Balancing work and rest at wpi

"I like a change from my study environment to de stress. The kitchen is generally quiet after everyone is at my apartment is done cooking and eating. I like to read books after my study sessions. I also like to cook in the kitchen, so its become a sort of a comfort zone for me."

"Here is a BeReal of me working out. This is a picture of me taking the time to stay fit and healthy. Working out is a great way to not only stay physically fit, but it also helps to keep my mind sharp and energized. By taking the time to stay on top of my physical health, I'm able to maintain a balanced lifestyle between academics and rest."

"My image was a photo that I took after a long day of studying for finals. This picture fails to show the stress and fatigue that finals have caused. Instead it shows a peaceful night consisting of watching tv by the christmas tree. It really helped calm my mind at night knowing that I would soon be at home surrounded by my family."

"Here, I have my desk for work with work tabs open. On my laptop, iPad and notebook, I am completing an assignment due the same night. While not easy, balancing work and school helps me stay ahead of my assignments and course work. At the desk, I can complete as much work as I would in the library."

"For me, balancing academics and rest comes down to taking care of my body and my needs while also trying to make progress in my academics. I think this image, where I am studying along with relaxing by eating my favourite cereal summarises this idea for me."

"The image shows my partner and I catching up with 6 for $3 donuts from Dunkin' at the campus center. When our schedules get busy during the terms, we often only have a chance to catch up at a random hour in the day in the CC and usually over some food. It's the best way to calm down during a hectic day and something I look forward to."

"This is an image taken about two weeks ago. This image was taken after i had a paper due for one of my grad courses. This is from ASA’s touch of Africa event in Alden hall. It represents rest because i went to enjoy myself with my friends and ate some food after a long academic day."

"Especially during finals, the balance between academics and rest is very skewed. Lack of rest and hobbies in order to spend time studying and prototyping. These are all notebooks that I referenced at some point this term. After submitting my last assignment I realized how many notebooks it was, and how much time I spent reading those instead of resting this term."

"When my mind is overwhelmed with work, I let my brain take a break by taking a walk. There are beautiful sceneries around WPI and Institute Park is one of them. It’s easy to get absorbed into the digital world, so it’s important to connect to the physical environment."

"It is a computer powered on at night, located on top of a WPI dorm bed. I usually do most of my schoolwork at night: most of my classes are in the afternoon, and sleep has to happen at sometime, so it happens in the morning. It is probably not considered the ideal setup, where one is up in the morning and asleep at night, but it works for me. I created this image and completed the survey associated with this study while avoiding schoolwork. It was fun, but it could also be considered "bad rest" since I did not actively choose to do this as a means of taking a break for my health, but I did this to avoid work, which likely says something about work/life balance, though I'm not sure what that something is."

"The background of the image represents a weekly calendar, with brown boxes in each column representing a certain responsibility (i.e., classes, leadership, meetings) that I have to do. In the foreground, there are six post-it notes that are more colorful, representing all of the more fun and spontaneous things I do in my breaks. Although I have a lot of commitments, I still try to make time for my friends and for more relaxing events. By overlaying the post-it notes, it represents that after I graduate, what I would remember the most are the exciting events that I experienced and not the daily grind."

"This picture was taken for the executive board members of the National Society of Black Engineers chapter at WPI. The image is of Taina Quiñones, wearing an orange silk shirt with the NSBE pin to represent that she has been officially elected to the 2022-2023 executive board for NSBE."

"The scenery I love to see when I am taking my midnight walks. With a slight breeze and cool temperature. Just enough to relieve any stress and clears my mind in an instant. A scenery like this, gives the sense of freedom from the shackles of academic deadlines and pressure."

"Above indicates the components of physical, emotional, and social rest and wellbeing and how they need to balance out to be stable. But that is not all that is needed to be well rested, workloads need to be managed and dealt with accordingly to allow oneself to rest with a clear conscious. As is indicated by the base of the structure, at WPI the workload fluctuates from easy to manage (in the small circles) to extremely difficult (when it reaches the larger circles). It's a precarious dynamic involving a multiple factors to be a stable unit. The above only represents the main categories needed to stabilize this balance."

"This photo was taken in front of Boynton Hall, where my parents and I said our final goodbyes before dropping me off for the first time at college. Since freshman year, I've come to these benches whenever I need to clear my mind. This location allows me to let everything sink in while watching the sunset/sunrise and getting some fresh air. Sitting on these benches allows me to slow down after a long/stressful day."

"This is my image putting laptop and stationery aside, then picking up a badminton racket to put work aside and rest."

"Playing murder mystery board game with my friends"

"Despite being a busy CS major, I enjoy crocheting while listening to my audio book. I also love to go to the gym to maintain a healthy life. I also love to do art to relax and distress."

"I drew a picture using free tools on the winter session. On the session I made two friends while painting. I think both painting and making friends make me feel relaxed and fulfilling. What made it better was I just had finished my homework:)"

"These are bagels that I made from scratch. Baking has been a hobby of mine for as long as I can remember. During college I’ve used baking as a way to relieve stress and escape from all other obligations. One of the things I love most is seeing your effort pay off, and getting to taste it too."

"This was me playing a mind puzzle as a break from doing work."

"In this photo, I am pulling an all-nighter to complete a project assignment due later that morning. It is 5:35 AM on a Saturday. I have my green tea to keep me mildly caffeinated. I am beyond tired."

"After working long hours in the lab for my research, I take a break by walking around the campus. This place is one of my favorite spots on campus especially when the weather is nice and warm. Most people don't know this pool exists. Sound of water and warmth of sunlight rests my mind and body."

