Personal Narrative Essay: My Schedule

Most nights, I sit at the kitchen table, usually around midnight, crying over college pre-cal. I can’t even begin to express the number of hours I put into school from the moment I wake up until the moment my head hits the pillow. If you know me, I’m always putting school before friends, mental health, and even family sometimes. Whether it’s simply stress, an illness, or a tough point in our lives, we all struggle. It can sometimes be difficult to balance mounds of school work, while having time for yourself. To help find that balance, I decided to prioritize my school day, find time saving opportunities, use a schedule with assigned tasks, and dedicate a space to help destress and study.

Keeping that goal in mind, I had to structure out my weeks. I started by writing down all the tasks, including study time into my planner when I think of it. I believe a planner is an essential item in keeping track of deadlines and assignments. 

After identifying assignments and deadlines, I wanted to seek time saving opportunities. If I spent all my time on smaller projects rather than the final, things aren’t going to work in my favor. I had to prioritize things by asking myself “If I could do only one of these things, which would be more important?” During classes I would always tell myself that I’ll just finish it later at home, which in the end gave me loads of unnecessary homework. I began to utilize my class time, and any off period I had to get as much school work done to save myself more time after school. By doing this, it saved me about an hour to put towards something more important. I also had to cut out the amount of time spent on my phone as it’s very easy for me to get distracted from homework. To help counteract this I would silence my phone and leave it in another room, so I wasn’t tempted to get on it. For instance, I know that next week I have a pre-cal quiz, so I need to dedicate about an hour the night before to study. I can’t hold off other assignments to do on that night as well.

After that, I identified and listed the amount of time required to complete each task, and if certain tasks could be completed during the same time frame. For example, If I have a pre-cal quiz the next day, I can also complete the homework for that lesson and count it towards my time studying.

Now that my school schedule has been broken down, I had to incorporate any plans that I might want to make out of school. In particular, if I want to go and hang out with my friends one night after school this week, I need to arrange how long I’ll be out and when I will have time to complete the homework. In this case, I would usually get as much tackled before dinner so I’m not left with a lot after I get home from enjoying myself.

Finally, I had to set aside a dedicated quiet space for me to study and do work in. I work best in quiet conditions so it was important to establish a place I work best in, which is the comfort of my own bed. Some people like going to coffee shops as it’s quiet with a peaceful aroma, however I don’t find comfort in public places. Like a lot of people, siblings and family can tend to be a little noisy, which can sometimes distract me from focusing. To resolve this, I explained to them what I was trying to get done, and if they wouldn’t mind keeping things a bit quieter. At times, I’ll even play soft calming music to help me relax and get focused.

Establishing that balance between school and down time is vital for improving your mental health. Completing those five steps of identifying tasks, finding time saving opportunities, assigning blocks of time for each task, incorporating non school related activities, and dedicating a space to study will help relieve stress and give me a will to live.