Finding My Rhythm

After reading through the Effective Study Skills guide, I realized that one of my strengths as a learner is being adaptable and comfortable learning independently, but I still need to improve my consistency with time management and avoiding procrastination. The advice about creating a schedule, making every hour count, and using active study strategies stood out to me because balancing work and school requires me to be intentional with my time instead of just hoping I’ll magically have energy later.

For time management, I created an activity log to get a clearer picture of how my week is structured. I prefer using my Apple Calendar to stay on top of tasks and deadlines because it helps me visually plan study time around work, commuting, and other responsibilities. This reminded me that staying organized is not just about being busy, but about intentionally protecting time for the most important tasks. I haven't added the capability to upload images to my blog yet, so here is a link to my weekly activity log screenshot.: https://imgur.com/a/bnoxhRW

The project management videos explained that projects are temporary efforts with specific goals, limits, and constraints, which makes planning important from the beginning. The Work Breakdown Structure video showed how breaking a project into smaller deliverables helps define the full scope of the work, while the Gantt Chart video showed how tasks can be placed on a timeline to communicate deadlines, dependencies, and progress. Since I like using Trello for personal projects and have used Jira on an agile scrum team before, these tools felt familiar as ways to keep work organized and visible.

The capstone presentations showed a wide range of project types, from AI tools to cybersecurity reporting and open source software. The Auto Parsing project stood out because it used Python, regex, spaCy, and annotation tools to turn resumes into structured data that could help recruiters save time. The Security Scan Summary project was also strong because it focused on making complex cybersecurity scan results easier for both technical and non-technical stakeholders to understand. I also liked the Open Energy Dashboard project because it showed students working on a real open source codebase, improving the UI, and using React/Redux in a way that connects directly to real-world software development.

This week in CST 349, I met with my team and we created our team company name, L!NQ3ST, along with our company resume. One side quest I would like to work on later is refining the company’s color palette and possibly building a simple website for our team company, even if it is only for a school project, because it made me realize how much full stack experience I can bring into creative projects.

In CST 300, I worked on my APA references page for my industry analysis essay, which focuses on B2B SaaS and specifically looks at HubSpot. I spent a good chunk of my study time researching credible sources, checking formatting, and narrowing down references that would support my paper.