Now that I’m back to my little town on the Island of Borneo in Malaysia, how does my workflow look like as I prep for remote exams? Absolutely no one asked me this question but I just felt like writing this so, you’re welcome!
10 am: Rise and Shine!
Those who know me will find this shocking as I usually wake up around 6.30 am every day. The only reason why I wake up this late is that I now have to go to bed at 3 am. The only reason? To accommodate for exam schedules as they are set based on BST. One major trade-off here is that I do not get to have my usual (before I left my town for college) early morning routine of breakfast with my parents. We would sit down with our half-boiled eggs, kaya toast and a good cup of coffee. Ahhh just thinking about this makes me feel warm and fuzzy. This is a very traditional and staple breakfast combo in Malaysia and Singapore!
Instead of breakfast, I take this time to get some exercise in. From mobility exercises, workouts and HIIT, I do what I can with the things I have at home because gyms are all closed too. Miss Rona, please go away soon; I want my gym back. After working out and busting some sweat, I’ll get to do a little revision before lunch!
1 pm: Lunchtime!
One of the major highlights of the day, lunch! No matter how I pride myself of my cooking or how incredible the food that I get to eat on my travels, nothing beats mom’s cooking. There’s just something about her cooking that’s on a different level! Perhaps it’s the love <3. If I didn’t end up studying after working out, I’ll help my mom out in the kitchen! I don’t know if I’ll get to spend time with my parents like this again in the future as I head into the working world. I’ll make the best out of the time that I have here. There’s a silver lining amidst all this for sure 😊
2 pm: Back to work
I’ll commence serious revision; studying and revising for the upcoming exams. If I’ve got things that I don’t understand, I’ll ask my friends or when it’s finally morning in the UK, I can then join the drop-in sessions with our lecturers via Teams. Of course, I can’t focus 100% of the time. I’ll pay my bed a visit a few times throughout the afternoon, laying in bed scrolling through my feed.
6 pm: Dinner!
Huzzah! It’s the second highlight of the day! Dinner and mom’s cooking still is the best. If I get too tired or sick of studying, I’ll join her in the kitchen at around 5.30 to flaunt some of my own cooking skills to her (gotta show her that I can adult too). After dinner, I’ll spend around 30 mins to an hour just chilling with my family, talking, eating desserts and just catching up because I really miss them and I want to spend as much time as I can with them! (Can’t help it, I’m super clingy)
8 pm: Back to work
From this point on, is where I become the most productive. It does take me some time to get into a good rhythm so I’d say, I start getting actual work done from 8.30 onwards. I don’t eat anymore from this point on coz I wanna avoid that stay-at-home weight. One thing that I can guarantee that I’ll be gaining out of this whole fiasco is my waistline. Can’t really guarantee on the knowledge part there. I work, and work, and work and work, and work until I get tired. Usually, this is around 11 pm or 12 am, so I’ll take a YouTube break.
12 am: Guilty
Ok, I’ve spent way too much time on YouTube. I told myself 15 minutes of YouTube, but Rie or Alix (both from Buzzfeed’s Tasty) has just posted a video and I am obsessed with them. Got carried away and now I’m full of guilt. I sprint back to my desk and begin work again. All I look forward to from this point on is for the clock to strike 2.30 am or 3 am so I can snuggle up in bed again.
3 am: In bed, back to more Buzzfeed Tasty
I’m pretty impressed with my willpower of holding back from midnight snacky snacks, especially while watching amazing cooking videos. Shout out to Inga and Alvin (also from Buzzfeed’s Tasty) for making amazing quarantine recipes for my inner “shef” to admire.
So yeah, thank you for tuning in to my stay-at-home log that absolutely no-one asked for. You’re welcome 😊. I hope everyone is staying safe and sane at home too!
2 comments for “Preparing for exams from my hometown!”
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Hi
My son is been offered mech engg at Imperial. Was good to read your blog. How would u advise freshers joining the course on how to do well in 1st year. would be interested in ur advise and feedback.
Hi Ravindra! Huge congratulations to your son! Sorry, I couldn’t reply earlier as I was caught up with exams and remote classes but now, my 2nd year is all wrapped up!
My short answer to your question is, to enjoy and learn! My long answer would be, for the first two years of Mech Eng at Imperial, there is the benefit where you do not need to choose individual subjects and everyone in the course will do the same. This is a perfect opportunity for him to experiment and see what specific streams of Mechanical Engineering he would like to advance into when year 3 comes around! He probably has a few interests in mind now, but that may change over the years (me included).
Another advice is to make sure to find an outlet to do something that he is passionate about, that isn’t to do with the course! If he enjoys doing sports, do join a sports society where there are tons to choose from! Here’s a link to all that is available: https://www.imperialcollegeunion.org/activities/a-to-z . If there isn’t one that appeals to him, start a new society by all means! It’s easy to get all caught up in his studies considering the workload and how much there is to learn. Before he knows it, he’ll be burnt out (speaking from experience here). So make sure to do something that he enjoys, that isn’t related to the course!
I hope to see your son in campus soon, fingers-crossed that campus will be running at full capacity soon! I didn’t realise how much I missed being in Campus until I couldn’t </3