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Captain's Log - JSmith


JSmith

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Do you find listing your most important task helps a lot? :D

Maybe. It doesn't require much thinking or action on my part, since for now it's always the same task haha. That will probably change later. For now it just keeps me focused on the essential things, despite whatever else may be changing about the day. I need to be constantly improving my engineering skills.

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Captain's Log - JSmith | 8.18.2016 | Day 47

Gonna keep this one short, want to catch up on sleep tonight.

Managed to talk to that guy in the engineering building about getting weekend lab access. Hopefully the card reader works on Saturday. This morning wasn't super productive as I was fumbling around with the different computers. This lab is different; the computers are mechanical engineering specific, so I had to first find one that was actually working, and then transfer all my solidworks files. The ones that do work run pretty darn fast though, which is great.

Going to take a step back on my novel work. Research has been hectic and my notes are extremely disorganized. Going to reorder most of them into two documents and start over: Basics of Fission and Basics of Fusion. Again, long story haha.

Work was crazy af in the beginning. I'm terrible at multitasking. Noted. Had a lot of time in the second half though so I spent it reading more of The Slight Edge. Very interesting stuff.

I ate a lot of ice cream today. Not sure why. I'll burn it all off in karate tomorrow anyways. No big deal.

I want a girlfriend. :(

Goals for Tomorrow:

1. 750 words freewriting

2. Solidworks Lab, 1 pomodoro

3. Novel Work, 1 pomodoro

4. The Slight Edge, 1 pomodoro

5. A Brief History of Time, 1 pomodoro

6. Karate training!

MOST IMPORTANT TASK: Solidworks Lab, 1 pomodoro

Turning it down a notch because I'm working six hours and I have karate.

Captain's Stats:

Estimated Days Left to Live: 23,115 (Every day counts!)

Reading Minutes: 460+

Solidworks Minutes: 560

Novel Minutes: 440

Things I'm grateful for:

1. Vanilla Ice Cream. Can't beat the classics.

2. Wikipedia. Makes getting into new topics easier. Maybe I won't have to buy a textbook on Nuclear Physics...

3. Moving into my fall assignment in two days! Can't wait to get closer to campus.

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Captain's Log - JSmith | 8.19.2016 | Day 48

No excuses.

I was SO close to just writing this post 40 minutes ago and heading to bed, with only 4/6 goals completed. I may have slightly overestimated the amount of work I would be able to get done today; with work being busy, karate in the evening, not to mention something really important I kinda didn't take into account...needing to start packing for the move tomorrow...I was feeling the pressure.

But I also made some pretty poor decisions, such as wasting time walking from the engineering lab to the library to do my other tasks, just because it's what I'm used to (and ended up costing me dearly as the fire alarm went off in the middle of my 750 words causing me to have to find another location to resume). Or not taking the 40 or so minutes I had in between work and karate to get those last two tasks done, which I instead spent kind of lazing around, half listening to music, half thinking about how I'm going to start packing, instead of fully commiting to either packing or working. I also had a decent chunk of time during my bus ride to the gym in which I could have read A Brief History of Time for a mere 20 minutes, but decided instead to just listen to music. Tsk tsk.

I have to admit, listening to music during those periods was the only downtime I had today. But I certainly could have been smarter about it. Not that it matters anymore. Because I just did the last two tasks right now. Who needs extra sleep? No excuses, it's done, 6/6. I feel much better now.

So anyways haha, super pumped for the weekend. Moving to my new room and I have Saturday and Sunday off work, so I'll definitely be able to settle in and get things organized. I have a list of things that need to get done after the move-in, so I'll definitely get started on that Sunday at the latest. Also hoping my engineering card access works. You can expect a super font all caps statement in my next entry if it does. Exciting stuff!

Goals for Tomorrow:

1. 750 words freewriting

2. Solidworks Lab, 1 pomodoro

3. Novel Work, 1 pomodoro

4. The Slight Edge, 1 pomodoro

5. A Brief History of Time, 1 pomodoro

6. Laundry before moving out

7. Check for the free fridge in the hallway! (If I have enough space in my room I might take it haha)

MOST IMPORTANT TASK: Laundry before moving out

Sorry Solidworks, you got bumped. Otherwise about an hour and a half of personal work per day. Seems easy enough. I'll try to stick with this.

