Admittedly, I can recall way too many Sunday evenings when I felt more drained than I was on the previous Friday. I recently read a New York Times article on “The Science-Backed Schedule for Your Perfect Weekend” which has since sparked my interest in ‘planning’ or ‘time blocking’ my weekends.
As the second semester commences, I am determined more than ever to approach my weekends with a healthy, fun, and productive mindset. It is critical to prioritize sleep, personal passions, social activities, and exercise during your weekends; however, we all know that commitments and assignments can saturate our schedule with great intensity.
As such, I have spent some time considering how we can meld the scientifically optimal time-management strategy with the college-student experience to create the so-called ‘perfect weekend.’
Insert: the scientists.
According to the article, the following represents the ideal equation for a restorative and enjoyable weekend:
- Sleep: 7-9 hours per evening & 20-60 minutes of napping time
- Hobbies: around 2 hours
- Socializing: 0-2 events
- Exercise: more than 45 minutes
- Work: less than 2 hours
- Unplanned time: about 3-4 hours
Now, insert: the college student.
While many of these time recommendations are apt for a college lifestyle, there are a few which, according to me, need some adjusting.
Firstly, I do not think many of us can spend less than 2 hours per weekend on homework. Also, I think we should separate our work category into the following categories: homework and dorm reset.
So, let’s update that. I hope to spend about 4-5 hours on Saturday and Sunday doing homework, and I plan to change my sheets, do my laundry, and reset my dorm for 1-2 hours each weekend.
With that, I think we must modify our unplanned time to roughly 45 minutes per day, and combine our allotted socializing time with some of our extracurricular plans.
In terms of a weekend sleep schedule, data supports that maintaining a consistent bedtime and wake-up time lends itself to better physical and mental health. While it may be more challenging to achieve this in its most optimal form in college, we can still try to get to sleep by midnight or so on the weekends and rise around 10:00 am, which should not disrupt our week-day sleep schedule too significantly.
So, we have:
- Sleep: 7-9 hours per evening & 20-60 minutes of napping time
- Social & Hobbies: 0-2 events
- Dorm Reset: 1-2 hours
- Exercise: more than 45 minutes
- Work: 4-5 hours per day
- Unplanned time: 2 hours
Personally, I envision this schedule unfolding in the following sequence:
Friday Evening:
- 6:00pm-12:00am: Social Event
- Sleep: Midnight-1:00 am
Saturday:
- Awake by 10:00am
- Exercise & Get Ready by 12:00pm
- Homework: 12:00-4:00pm in Library
- 4:00-6:00 pm: Unplanned Time
- 6:00pm: Dinner + Social Events
- Sleep: Midnight- 1:00am
Sunday:
- Awake by 10:00am
- Sunday Reset / Change Sheets / Cleaning / Laundry: 10:00-11:30am
- Homework: 11:30-4:00pm
- Hobbies / Clubs: 4:00-6:00pm
- 6:00pm: Social Event + Dinner
- Homework: 7:00-8:00pm
- Unplanned Time/Night Routine: 8:00-9:00pm