Author: Emily DeGenova – Health Management Systems, Senior
Ahh the start of a new spring semester! The campus air is filled with rekindling friendships from winter break, overflowing coffee shops of students trying to get back to a daily routine, and surge of excitement because it is only syllabus week. However, this brief frenzy is quickly met with the all too familiar sense of feeling overwhelmed by the looming workload the next 15 weeks are bound to bring. As you carefully pencil-in all of your due-dates for exams, presentations, research papers, group projects, mid-terms, and finals, you begin to wonder where you will squeeze in breakfast, lunch, and dinner. As a lifelong student, I wish I could tell my younger self the tip I am about to share for dealing with, and ultimately conquering, the stresses of a busy life.
About a year ago, during my nightly routine heedless internet surfing, I came across a YouTube video about “block-scheduling”. For many, this term brings back memories of high school – where the bell finally rings and releases you from one dreadful class and onto the next. However, when you truly consider this method of organization, it produces impressive results. Within an 8 hour period, students have sat through 6 or 7 different class periods of various subjects, eaten lunch, and maybe even a study-hall. As a result, students are able to complete a vast amount work by simply “chipping away” at the course material class period by class period (Page 1).
In this, the question is raised, what if I implement block-scheduling into my personal life?What if, instead of letting your laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning build up, why not build them into blocks? What if, instead of cramming for exams and squeezing in last minute homework before the deadline, you slowly chipped away at them?
What if you actually PLANNED OUT blocks of time per-day devoted to cleaning, cooking, homework, and, I dare say it, relaxing?????
For those of you students that don’t know what this term means:
“Relaxing” adjective. The act of releasing or bringing relief from the effects of tension, anxiety, etc. (“Relaxing” 5).
Since coming across this video, I experienced a major lifestyle change. From once being the master of procrastination to finally feeling like I might “have it together”. Although I can’t say everyday goes as planned, it is a step in the right direction and I think it is worth sharing and celebrating!
Is this what they mean by a “Block Party”?
References:
- “Relaxing.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/relaxing.
- Page, Jordan F. “The Block Schedule System And What It Is.” Fun Cheap or Free, 27 Dec. 2019, funcheaporfree.com/the-block-schedule-system-what-it-is-how-it-works-and-how-it-will-change-your-life/.
Building Bridges 