Captain's Stats:

Estimated Days Left to Live: 23,114 

Reading Minutes: 500+

Solidworks Minutes: 580

Novel Minutes: 460

Consecutive karate practices attended without skipping: 11

Forgot to include the karate counter on Wednesday. Passed ten days! Seven more to go and that's all of August. All I have to do is show up. Easy.

Things I'm grateful for:

1. Moving to Fall assignment tomorrow! Traveling around campus is going to be so much easier.

2. Getting another ride from a karate friend. I shouldn't need to bug him anymore. xD

3. Two days off work. Some relief before things turn up is great!

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Captain's Log - JSmith | 8.21.2016 | Day 50

My apologies for not posting a journal entry last night. Went on a movie watching spree after spending the whole day moving to my Fall semester dorm and then cramming in all of my goals for the day. I only watched two but the second one was pretty long. Ended up going to bed late as a result. My initial thought was that this might have been like me taking the sucess curve I so far established and decreasing the slope a little bit, or maybe inserting a little round bend. Scary stuff, the slight edge. But I was determined to not let this little break in habit throw me completely off.

Completed yesterday's goals again today, despite being a little behind in the day's hours. I've been thinking a lot today about a particular question, especially since it came up recently in a Quora answer and then again today when I was reading more of The Slight Edge.

What is it I really want out of life?

It's a loaded question, and one I never really commited to answering seriously. Career, relationships, health, day to day activities/feelings, spirituality, finances, living arrangements, you name it. What do I want in all of these things? The post I read on Quora broke it down into some of the categories I listed above, which made me feel better about tackling such a question. He said it was important for young people to figure this out, since it would help direct the rest of their lives. In The Slight Edge I was reading Three Steps to your Dreams, and it was the first step where it gives you space to write down FIVE of your dreams in any area that got me. I've thought about these things for a very long time, but I've never put them into words. And nevermind the deadline part...how am I supposed to know how long until I could achieve my dreams?

I consider myself a very ambitious individual. Part of me is scared because I feel as if my dreams are just...too BIG to be accomplished in my lifetime. What if I'm just imagining myself in some movies-induced dream world instead of sticking closer to reality? I know what Jeff said about nineteen to one. If I can't even convince myself that my dreams are possible, how would I be able to stand against the gravity of the 95 percent? My enthusiasm comes and goes in waves, sometimes I'm feeling good about my dreams, sometimes I feel as if it's all hocus pocus.

But then I started thinking a little deeper, and I realized I may have a bigger problem. I think I might be afraid to realize my dreams. I was talking with a work friend today at a cafe; I told him I just came from the library and he infered I was doing personal studies. He said, "I admire that about you, you study for your own benefit, not just for school." My insides froze. I was being recognized for my actions. But I felt this...wave of fear passing over me. It's like every time others know about the things I'm doing every day, I feel more awkward and strange than happy.

I think this might be because of my high school experiences. When you excel at something, and people see it, I feel like they develop this glorified image of you. I've been called a perfect student by my classmates, I've been recognized and stood out in front of everyone by teachers for the "amazing" work I've done. And you know what? It's fucking terrifying.

Because as soon as you slip up, if you even make one mistake, that image is turned to pieces and you become this fallen jedi case and you can feel the shock and dissapointment in everybody's eyes. Ugh. I don't want that shit. I'm a human being too dammit, I'm allowed to fuck up every now and then as well.

When the teacher literally has to stop class because some of your peers are losing their shit over a silly paragraph you wrote so she can remind everyone that we're all intelligent and do great work...what the hell do you say to that???

Shit yeah, nothing. But it's just uncomfortable.

I'm sorry, I had to get that off my chest. I guess the real issue is I still care too much about other people's opinions of me. Which is ironic, as I tend to be non-conforming about certain social practices. Not sure how to counter that, especially with how the media swarms all over sucessful people haha.

I think I might also be afraid of general change. What if I build some amazing new product, something that changes people's lives? What if I become a millionaire, or a billionare? Things aren't going to be the same. Maybe it's just the uncertainty of what happens after your success which scares me.

