Time Management and Respiratory Care Academic Planning

Introduction and Artifact Overview

This reflection presents two personal artifacts selected to illustrate the experience of managing academic responsibilities alongside a full family life. The first artifact is a time management plan covering a three-day period from the 19th through the 21st. The second artifact is a formal educational plan for an Associate of Science in Respiratory Care. Together, they reveal both the daily challenges of schedule adherence and the longer-term academic progress made toward a healthcare career.

Three-Day Time Management Log

The time management plan records what was scheduled for each day alongside what actually took place.

Planned schedule: 6:00 am — Wake up and shower; 6:30 am — Breakfast; 7:00 am — Take children to day care and drive to school; 8:30–11:45 am — Anatomy and Physiology; 1:00 pm — Cook the main meal; 3:00 pm — Dinner; 4:00–6:00 pm — Play outside with the children; 7:00–9:00 pm — Study; 9:30 pm — Shower; 10:00–11:00 pm — Watch TV and go to bed.

What actually happened: 7:00 am — Woke up and showered; 7:30 am — Breakfast; 8:00 am — Drove children to day care and drove to school; 8:30–11:00 am — Anatomy and Physiology; 12:00 pm — Picked up children; 1:00 pm — Purchased a ready-made meal for the children; 2:00–7:00 pm — Played outside with children; 7:30 pm — Dinner; 8:00 pm — Shower; 9:00 pm–midnight — Watched television; 12:30 am — Went to bed.

Planned schedule: 9:00 am — Wake up and shower; 1:00–2:00 pm — Attend church; 2:00–5:00 pm — Family time; 6:00–8:00 pm — Bathe the children and prepare for Monday; 8:30 pm — Snack time; 9:30 pm — Watch TV; 10:00 pm — Go to bed.

What actually happened: 8:30 am — Woke up and showered; 9:30 am — Breakfast; 10:00 am–noon — Homework; 12:30–1:30 pm — Cooked; 2:00–9:00 pm — Homework; 10:00 pm — Shower and bed.

Planned schedule: 5:00 am — Wake up; 5:30–6:00 am — Run; 6:00 am — Wake the children; 6:30 am — Shower; 7:20 am — Bus picks up the younger children; 7:45 am — Take older daughter to school; 8:00 am — Cook; 9:00 am — Breakfast; 9:30 am — Drive to school; 10:30 am–1:15 pm — In class; 2:00–4:15 pm — Homework; 4:20 pm — Children return from school; 4:30–5:30 pm — Play time; 6:00 pm — Shower; 7:00–9:00 pm — Homework; 9:00–11:00 pm — Watch TV; 11:30 pm — Bedtime.

Reflections on Schedule Adherence

What actually happened: 5:00 am — Woke up; 5:30–6:00 am — Run; 6:00 am — Woke up the children; 6:30 am — Showered; 7:20 am — Bus picked up the younger children; 7:45 am — Took older daughter to school; 8:00 am — Cooked; 9:00 am — Breakfast; 9:30 am — Drove to school; 10:30 am–1:15 pm — In class; 2:00–4:15 pm — Hair appointment; 4:20 pm — Children returned from school; 4:30–5:30 pm — Play time; 6:00 pm — Shower; 7:00 pm–midnight — Entertained friends at home; 1:00 am — Went to bed.

This artifact was chosen because it demonstrates how personal life and academic life intersect on a day-to-day basis. As the log makes clear, adhering to a strict schedule is often difficult, particularly when children are involved. Education is a high priority, but the children — still young and in need of time and attention — are equally important. Balancing their care with academic demands requires constant adjustment. Time with family and friends is also valued, as it contributes meaningfully to mental health and well-being.

The Sunday session stands out as a particular success: a large block of time devoted to homework left Monday evening free to socialize without falling behind academically. However, the logs also reveal that television viewing ran later than planned on several evenings. While watching TV serves as a way to unwind after demanding days, the pattern of staying up too late is recognized as an area for improvement. Going to bed earlier would likely improve daytime energy levels and the overall capacity to engage with coursework. Developing stronger self-regulation habits around sleep and screen time remains an ongoing goal.

Conclusion and Career Goals

The educational plan, created and updated in October 2011, is organized by term and curriculum area. The following is a summary of completed and planned coursework:

Fall 2004: XPRP0001 CE, UH2000 W, XPRP0001 N, PSY1012 N — 6 credit hours.

Summer 2011: EAP1520 C, EAP1540 C, EAP1560 B, EAP1500 B — 12 credit hours (English as a Second Language area).

Fall 2011: MAT0018 C, EAP1640 C, EAP1620 C, PSY1012 — 12 credit hours.

Spring 2012: BSC1010 C, MAT0022 C, HSC1004, MAT0028 C — 13 credit hours.

Summer 2012: ENC1101, MAT1033 C, HUM1020 — 9 credit hours.

Fall 2012: MAC1105, MCB2010 C, HSC1531 — 10 credit hours.

Spring 2013: BSC2094 C, BSC2093 C — 8 credit hours.

The curriculum is distributed across five areas: English as a Second Language, Respiratory Care Prerequisite Courses, General Education Required Courses, Optional Courses, and College Preparatory Courses. The total credit hours accumulated stand at 70. Learning about respiratory therapy through each of these courses provides increasingly specialized knowledge about the field and what it means to work as a practicing respiratory therapist.

Each course in the educational plan brings the student one step closer to working as a respiratory therapist and provides increasingly specialized knowledge about the field. The two artifacts together — the time management log and the educational plan — illustrate the discipline required to pursue a healthcare degree while raising children. Improving sleep habits and guarding study time more consistently remain concrete next steps. The overall trajectory, however, reflects steady progress toward a clearly defined career goal.