Tufts Blogs

One of the most challenging decisions that I made this semester was choosing to stay home and take all my classes virtually. I consider myself fortunate in this, but of course, it has not been easy. I had to figure out a schedule that worked for me being a full-time student while also working full-time. In this post, I will be sharing a typical weekday in my life, starting with me waking up at 3 am in the morning… and yes… this is every day. :) 

3:00 AM: My Alexa wakes me up, and I promptly get out of bed to turn it off. 

“Another day, another dollar”

I get ready for work- brush my teeth, put my hair up, wash my face. Typical stuff. By 3:20, I go out and turn my car on to start warming it up. I live in CT, so the mornings are now pretty cold. 5 minutes later, I leave for work. I love listening to calm Christian lo-fi music in the early mornings just to uplift my mood. 

3:45 AM: I get to work, take a deep breath, and prepare myself for the day ahead. I work at a very busy, high volume, drive-through Starbucks, and sometimes the craziness of work can be very overwhelming. But here’s to better days, amirite? 

4:00 AM-12 PM: I work anywhere from 5-8 hours each day, and today I was at work till noon. One of the favorite things about my job is the connections I get to make with different customers, and the people that I work with; we’re really one big dysfunctional family! Today a regular asked me about school and how I was doing, which made me feel seen and loved. 

12:15 PM: Once I get home from work, I change out of my coffee-smelling clothes, and sit at my desk. This is where I spend the next six hours of my day. 

Barista mode: OFF. 

Student mode: ON. 

I download the slides for my Chemistry class and open the recorded Zoom lecture. My Chemistry class meets synchronously at 8:30 am, but because I work during that time, my Chemistry professor was kind enough to let me take the class asynchronously. 

1:20 PM: I finish watching the lecture and taking notes. I then email my professor with any lingering questions or points of confusion I had from the lecture. 

1:30 PM: My next class is Spanish, which meets synchronously, so I hop right into Zoom. 

2:20 PM: I have a quick check-in meeting with a prospective Tufts student, so I hop into another Zoom call and chat with her. I love talking and meeting new people, so this is always refreshing and fun!

2:50 PM: Being at home and being the oldest, also means I have other responsibilities to help out my family. At this time every day, I go and pick up my baby sister from school. So much adulting! 

3:20- 5:00 PM: I try to fight off the looming fatigue… some days I succeed, other days I give in and take a quick 20-minute power nap. ONLY 20 MINUTES. This day, I fought the fatigue and did some psychology and physics work. It’s a small victory. 

5:00-6:00 PM: I log into yet again another Zoom meeting, this time for the lab that I work at. I work at the Tufts University Social Cognition Lab (TUSC). Today we worked on re-coding our data with the new set of variables that we finalized the week before. 

6:00-6:15 PM: I use this time to check and reply to emails, and plan tomorrow’s day. Aside from my planner, I also have a to-do list journal in which I write down in detail every specific thing I have to do the next day. One thing I look forward to at the end of each day is having everything on my to-do list crossed off. Incredibly satisfying, I highly recommend it. 

6:15- 7:30 PM: I eat a quick dinner and catch up with the fam. I then go back to my room and light a candle (I’m really loving the peppermint bark scent from TJ Maxx). Now it’s time to shower and get ready for bed. I also set out my clothes for work the next morning. 

7:30- 8:00 PM: I use this time to read my devotional and my Bible, journal, and pray. This is probably one of the most important parts of my day because I am able to ~finally~ distress, relax, and reground myself. I pray for strength, peace of mind, and for my family and friends. 

8:00- 9:00 PM: If I am feeling up to it, I treat myself and watch an episode (or two) on Netflix. I’m currently rewatching the Vampire Diaries, and I have no regrets.  

9:00 PM: I tell Alexa to set my alarm for 3 am, blow out my candle, and go to bed. See y’all in the am.