Anyways, today was overall productive. Got my stuff done, finished organizing my room, karate was a fun time (just me and one of the instructors haha, scary at first but I learned a lot). I've been getting a few emails lately from my old roleplaying site, messages from staff it looks like. Was triggering strong old memories and feelings. Those were interesting times. I just need to remind myself of the dangers of instant gratification.

I should wrap this up, almost time for bed. If you've read all of this, you're awesome. I'll post solidworks stuff tomorrow. I'm building a milling machine. O.o

Goals for Tomorrow:

1. 750 words freewriting

2. Solidworks Lab, 1 pomodoro

3. Novel Work, 1 pomodoro

4. The Slight Edge, 1 pomodoro

5. A Brief History of Time, 1 pomodoro

6. Attend karate class.

MOST IMPORTANT TASK: Solidworks, 1 pomodoro

Work ramps up starting tomorrow, so I'll definitely need to be more time-conscious.

Captain's Stats:

Estimated Days Left to Live: 23,112 

Reading Minutes: 580+

Solidworks Minutes: 620

Novel Minutes: 500

Consecutive karate practices attended without skipping: 12

Things I'm grateful for:

1. Computer lab was open for solidworks. Shouldn't have to use vpc anymore with school coming up.

2. A good conversation with my work friend, who is also a karate friend haha.

3. Some great one-on-one karate instruction, by one of the best in our club. Probably in the region too.

 

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Captain's Log - JSmith | 8.21.2016 | Day 50

I was talking with a work friend today at a cafe; I told him I just came from the library and he infered I was doing personal studies. He said, "I admire that about you, you study for your own benefit, not just for school." My insides froze. I was being recognized for my actions. But I felt this...wave of fear passing over me. It's like every time others know about the things I'm doing every day, I feel more awkward and strange than happy.

That's the responsibility of being an example to the others. You might have children one day, so you better get used to be a great leader early on :)

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I think this might be because of my high school experiences. When you excel at something, and people see it, I feel like they develop this glorified image of you. I've been called a perfect student by my classmates, I've been recognized and stood out in front of everyone by teachers for the "amazing" work I've done. And you know what? It's fucking terrifying.

Because as soon as you slip up, if you even make one mistake, that image is turned to pieces and you become this fallen jedi case and you can feel the shock and dissapointment in everybody's eyes. Ugh. I don't want that shit. I'm a human being too dammit, I'm allowed to fuck up every now and then as well.

@JSmith props for the self awareness and openness. As long as you have the desire, you will get past that mentality one day.

Dunno if you've read this, excerpt from "Bounce", Matthew Syed. Experiment with some young students and math performance. The control group that performed better were not smarter on average, they simply tried harder/longer and didn't give up. In the under performing group, they were praised at how "talented" or "genius" they were. In the well performing group they told them "you must have worked so hard to do so well".

Your fears aren't out of nowhere, it's easy for others to undervalue effort and just talk about talent/genius because that makes it easier to not try. It sounds like you've been surrounded by that mentality a lot. But looking at your progress I feel like you're well on your way to where you'll define your success, keep it up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s-pAC9Dq88 - here's a minute of Gary V that hopefully helps :D

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Captain's Log - JSmith | 8.23.2016 | Day 52

I've been slacking a little bit on getting these out every night, it's important that I stay consistent. Just got back from work and I'm pretty tired; I don't even remember exactly what I did yesterday, oh wait it's coming back to me. Worked in the morning while also scrambling to get all my goals done, which eventually I did. I realized today why I tended to get frustrated while at work. It's because of the damn goals haha. Today I managed to get everything done before my work shift, and I was much happier overall during, since the pressure was off. Which is kind of obvious isn't it?

Unfortunately I won't have much luck tomorrow. Apparently 700 people are checking in tomorrow, so I don't intend to get anything else done during my day shift. That leaves me with about three and a half hours afterwards to get my goals done before karate. Well, if I don't screw around it shouldn't be too difficult. I just hope I'm not drained after working.

Wrote over 2000 words today in my online journal. Oh my god, I can't focus right now. It sounds like somebody is doing jumping jacks in the goddamn hallway. I'm too tired for this.

It's coming from the RA's room. Go figure.

