Let’s review my lovely reality, as it’s been in the last few weeks, without leaving any ambiguities.
I have 20 hours of courses this semester, broken down as follows:
Mon.: 5hrs
Tues.: 5hrs
Wedn.: 5hrs
Thurs.: 3hrs
Fri.: 2hrs
Total: 20hrs
According to our lovely Academic Calendar, at least three hours should be consecrated to doing work for every one hour in class. Let’s do the maths.
20hrs x 3hrs = 60hrs/week
Let’s not look at how many hours there are in a week:
24hrs x 7days = 168hrs/week
Now let’s look at some hypothetical sleep patterns:
a) 8hrs/night x 7days = 56hrs/week
b) 4hrs/night x 7days = 28hrs/week
Now let’s look at the daily break-down of hours, not including shower, food preperation, eating, and sleep:
Mon.: 5hrs, thus 15hrs work = 20 / 24hrs
Tues.: 5hrs, thus 15hrs work = 20 / 24hrs
Wedn.: 5hrs, thus 15hrs work = 20 / 24hrs
Thurs.: 3hrs, thus 9hrs work = 12 / 24hrs
Fri.: 2hrs, thus 6hrs work = 8 / 24hrs
Logically this means that for 3 out of the 5 school days there are not sufficient hours in the day to do everything and sleep at a minimally-recommended length of time. Now let’s look at the required 8hrs of sleep that I need to function correctly:
Mon.: 5hrs, thus 15hrs work + 8hrs sleep = 28 / 24hrs: fail
Tues.: 5hrs, thus 15hrs work + 8hrs sleep = 28 / 24hrs: fail
Wedn.: 5hrs, thus 15hrs work + 8hrs sleep = 28 / 24hrs: fail
Thurs. 3hrs, thus 9hrs work + 8hrs sleep = 20 / 24hrs: pass
Fri.: 2hrs, thus 6hrs work + 8hrs sleep = 16 / 24hrs: pass
After intrepreting these results I feel as though it’s impossible to complete things, while still leaving room to breath, relax, eat, or anything else for that matter. And this is why I’m uncontactable during the beginning of the week, my friends. If I were in contact with a sharp object other than my nail-file, then I’d be impaling myself with it as we speak.
Simply speaking: It’s impossible for me to do well, or to complete that which is expected of me. What the heck am I supposed to do?
Hmmm. Well, I honestly think that three additional hours for each hour of class is quite excessive. This blog entry is well-articulated and organized; I admire how you mathematically prove the absurd expectation to be unrealizable. I think that the most time one should spend each day in study is eight to ten hours, and such is the schedule of an ambitious student. If you want to keep healthy, you must reserve time for leisure, every day. Several hours, I would say. You push yourself, I think, though know not whether such is necessary or superfluous. I hope you don’t exert yourself unnecessarily; if not, well, perhaps you have taken on too much at once. Whatever you enjoy; that you are happy is most important.