous don't answer that one. Then turns to me and says I know which one you are going to do and you will be the only one.

hahaha

Give them hassle, argue with them in a respectful academic way of course.

Unfortunately this devil advocate thinking leads you realise that uni itself is major bs run by an anti-competitive cartel.

my two cents

Thanks for advice, though I am a bit stubborn when you say "Prioritise uni and passing." I hate hearing that because I am very negative towards my studies lol. Nothing wrong with what you said I just naturally hate the uni process I guess lol. You could even say I failed my last units because of the time spent learning investing/programming.

But when we do look at it logically I can see that University is more important it will give you a job that pays for your bills and **** where as me learning investing there is no guarantee that I will make money.

Passing all my units at least 65% or so which is a challenge for me lol because my pass mark is usually around 51% or so I rarely get over that unless its something that interests me. And balancing it with my other stuff would be perfect hopefully this new schedule is good. It's going good so far.

 

[barney]

What is better failing costs 000's or learning about investing/guitar.

No brainer .... Guitar is way more important than all the other stuff ....

 

[barney]

I am worried I will get carried away past 10 minutes haha.

.... Yes, an "ailment" all guitarists have to deal with lol

 

[RandomInvestor]

No brainer .... Guitar is way more important than all the other stuff ....

haha

 

[skc]

Where's your scheduled time for posting on ASF?

 

[Tisme]

Thanks for advice guys though I'm not that smart and in one of the subjects I am doing now (which I am repeating) I summarized notes quite a bit and failed it. I'm not that smart and have trouble remembering information is why I included more study time.

I'll be back with a new schedule soon.

anything that won't go into your brain, create a trauma around it and it will become indelible.

 

[RandomInvestor]

Where's your scheduled time for posting on ASF?

Lol mate. I posted this after I couldn't be bothered studying anymore so I was supposed to finish at 10:30 cut it short and posted this.