That was so freaking weird. I hear noises in there like people are talking. I knock on the door, and then suddenly it gets all quiet and I hear whispering, but nobody answers. And then just as I'm about to give up and go back I see one guy walk out with headphones, not for me. He apologized, saying he was just knocking stuff over.

Huh?????

I don't understand...but at least the noises stopped. At least he was nice. I tend to assume the worst in people. Really bad habit, I know. I'm so sorry, I should sleep now. Oh, the journal. I was just reminiscing about some old roleplays I did a year back. I've been daydreaming about them a lot recently...I just miss them I guess. But then again, I've always missed them. It's an odd topic, I'll only say more if anyone asks. 

Every person I see on this site, writing about their wives and girlfriends and dates, I envy you. Don't let them go.

Goals for Tomorrow:

I've been doing the same stuff every day for a couple weeks now, do I really need to write it down? LOL copy/paste dude. I forgot.

1. 750 words freewriting

2. Solidworks Lab, 1 pomodoro

3. Novel Work, 1 pomodoro

4. The Slight Edge, 1 pomodoro (I finished it but want to take another day to fill in those goal blanks)

5. A Brief History of Time, 1 pomodoro

6. Attend karate class.

MOST IMPORTANT TASK: Solidworks, 1 pomodoro

No more captain's stats, at least for now. How am I going to enjoy the journey if I'm too busy tracking the numbers?

Things I'm grateful for:

1. Easygoing day at work. I think I've officially run out of days like these, but it was nice while it lasted.

2. One of my karate friends working with me today. We always have such interesting conversations.

3. Finally getting my card access fixed for the ME lab. Now I can do solidworks pretty much whenever.

Stay awesome folks.

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I think this might be because of my high school experiences. When you excel at something, and people see it, I feel like they develop this glorified image of you. I've been called a perfect student by my classmates, I've been recognized and stood out in front of everyone by teachers for the "amazing" work I've done. And you know what? It's fucking terrifying.

Because as soon as you slip up, if you even make one mistake, that image is turned to pieces and you become this fallen jedi case and you can feel the shock and dissapointment in everybody's eyes. Ugh. I don't want that shit. I'm a human being too dammit, I'm allowed to fuck up every now and then as well.

@JSmith props for the self awareness and openness. As long as you have the desire, you will get past that mentality one day.

Dunno if you've read this, excerpt from "Bounce", Matthew Syed. Experiment with some young students and math performance. The control group that performed better were not smarter on average, they simply tried harder/longer and didn't give up. In the under performing group, they were praised at how "talented" or "genius" they were. In the well performing group they told them "you must have worked so hard to do so well".

Your fears aren't out of nowhere, it's easy for others to undervalue effort and just talk about talent/genius because that makes it easier to not try. It sounds like you've been surrounded by that mentality a lot. But looking at your progress I feel like you're well on your way to where you'll define your success, keep it up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s-pAC9Dq88 - here's a minute of Gary V that hopefully helps :D

Thank you for the kind words! I'll have to take another look at that video tomorrow.

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Captain's Log - JSmith | 8.24.2016 | Day 53

Well today was...as predicted. Just finished my last pomodoros for the day, as a result of again some poor decisions I made after work. Something that should have only taken me about 20 minutes at the most I dragged on for two hours, because I just wasn't thinking properly. Now I'm losing sleep because of it. Sigh.

I'm really enjoying writing on that 750 words site. It's been amazing just being able to put all of my thoughts somewhere, even though I'm not sure if it's actually giving me any mental benefits, other than just dealing with some shoved away uncomfortable thoughts. I'll probably end up signing up for the One Month September Challenge.

Speaking of September, news is Elon Musk is planning on revealing his plan for getting humans to Mars at the 67th International Astronautical Congress in Mexico, on September 27th. Man, that's four days before my detox ends. Super exciting stuff. I've been eager to learn more about MCT since I first heard of it (if anyone here knows what that is we are automatically best friends). Hopefully it's livestreamed.

So apparently I'm going to be acting supervisor for work this opening weekend, in the area I was assigned. It wasn't a promotion haha, there just wasn't one placed in that area, so they're having me do it. Shouldn't be anything too crazy. Training is tomorrow, and then we just have to arrive ready to go Friday at 6:30 in the morning!

