Project 2 time-management

To begin this challenge of time management I got to work on over the past couple weeks, we need to go back to the start of everything. Starting the statistics module was not to hard for me as I had previous experience with statistics, however, I have never touched calculus. So, when the workload started to increase and the stats equations were beginning to be derived and explained from calculus I, quickly began to start to struggle. As the weeks passed and it was finally time to start looking at the project, I began to feel overwhelmed. To make matters worse, I had a scheduled family vacation that week we were supposed to begin working on the project. I knew right then it was going to be a very tough week for me, and I was beginning to question whether I would even be able to get the second project done in time.

I had decided to leave for vacation on Sunday because I had a six-hour drive ahead of me and I knew if I left on Monday, I would not have time the zoom call and the drive. This is where my time management for this project began to be put to the test. I wanted to work the weekend before to get ahead, but I did not realize I would lose almost two days for working on the project (Time driving to the beach and again driving back) so I knew I had to leave earlier. Once I arrived at the beach, I started off well. I stayed indoors and worked on the project just doing what I could to stay on schedule and not get distracted. However, I learned that we had a break week the following week which gave me an extra week to work on the project. This was both a blessing and a curse because now that meant I could afford to take my time with the data analysis. And I did. I was at the beach for a total of six days and each day I did less and less work, knowing I could do more work the next week once I leave the beach. While this was true, life began to compound quickly. The upcoming weekend I had a bachelor party, followed by the weeding the next weekend. It came down to Monday-Thursday was all I had to finish the project.

After I left the beach on Friday, I managed to only complete 80% the data cleaning process, and there was no time that weekend to do anything more. As soon I got back to my house it was time to get ready and leaves to drive another two hours for the bachelor party. At this point I am following behind my schedule but not too stressed yet, just enjoying my break week a little early. By the time Monday rolls around I can now finally start and dedicate all my time to the project.

Over the past week, now my time management skills have peaked. I’m working a full 8 hours a day from Monday to Thursday with minimal distractions. I probably got to confident in myself because by Thursday I had my regression model and several iterations of it done and I assumed I can do the rest of the project on Sunday. At this point I am exhausted from driving and I again now need to drive several hours to a wedding rehearsal and stay the night there.

I do not do any work Friday as I’m trying to move out while also sticking to schedule to be at the rehearsal on time. I stay the night and again get no work done on Saturday because of the wedding. Now I’m left with an interesting choice. Leave at the end of the wedding and drive several hours back home so I can start the project first thing Monday morning (assuming I have the energy to make the drive) or stay another night and leave Sunday morning. I opted to leave right as the wedding ended because I knew If I stayed another night, I would lose to much time driving. I managed to make home by 1:00 am.

This is where the time crunch happens. I start my work first thing Sunday morning because I know I have a handful of things that need to get done: Data visualization, PowerPoint, video walk through, and this blog post. This kept me busy for a full day and kept me on my toes. I knew I had no time to spare. This time crunch goes all the way back to me getting to relaxed at the beach followed by an overconfident self from a quick turn around in work ethic. I assumed since I worked so hard the week before the wedding, Sunday would be no different. I know realize having worked for a week kept the material fresh and easy to recall when I needed too. The break of the wedding put me off my game so to speak, but nonetheless I managed to perform under pressure and completed what needed to be done.

My biggest take away here is that I need to work to get the ball rolling and keep it rolling. When I am in the right working mindset the workload feels manageable, but when I take breaks when I’m ahead I overcompensate and assume I can pick up where I left off. In the end I still learned a lot about my work styles and of course about regression analysis.