It's often said that there's never enough time in the day to get everything done, and this is no truer than at university.
What with work commitments, sporting activities, extra-curricular societies, frequenting the various local drinking establishments, or just chilling out with friends, you' be forgiven for wondering where the week has gone, and this is often the case.
Take the simple matter of doing an assignment. Usually the lead-in time to deadline is at minimum six weeks from assignment launch, yet factor in at least three other assignments running concurrently, and in the final year the small matter of a dissertation, and work soon builds up.
Now the sensible thing to do would be to start research and background to the assignment as soon as possible, but it's fair to say that this is just wishful thinking for the majority of students, myself included.
No matter how good your intentions are, the fact that at the back of your mind you know the submission date is a while off persuades you to centre your enthusiasm on another area, and for Wednesday evening in particular the focus on the student bar is taken for granted!
However, work always gets done. Completed. Finished. Handed in. I don't know how for some people in particular. And sometimes where, because for its part, the library always seems to be more of a social setting rather than a place of hard graft.
Yet the combination of a couple of 'all-nighters' and Red Bull seems to have got the market cornered. And for this matter, Wednesday afternoon is probably the busiest the library ever gets due to the 5pm assignment deadline for all courses and modules.
Factor in also that sporting activities will be taking place on the pitches, and campus life is at a height; Wednesday afternoons are probably to best time to see most activity - study and sporting - on the campus, as about 1,000 visitors did during last Wednesday's open afternoon. The marketing department have got it sussed!
Work avoidance and procrastination is another interesting correlation against productivity. My own personal weakness is an obsession for checking BBC Sport every 15 minutes or so, and it seems to be a ritual to check my emails every time I log onto the computer.
In addition if I have a spare half-hour between lectures and other commitments, I can't help but waste it on trivial matters, though I always convince myself that reading the Daily Telegraph online, checking Facebook and chatting to friends are all merely modes of keeping up with contemporary issues in a broader business context!
An additional area that has been diverting my attention recently has been the Harper pantomime. This is an annual performance, put on by a collaboration of students and staff, with all proceeds going to local charities.
Rehearsals have been ongoing since the second week of term, yet with a week to go and still no sight or sound of a set, this is another of life's mysteries where 'it'll be alright on the night'!
There are two performances which are divided either side of the Harper Christmas ball; one for the students and then a child-friendly version for the local population. This always generates confusion, not for forgetting lines but remembering which version to say!
In my first 2 years, I acted as backstage manager, however I have been thrust into the limelight this year, albeit a supporting role, but front of stage nevertheless. This is a new foray for me from being involved in stage production, sound and lighting, but I won't be holding my breath about the RSC calling!