GG sleep schedule.

I'm seeing way more people on campus now that early arrivals are ending. It's almost shocking; I've actually gotten used to the lack of students during the summer, so it's going to take some time to readjust to the fact that 12,000 people live on campus...

Guess that's it for tonight.

Goals for Tomorrow:

1. 750 words freewriting

2. Solidworks Lab, 1 pomodoro

3. Novel Work, 1 pomodoro

4. The Slight Edge, 1 pomodoro (I finished it but want to take another day to fill in those goal blanks)

5. A Brief History of Time, 1 pomodoro

MOST IMPORTANT TASK: Solidworks, 1 pomodoro

I also plan on getting school supplies and possibly getting a haircut. Which is going to be dramatic because right now I have an afro. I'm also thinking about shaving...I'm not a hobo I swear.

Things I'm grateful for:

1. No more early arrival check-ins. Today was my busiest workday of the summer.

2. Still going strong with daily goals.

3. Unrestricted solidworks access. The more I use it the more I realize just how powerful of a program I have. (had a brief look today at its database of common machine parts available for insert, organized by country...)

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Captain's Log - JSmith | 8.25.2016 | Day 54

Have to keep this one really short. Completed all my goals again; it's pretty much clockwork at this point. I just have to make sure I'm maintaining them once the semester starts, and add my two hour a day study block. That's the plan for now. Next three days it's just going to be mainly working, and karate. But at least my area shouldn't be too busy so I expect I'll have ample time to get my goals completed for these days. Then I'm just a regular college student! Fun stuff.

Goals for Tomorrow:

1. 750 words freewriting

2. Solidworks Lab, 1 pomodoro

3. Novel Work, 1 pomodoro

4. Think and Grow Rich, 1 pomodoro (Yay! New book!)

5. A Brief History of Time, 1 pomodoro

MOST IMPORTANT TASK: Solidworks, 1 pomodoro

Things I'm grateful for:

1. Getting that Japanese class. 

2. Finding a good barber on campus.

3. Not hacking myself to pieces shaving for the first time today.

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That moment when you realize what you thought you knew about something was only the surface

How our Sun produces energy:

Fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium, right? Easy.

How our Sun ACTUALLY produces energy:

250px-FusionintheSun.svg.thumb.png.af7ad

A proton-proton chain reaction involving two isotopes of hydrogen and two of helium.

Hydrogen has isotopes???????

Novel research is much more intensive than I thought it would be. Good thing I know The Slight Edge.

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First time I read Think and Grow Rich, it blew my mind! One of the most brilliant books imho, just behind the 7 Habits.

Would you tell me the name of the writer's website you mentioned in a previous post?

Your journal makes you look like you're one of the most productive and disciplined people around here. Keep it up!

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Captain's Log - JSmith | 8.26.2016 | Day 55

Another day, another dollar.

Everything feels streamlined now, to be honest. Same goals, every day. Had no issue waking up at 5am to get to work, probably because I got to bed early enough. Was still a little tired during the day, but it didn't really matter. Just sat there for eight hours, getting my stuff done and hanging out. Took a look at Coach.me, an app Cam recommended in one of his latest videos. It looks very polished, but I think it's pretty redundant when I have this as well. Perhaps it might be good though to see that extra visual progress. I'll try it out for a coule days at least.

Started Think and Grow Rich today. Man, what an intense read. I have never read anything like this before. It's very similar to The Slight Edge, concepts with stories meshed in. But TGR is just...it's like a firehose. It just doesn't stop. I had a lot of extra time today to really dive in, but I may need to slow down or reread some parts in the future. Intense.

