On Monday, I stuck a post up on HackCollege the basic premise of which was that I have decided that when I treat college and the work attached to it like my job, and attempt to confine it to a roughly 10-6 schedule, I am a) surprised at how little time it takes to get through my work and b) happier. Then I got to talk about hobbies, and about having them in college in an attempt to retain some semblance of an ability to interact normally with other people. That part of the article is basically just a conversation I had with my friend Bijan over Spring Break, but with me writing it down instead of him figuring it out because he is wonderfully smart. (He is also a tremendously interesting person to talk to.)
The article seemed to be well-received, and some people who I respect tremendously said nice things about it, and I was very happy. External validation is the best, you guys!
But since this is my personal space on the internet, I wanted to address something that’s not looked at in the original piece, which is how I spend my day in terms of work/not work/work-that-I-like-so-it-isn’t-work. I want to know if I spend more or less time doing things now than when I will be employed. So, here’s how my day broke down (for tl;dr scroll down):
8:30-9:00 a.m. : Get up, shower, put on pants.
9:00-9:45 a.m. : Check the webernets. Do some basic management of the HackCollege Twitter account, but that’s only about five minutes of this.
10:00-11:20 a.m. : Lecture on the Rwandan genocide. (Anthro major!)
11:20 -11:25 a.m. : Grab summer school form from admissions.
11:25-12:00 p.m. : One-on-one meeting with my boss.
12:00 -12:15 p.m. : Fooling around on the internet.
12:15-1:00 p.m. : Lunch
1:00-2:15 p.m. : Lecture on human reproductive strategies. (From the first professor’s spouse.)
2:30-3:45 p.m. : Sitting in on the class I TA for. (Which is really getting paid to read the AV Club.)
3:45-4:45 p.m. : Nap. (Not regular–I was about to pass out.)
4:45-5:00 p.m. : More sitting on the internet.
5:00-5:40 p.m. : Slogging through paper on Facebook and dead people.
5:40-6:00 p.m. : Internet again.
6:00-6:05 p.m. : Class registration!
6:05-7:00 p.m. : Dinner.
7:00-8:00 p.m. : Writing this, dealing with email.
8:00-9:00 p.m. : Up ‘Til Dawn hall program.
9:00-10:00 p.m. : Staff meeting.
10:00-12:00 p.m. : Watching Niel Gaiman talk about thinks and reading Fight Club, universe willing.
tl;dr*: I spent 3 hours and 45 minutes in class, 40 minutes doing homework, 1 hour and 50 minutes eating, 1 hour and 35 minutes doing work stuff, 1 hour doing an event I’m obligated to attend but picked, 1 hour doing work I chose, 1 hour napping, 1 hour and 35 minutes on the internet outside of class, and hopefully 2 hours staring at a wall. So, if I’m going to divide this into things I’m doing because I have to, productive things I’m doing because I want to, and everything else that isn’t bathing, I’ve got: 7 hours, 1 hour, 4 hours and 35 minutes.
Between work and school, I’m pulling a short day at a full-time job. However, this is a low-homework day for me–I did no reading, little paper-writing, no freelance work, and no problem sets. Normally I’d be doing closer to two or three hours of work, and I’m someone who works quickly. I’m almost certain that any college student with a work-study gig is pulling far more hours than I am., as is someone who manages a club or someone who–like I was last month–is directing a play. This would seem to prove my theory that college students, drunken layabouts though we may sometimes be, are working more-or-less as much as our adult counterparts.
However, being in college does give me the free time to write this kind of self-indulgent thing. So hey!
*My math may also be wrong. So there’s that.
Dances With Nerds 
Full-time job hours, but then there’s guaranteed time off (or time to pursue your own interests) like spring break and summer vacation. Also, I think you are an outlier among our in-school peers- for every Emchap I know, there are ten grown-ass adults getting an easy liberal arts degree and wasting their time on their parents’ dime.
Anyway, all that said, I may not want to speak to or interact with these people for my sanity’s sake, but otherwise I’m pretty okay with it; it just means less competition for us later on. Heyoooo.
The summer thing is true, sort of. At least at Emory, it’s expected that you are either working, interning, or at summer school during the summer–certainly a better deal than a full-time job by a long shot, but not exactly unlimited free time. But you are correct that it is far more freedom that you get while working. (Speaking of which, are you working through the summer?)
I may be an outlier, but I think the grown-ass adults who do things like set my building on fire (it was a fun weekend to be on duty!) will probably be assholes at work, too. Their individual contributions probably will not change. This makes me sad, but as you said, less competition for us. Then: world domination.
I am indeed working through the summer- and then graphic design classes start at Suffolk Community College in the fall. After my first year, I’ll be eligible for in-state tuition at FIT. I am so overjoyed at the thought of being able to pay full tuition on my own, it’s UNREAL. I’ll probably be back at some point this summer, and I want to plan a trip to Baltimore and one to the river where Isaac’s working. We’ll see what I can pull off.
That is tremendous! I’m excited to see what you turn out. 🙂 Let me know if you wind up returning or if there is a point where I can visit you. I’m doing summer school this year, so I think that gives me some odd branches of time between sessions.