I’m going to attempt to narrow the topic of the posts of this blog to documenting my journey through the capstone project. I would also like pay attention to my time management skills this term, as I complete my classes and continue my job preparation. I would like to track my progress throughout this class using these blog posts, and also start to look ahead on where my career path will lead, and how my future will look post graduation.
I’d like to to spend this first post looking back on my time so far in the program, and how I can succeed in this course. Its incredible to me that I am at nearly done with the program. After this term I will only have one class left to take. Reflecting on my growth since the beginning of the program, time management is a skill that I have improved in more than any other. In my previous job, working in QA, I was more used to a work flow, of similar tasks that needed to be repeated on regular schedules. Adding in school on top of normal life can be a complicated thing. Overall I have gotten better at adapting to changing workflows, and dealing with difficult school projects. It can be quite disruptive to one’s life adding in a 20 hour project, such as the small shell from operating systems.
I was also recently a ULA for CS 325. This was a challenging undertaking that I was unprepared for. While it did not add much time to my schedule, the stress of helping student with difficult material and debugging did drain on my ability to concentrate. When working on work and school assignments I had to implement a strict break and work cycle, usually 50 minutes of work then 10 minute break. See this link.
This strategy has worked well for me in past terms. I also have tried to generally still a lot the same work time each day, even when deadlines are approaching, or my tasks are numerous. This can be very challenging sometimes, but although I am tempted when stressed by an upcoming project to work all night, in the long run I will get a better time investment by working a steady consistent schedule. During the school term I often have to work weekends as well as week days. I find that this usually ebbs and flows with the school schedule, and for a few weeks I have to work through on school every day of the week. As long as I make time, for breaks and mental resets, then this works well for me. Periodic recreation such as running, skiing, and hiking are all essential parts of my time management process.
I am very excited to be so close to the end of my journey at OSU and to be completing this capstone project. Hopefully I’ll be able to document some helpful insights into my time management process, as well as the exciting details of our progress as it happens.
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