Love being able to swipe into the engineering lab even if the door is locked. I feel like a VIP. xD

Karate was intense as always, but good. I need to work on my breathing, was feeling lightheaded after we started doing kata. A lot of times I feel oxygen-deprived while performing them, like when I'm trying to breathe in the middle of movements but the movements themselves are constricting my lungs or something. And then I'm trying to catch my breath using those stomach-breathing techniques, and it feels like my brain is swelling up with each inhale. Don't know if that's good or bad. My guess is it's bad. Maybe I'm just too tense still. That's been a big issue for me, ever since I started training. I've made progress over the last year, but I still get corrected by my sensei at least once per class. I also need to stretch more too. I have some issues with joints in my legs and feet, probably as a result of me being born flat-footed, and my hips aren't flexible at all. I used to go to class super early to setup and then stretch but I haven't lately, mainly because it takes an additional hour out of my day. I don't know. My main priority right now is just making sure I'm going to every class, which so far I am doing. One of the black belts commended me on my kata after class; he said it looked strong. Made me feel pretty good, although there was still that slight tinge of anxiety afterwards. I want and fear success simlutaneously. It drives me nuts.

Haven't posted any solidworks for a while, so here's one. It's an assembly of a few parts I put together to form a mill machine.

mill_mate_suppression.thumb.JPG.64de0b3f

Here you can see me dragging the top table around, playing with the lock/unlock controls. A lot of work went into organizing and inputting all the mates to the different pieces, but this post is long enough haha. If anybody wants to know more feel free to ask. I can better cement my learning by explaining to others. Not by default though, not too much.

Goals for Tomorrow:

1. 750 words freewriting

2. Solidworks Lab, 1 pomodoro

3. Novel Work, 1 pomodoro

4. Think and Grow Rich, 1 pomodoro

5. A Brief History of Time, 1 pomodoro

6. Complete two tasks from To-Do List

MOST IMPORTANT TASK: Solidworks, 1 pomodoro

Things I'm grateful for:

1. Getting paid to read books and watch movies.

2. Seeing a karate friend at practice today after 3 months. She took the whole summer off lol, but she still looks good. I probably wouldn't have.

3. Getting closer to classes. Wanna just get started already.

 

@Reno F just saw your post in the middle of writing this. It's called 750words.com. I actually got the idea from another journal on here, don't remember whose it was. I'd try to figure out who, but it's getting late. If you want to work on fiction writing (I know you mentioned joining a roleplay earlier) I would also recommend checking out http://bubblecow.com/guides/1 . You can make a free account and get a nice e-book called The Writer's Manual. It's actually pretty legit. I definitely plan on reading through that once I start more of the actual writing portion of my novel.

Need to sleep now. Thank you everyone!

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Captain's Log - JSmith | 8.27.2016 | Day 56

Starting this one late as well, so I have to keep it short. Even though I feel as if I could write for an hour.

College is almost in full swing. Work was busy today with all the check-ins, and there are so many people on campus now. It's almost disorienting. I've completely adjusted to the lack of people during the summer, and now I have to readjust. So much noise too! It's like I forgot how college life is.

Walked to my dorm room to find my new roommate playing super smash brothers on a 40 inch tv with a friend. First encounter literally. Oh dear.

Relax, it's not that serious. Two more friends join him. Okay, I'll just step out for a little bit.

He said it's no problem if I needed them to leave, which made me feel better. Will need to see how things play out over the next couple weeks. I mustn't be afraid to be up front and communicate clearly about my wishes. I respect his hobbies, but I also need some quiet time every now and then. Maybe we can work out a schedule or something, if push comes to shove.

Otherwise still going strong with goals. Must keep the momentum going forward, especially with all the changes that are still to come. I was so into my solidworks session I almost missed dinner at the dining halls haha. Once work ends I shouldn't be as strapped for time.

Solidworks pics tomorrow, I promise. I have something AMAZING to show you all, but no time tonight. Sorry!

Shit. I only did one To-Do list task today instead of two...I forgot that one. Now I'm sad. I need to get more organized.

Goals for Tomorrow:

1. 750 words freewriting

2. Solidworks Lab, 1 pomodoro

3. Novel Work, 1 pomodoro

4. Think and Grow Rich, 1 pomodoro

5. A Brief History of Time, 1 pomodoro

6. Devote a full hour tomorrow night before bed to journaling and planning for the big day.

MOST IMPORTANT TASK: Solidworks, 1 pomodoro

Things I'm grateful for:

1. Only one day of work left, then it's gametime!

2. Getting to text some of my friends who are coming back. Unfotunately I can't hang out with them tonight, but there will be other opportunities.

