Those 4 hours of spare time

I’m writing this on the 27th of October, using some of the first 4 spare hours we’ve got in the calendar in the last 4 weeks. 

I just feel there is something wrong here. I feel there must be a project I should be working on but I can’t find the brief. I even went to check the router in case the internet connection was down as surely there must be a brief, a task, or just something to complete before the end of the day, and I just didn’t see it. 

So just to make sure, I just double checked on slack what we were supposed to be doing until 2pm. “Is this free time?” I asked, “It’s not free time, it’s the calm before the storm” says Lux. I see in the whatsapp group that I’m not the only one confused “Are we free till 2?” “What’s going on now?” 

Of course, I’m aware that spare time doesn’t really exist in the SCA. With “Free time” I just mean the feeling of operating without a deadline. It could be used as a chance to talk to a mentor or we can keep working on a project that requires more development. I have an SCAB due today, so as if magic I just found a good use of my “spare time”. 

And, just to kill two birds with one stone, I’ve decided to use this SCAB and the “spare time” to do a bit of an introspection regarding the reflection slide we need to hand in on Friday around “how we’ve changed in a month”, so I’m going to use it to fill out the 500-600 words Amy asked for, as I’ve only written 287 words so far.

To begin with and to have an external input, I’ve just asked my boyfriend and my housemates if they have noticed any changes. 

“I don’t know, all I can say is we don’t see you that often in the living room anymore” my housemates replied, clearly showing how little they care. “Nothing special tbh, just noticed you can’t help yourself talking about every single advert we see in the underground” another one replied.

“You’ve been colder, more stressed and much less affectionate since you started your course” my boyfriend said, clearly showing he cares too much. 

In a more constructive note, and because I asked him to give me a proper answer that I could work with, he also stated that “you seem to be developing more of a critical eye when analysing adverts and other advertising assets, you have started noticing things that I just miss while we’re watching the tv”. At least he had something more interesting to say to my question than my housemates. Not bad coming from a guy who only values an ad if it’s funny, and who made me play the “Carlton Draught Big Ad” five times.

And, for me, the biggest difference I perceive is that I now have the self confidence to handle everything I lacked a month ago when I started this. I am managing to be on top of all the tasks at school while delivering all the design projects at work, which was by far my main concern a month ago. No one at work has noticed any dip in my performance as I am making sure the standards of the work I produce remain as good (or as bad) as before I started at school. I can for sure say that I’ve never felt so productive in my entire life.

Well I think I have something to work on for the reflection slide on friday. I think I can call it a SCAB.