"This place is where I spend almost eighty percent of my awake hours! My morning routine is to do meditation and work out on the machine(I used to go to the recreation center for my workout at the beginning of the course but I could not fit it into my daily schedule) and then I proceed to study and work for my part-time research assistant tasks. I also have a pretty decent music system setup because I like listening to music to unwind and relax."

"This picture is a description of my work-rest balance as a WPI student. It is a good representation of the time and effort that it takes sometimes to complete an assignment for class. As it is seen in the picture, it is 3 am in the background, and a certain assignment has been just submitted. Events like these are a common occurence for lots of WPI students, including myself, especially by the middle or end of the term, when a lot of the assignments are due and midterms or finals are coming up. There is little time to rest. Only work, study, and hopefully a little sleep."

"This abstract sketch represents the tension between the workload weighing me down (purple) and airy leisure activities (blue). I am in green in the middle, weighed down by the stress and anxiety aggravated by academics, with my fingers attempting to grasp part of what makes me still me. Neither side is the solution, but they are not in balance at the moment - my fingers grasp me the part that they are missing: blue-derived peace of mind."

"working on ECE homework in the student center."

"A photo of my room, my messy desk and computer set up open to my busy outlook and emails, my notes and never ending to do list. On the desk next to my guitar, the alarm clock stating its 3:40am, and my bed, slightly messily made and cozy, filled with stuffed animals gifted to me by friends."

"This is a picture I took after class one day. I thought the light coming through the trees and the composition of the hill with the buildings was really pretty. When I get stressed or overwhelmed I like to go outside and take in the world around me. We spend so much time inside sitting doing work that I think going outside and appreciating nature (even if just for a second in between classes) can be really healing and help put things into prospective."

"Me submitting my CS2103 homework, grinding it through finals weeks. In all honesty, I'm really bad at time management, and most of my sleep schedule is from my mom reminding me to go to sleep. Its been hard going through college without parents, but I'm managing and learning how to do things by myself!"

"my monitor were broken down and I was thinking what to do as I had a lot of assignments coming up."

"Green hill park walk boosted my creative scope."

"This is a picture of my friend and I on IQP at Monteverde, Costa Rica. Everything here is beautiful. We spend most days working hard on our projects - but we do it from the hammocks in our porches! On the weekends we explore, hike, and take some time to reconnect with ourselves and nature. The days are long, but the rewards are plenty."

"Balancing rest and academics at WPI sometimes looks like a blend of both. This photo captures me reviewing notes (academic work) at a basketball game (something I enjoy)."

"The photo is taken in my own personal bedroom on my bed, which is often designated a place of rest. On the bed, there is a slew of papers, pens, and devices open. The foreground shows an ipad, with the display open to an Outlook Calendar. It is crammed full of events and meetings, with very little blank space left for rest. The laptop in the back is nearest to the pillows, and is also open to an assignment. The photo is meant to show how even though rest is intended, the space designated to it is often overtaken and flooded by assignments, showing that there is always "something I need to do" that prevents rest from taking place. This can be interpreted as stemming from anxiety from an ever-mounting to-do list, or a fear of falling behind if rest is taken since, as shown by the Calendar, there isn't enough space available within a given schedule that would allow catch-up time, essentially feeding a do-or-die mentality that makes it nigh impossible to rest without repercussions that make the overall intention of any given break nullified."

"I often do homework while I'm in my living room so I still get to hang out with my roommates. In this photo, I was working on my background chapter for ID2050 while my roommate sits next to me and watches TV. I find that doing work in a comfortable space with my friends helps me relax more even while doing work. I have little time outside of schoolwork so doing work alongside my friends, even if they aren't also doing work, helps me get social time in without putting me too behind in my work."

"The description are the four main things that a student needs in order to survive through college. The first image is streaming services for break. Second image is a good getaway/activity with friends you are close with to enjoy time with. The third image is SLEEP. And lastly, is coffee as always and doing work at the library or a study spot with friends that will help motivate you with work."

"Whenever I feel tired, I go out in nearby park, tie a hammock and take some rest and relax while watching a situational comedy TV series or any comedy movie. This is what I want to convey from the attached illustration image of my method of taking rest."

"I took a photo of my laptop, and used dalle-2 to modify it. I took this literally and chose to portray at as a time scale and show the imbalance between the amount of time I put in academics that it broke the scale and that I have to nap on top of the books to stay awake, and I also added some friends to cheer me on a they really are my support system."

"I am practicing work rest balance by treating myself to a nice coffee while studing for finals. The solitaire game on my laptop demonstrates time to rest and relax. My headphones also show that. My notes demonstrate the work I am doing too."

"I balance my academics with my rest by studying in places with other people also doing work since it pressures me to do work while still being able to be social. I am the individual at the very front working on this survey while my brothers next to me are also focused on their individual work. Whenever anyone needs a break someone speaks up and starts a conversation since we all could use a break at whatever time due to the amount of work we are all under. Lastly, you can see that most if not all of us are wearing some kind of earphones to allow us to limit external distractions that are not supportive of our work style."

"I used AI to generate the image because I do not have the time or talent to create what I wanted. The Image shows someone asleep with what appears to be uncompleted homework. This is to show how it feels to work until you fall asleep. It also shows how important the work here at WPI is because we value our work as much as basic human needs such as sleep."

"It is hard to make time for both academics and rest. Even when resting, there is a constant thought of everything I need to do, everything I'm behind on, and everything people expect of me. In an attempt to wind down at the end of the day, I scroll endlessly on social media, dissociating from my responsibilities. I continue this until I'm ready to sleep, when my mind is finally off of academics"

"Relaxing Waterfall."