Its important to try and fit in some time for non academic stuff.
Doing some exercise is actually really good for my focus long term and keeps me from getting frustrated. But with a heavy work load it is something you have to make an effort to do, otherwise you'll just keep making excuses.
Doing some exercise is actually really good for my focus long term and keeps me from getting frustrated. But with a heavy work load it is something you have to make an effort to do, otherwise you'll just keep making excuses.
Original post by Ybsy75
Is it normal that in third year, you just can't find the time for extra curricular activities anymore with a full day of lectures on most days on top of project work, courseworks etc?
If you want to fit in extra curricular activities then you'll be able to fit them in.
3rd year Engineering student here and I find time to play cricket a couple of times a week, attend 3 to 4 archery sessions each week and go over to play Real Tennis once a week (which takes about 5 hours in total), along with all of my studies and I don't have a problem fitting any of that in.
At the end of the day if I do hit a point where my workload drastically increases then I can always drop some training sessions for that week, but if I don't do anything at the start of the year then I'm just setting myself up for a boring year.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by mackemforever
If you want to fit in extra curricular activities then you'll be able to fit them in.
3rd year Engineering student here and I find time to play cricket a couple of times a week, attend 3 to 4 archery sessions each week and go over to play Real Tennis once a week (which takes about 5 hours in total), along with all of my studies and I don't have a problem fitting any of that in.
At the end of the day if I do hit a point where my workload drastically increases then I can always drop some training sessions for that week, but if I don't do anything at the start of the year then I'm just setting myself up for a boring year.
3rd year Engineering student here and I find time to play cricket a couple of times a week, attend 3 to 4 archery sessions each week and go over to play Real Tennis once a week (which takes about 5 hours in total), along with all of my studies and I don't have a problem fitting any of that in.
At the end of the day if I do hit a point where my workload drastically increases then I can always drop some training sessions for that week, but if I don't do anything at the start of the year then I'm just setting myself up for a boring year.
5 hours isn't that bad. I still do exercise like running and non competitive sports. But I meant stuff like volunteering, competitive sport or societies which tend to take more than 5 hours a week.
Original post by Ybsy75
5 hours isn't that bad. I still do exercise like running and non competitive sports. But I meant stuff like volunteering, competitive sport or societies which tend to take more than 5 hours a week.
I meant that the tennis alone is a five hour thing. The archer sessions run between 90 minutes and 2 hours each and the cricket is between 2 and 3 hours each.
Original post by mackemforever
I meant that the tennis alone is a five hour thing. The archer sessions run between 90 minutes and 2 hours each and the cricket is between 2 and 3 hours each.
How do you do all that? How much coursework, project work do you have and how many hours do you allocate to private study?
Original post by Ybsy75
How do you do all that? How much coursework, project work do you have and how many hours do you allocate to private study?
Well for me my University work essentially takes the role of a 9-6 job, as in I start working by 9am at the latest and work straight through to 6pm at the earliest, with the occasional break to avoid going insane and lunch obviously.
There are a few days where I have either archery or cricket during the day in which case I'll work a couple of hours later in the evening.
In terms of actual hours I have 9 hours of lectures, 3 hours of tutorials and 2 hours of workshop time plus a minimum of 15 hours per week on an independent project plus the usual coursework and constant revision.
Original post by Ybsy75
How do you do all that? How much coursework, project work do you have and how many hours do you allocate to private study?
If you sleep for 8 hours a day & study for 8 hours a day that still leaves you 8 hours a day for extracurriculars. (Well, a bit less than 8 once you take out food/showering & such) It might seem daunting but if you plan your time efficiently it can be done.
Studying every hour god sends might get you a First, but it isn't healthy!
When extra-curriculars are part of recreation, then it works. If extracurriculars by themselve are stressful, then not. So only do the ones you enjoy. And while third year is more important, you are also more experienced, than before, so juggling everything will be easier.
I'd wholeheartedly recommend keeping up any ECs you are passionate about if at all possible. It was heavily discouraged by my uni tutor (who basically wanted me to chain myself to a desk in the library! 
) but I just went behind his back and did stuff anyway 
It's important not to become obsessed with work and it's healthy to have distractions, as others have pointed out 
) but I just went behind his back and did stuff anyway It's important not to become obsessed with work and it's healthy to have distractions, as others have pointed out I have between 22 and 25 hours of contact time though. On top, they recommend around 35 hours of study per week. That's around 70 hours per week. Doing courseworks normally takes up most of this time, leaving no time for private study. That works out to about 10 hours per day including weekends.
Original post by Ybsy75
I have between 22 and 25 hours of contact time though. On top, they recommend around 35 hours of study per week. That's around 70 hours per week. Doing courseworks normally takes up most of this time, leaving no time for private study. That works out to about 10 hours per day including weekends.
10 hours study & 8 hours sleep still leaves you six hours to play with each day. That's 42 hours a week. You'll obviously want to relax for some of that but you can afford to use some of it for extra curricular activity. You just need to make sure you plan what you want to do and make sure your timetable works around doing that.
Original post by Ybsy75
I have between 22 and 25 hours of contact time though. On top, they recommend around 35 hours of study per week. That's around 70 hours per week. Doing courseworks normally takes up most of this time, leaving no time for private study. That works out to about 10 hours per day including weekends.
The clue for me is the increased concentration and effectiveness throuh EC. You simply work faster, when you want to go somewhere in the evening, you quit your desk, you are more motivated as you don't feel everything your week consists of is studying and you have a cussion, when studies give you a hard time, on which you can fall back concerning good experiences.
Original post by Ybsy75
I have between 22 and 25 hours of contact time though. On top, they recommend around 35 hours of study per week. That's around 70 hours per week. Doing courseworks normally takes up most of this time, leaving no time for private study. That works out to about 10 hours per day including weekends.
Are you sure they recommend 35 hours on top of contact time? I've always heard 'treat your studies like a full-time job - you should be aiming to work 35-40 hours per week' implicitly including lectures.
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