3. A respectful roommate with respectful friends. I will do my best to act in kind.

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Captain's Log - JSmith | 8.28.2016 | Day 57

Damn, I really needed some advice after yesterday haha.

Today was busy, but overall very decent. Woke up a little late again, because I went to bed a little late as well. That ends tonight. It's 9:12pm currently; my plan is to knock out this entry, get everything set for tomorrow, and then head to bed before 10:30. I threw away all my work paraphernalia as soon as I returned from my shift; that chapter of my life is officially finished. Switching to student mode.

Originally I was going to use words, but I think it's just easier if I show you all my schedule for the semester:

Fall_2016_Schedule.thumb.JPG.12b17ed81e1

SPACE CAPTAIN'S ULTIMATE MASTER PLAN FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS

- Attend every class

- Study two hours a day (yes, starting tomorrow)

100% Slight Edge tactics, putting them to work.

But hot damn, six pomodoros a day? That's a little overkill don't you think?

NO, not overkill! I'm not taking any chances. I want to start out strong and let that momentum carry me through the semester. Hopefully by following this plan I won't have to cram for tests and the like, which I've had to do before. It's completely miserable. The only thing that does make me a little nervous is doing this plus my other daily goals.

Pssssh, let's just count all the pomodoros. Six a day for studying, four for daily goals (1 solidworks, 2 reading, 1 novel work), 750 words a day equivalent to one, and this journal entry, which honestly is about two on average. Twelve pomodoros = 240 minutes = four hours. Four hours of work outside of classes! Per day? That's a decent amount actually, especially on Mondays and Wednesdays, if I take into account things like eating haha. I won't count on having as much free time on those days (the schedule also doesn't show the nights I have karate: M/W/F/Sun nights). But I'll focus on prioritizing the two hours studying per day first. Maybe I can make adjustments in the future depending on how things go, but if they conflict with my other goals, so be it. Classes come first.

Plus it's really not that bad. The only things I really do for relaxing is either listening to music or watching movies or the occasional youtube video. I also would like to hang out with friends every now and then. My poor friends! Couldn't see them last night or tonight! Oh well, sacrifices folks. I'll have PLENTY of time on Tuesday.

My roommate's super smash bros. gathering politely cleared out after I entered. I did need the space and quiet to focus, but I still feel bad. It's just an unfortunate clash of interests I think. I don't know how long they were playing and I hate to be the reason shit gets broken up, but I have to do what's necessary. I just hope they're not secretly pissed off or something.

I did promise I'd show you all the awesome work I did in solidworks yesterday. It's a tutorial I did on Rendering and the Photoview360 add in. It's basically a set of tools for getting a sense of how your products would look in the real world. I knew it was integrated somewhere in the program, but I was not prepared for this:

flash_drive_before_photoview.thumb.JPG.8

No, I didn't make this from scratch, unfortunately. My skills aren't there yet haha. I just messed around with some coloring and material features, learning about how solidworks manages different layers and styles within your design (which is pretty confusing actually, since there's a hierarchy between the part, component, and assembly levels).

But once you turn on Photoview, it basically throws in realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections based on the materials and background, which are fully customizable! Check out this final render:

flash_drive_final_render.thumb.JPG.7f5a1

My jaw dropped when I saw this work of art. It's so pretty! I wonder if they actually sell this haha. It looks even better on the actual screen. And this is with it's infamous Realview settings turned off, since the graphics card on the computers doesn't support it. Today I worked on an advanced design tutorial, making some sort of edit flexible door hinge using equations. Super exciting stuff. I'm contemplating adding more practice time everyday.

Goals for Tomorrow:

1. Studying, 6 pomodoros

2. 750 words. I'm also going to sign up for the One Month September Challenge.

3. Solidworks, 1 pomodoro

4. Think and Grow Rich, 1 pomodoro

5. A Brief History of Time, 1 pomodoro

6. Novel work, 1 pomodoro

7. Pick up bupropion refill. I missed a day because I forgot! :(

MOST IMPORTANT TASK: Studying, 6 pomodoros

Things I'm grateful for:

1. No more work, but two more paychecks! xD

2. GAMETIME! (The study kind, not the actual game kind)

3. Having more fun with solidworks lately.

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