How Much I Studied (Winter 2021)

In previous semesters, I experimented with tracking my studying time using Toggl. It took some getting used to, but once it became a habit it was second nature.

Going into the past semester, my goal was to get at least a 75% average while studying around 40 hours a week. Tracking my studying time brought awareness and intentionality to how I study while meeting my goals.

It also gave me some interesting data too. But first, here’s a bit of context:

Background Information

• Winter 2021 was my 3B term in Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo
• First day of classes was on January 11th and my final exam was on April 23rd
• I took the following courses:
  • Operating Systems (ECE 350)
  • Database Design (ECE 356)
  • Computer Networking (ECE 358)
  • Electricity and Magentism (ECE 106)
  • Engineering Economics (ECE 390)

How much I studied overall

How much I studied during the Winter 2021 Semester

• 532h 43m
  • 117h 38m (ECE 106)
  • 139h 43m (ECE 350)
  • 136h 30m (ECE 356)
  • 68h 54m (ECE 358)
  • 64h 13m (ECE 390)
  • 5h 42m (Admin)

The amount of hours spent on each course gives you some indication of its difficulty. Operating Systems had some of the most difficult and time consuming labs I’ve ever taken. However, they were still manageable given that we were to do them in groups of four.

Databases was more time consuming than it was difficult. It was also the most disorganized course I’ve taken.

It’s also interesting to note that I spent more time on Databases/OS then both Computer Networking and Economics combined.

How much I studied overall (weekly view). Can you tell when I wrote my midterms and finals?

On average, I spent 37 hours per week studying and achieved a higher average than I was aiming for.

My busiest week was April 5-11, the last week of classes

The final lab for Operating systems was due this week. I had final projects also due in Engineering Economics, Physics, and Databases.

Here’s what my daily schedule looked like during that week

Most of my waking hours this week was spent on coursework.