Author: inthebottomofthepit

Weekly Overview: 12.14 – 12.20

This past week was the last week of the second quarter of school, a rather pointless week, really. I don’t necessarily feel as if I got a lot done, because of the laid-back attitude, but a few important things did happen.

Overview: 12.14 – 12.20

1. I received my acceptance letter into the Honors program and the Speed School at the University of Louisville. I will be studying Mechanical Engineering and Astrophysics starting Fall 2015, and after struggling with getting my high school to send the proper forms for me to graduate early. Needless to say, I am very excited.

2. I registered for Physics 132 through EKU for next semester.

3. I started a batch of ethanol (which will be completed by the time we return from winter break), made and played with a plasma cutter, i.e. stick welder, (car batter charger + drawing graphite sticks + aluminum foil), and successfully hung from my electromagnet that will be soon attached to shoes for my Senior Project.

4. I did not make it to All State, I did not use the Pomodoro technique for anything, and I did not go to the YMCA every other day — I went running twice, but had only went to the Y once.

Plans for 12.21 – 12.27

1. Without much to do, I want to enjoy Christmas, New Year celebrations, and be part of family events.

2. I want to continue studying Electromagnetism, start more on Mechanical Engineering, work on Astrobiology, Calculus 2, How to Learn, and Advanced Chemistry on Coursera, and follow some more on Gerald t’Hooft’s Physics site.

3. Break some rules!

Weekly Overview: 12.7 – 12.13

This is the first time I have ever summed up what I did in a week. The point of me doing this is not to boast or brag, but quite the opposite. I love the idea of living actively with the “doing what I want to have done” attitude rather than “what I want to do,” as inspired by James Maa’s productivity guide. It seems like a fantastic way to live productively and feel good about what you do with your time. Thus, I will lay out what I have done this week and what I plan to do next week.

Overview: 12.7 – 12.13.14

1. This week, I started using the Pomodoro technique on homework for Calculus. It went greater than I had imagined it would, very inspired by the results.

2. I also took, and passed, the final for dual credit Physics 131 with a final grade of an A, worth 5 hours of credit at UofL — where I will be attending next year. I also helped make a miniature plasma cutter with a piece of pencil graphite and an AC power supply.

3. My passion for Biology escalated immensely this week; my AP Bio teacher, a devout Christian and dedicated educator and scientist, put more doubt in my mind about the limit of our current understanding of science and the horrible assumptions many “scientists” proselytize as absolute fact when they are merely theories (such as Chemical Evolution, which isn’t founded on proof or science and generally not accepted, but still presented in high school classes and collegiate classes as fact). It didn’t sway me from being agnostic, but rather inspired me to work out these gaps in knowledge. I realized that I may want to study Biology or Biophysics at a collegiate level; seeing as I already plan on dual majoring Physics (astro) and mechanical engineering, maybe I will have to make a definitive decision soon about how to invest my time.

4. On Saturday, I went to the second round All State band auditions to try out for Alto Saxophone. If I made it, I will find out on Monday. I feel pretty neutral towards my performance, but we will see the results soon.

5. I also went to the YMCA on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, keeping up with my “every other day” workout program. It’s been going well and I can already see some fast improvement in mass and strength, especially in my back and quads.

Plans for 12.14 – 12.20.14

1. This coming week, I want to continue to use the Pomodoro technique for homework, and general usage of my time.

2. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I want to go to the YMCA to keep up my program.

3. I want to study electromagnetism and acquire another few transformers for my Senior Project on electromagnetism.

4. I want to finish building my bike, provided that my left shifter arrives in the mail. If it gets completed, then I want to take it on rides ranging from 15 to 30km.

5. Finish Secret Santa shopping! Well, start, rather.

You’re not going to get better without changing

I recently read James Maa’s fantastic Productivity Guide and was inspired to create a documentation of my daily, weekly, monthly, etc. activities in an effort to create a sense of accountability and completeness as I begin my life going into college. Over the next months, I will be getting a solid foundation of discipline in scheduling, time management, and such, hopefully preparing myself for the coming maelstrom of workload that goes into an Astrophysics and Mechanical Engineering dual major. I’ve never done anything this rigorous before, and I know the limits to my current time management and general will power. I hope this is the start of a new era in my productivity and success.