You’ve finally figured out a system that actually works. You’re on top of things for the first time in recent history. You’re in a state of flow. Then the wheels come off. Sometimes it happens gradually, but usually not. Usually one catastrophic day or week […]
Category: Manage Your Time
Sanctified Busyness
Often, we make our lives busy as a way of hiding from ourselves. When our plate is empty, we have time to think. That can be liberating, or it can be terrifying.
Winning, One Play at a Time
Love em or hate em, the Patriots won the Super Bowl yesterday following a principle that we can all learn from. How many times have you “cheated” on a resolution or a goal, and used that small failure to justify a larger one?
Getting it done? or Getting Better
What do you do? Are you a professional? A student? An educator? A kid? A parent? No matter the answer, I’ll bet you’re busy. B-U-S-Y We have a tendency to impress. We take on opportunities that let us show our chops. But eventually we reach […]
Who’s in Charge Here? Budgeting Your Time
Students face a number of unique circumstances that create stress in their lives. Typically, effort in any one class comes in peaks and waves. Overlay 5 classes, and you find yourself with a fire to put out every week. It doesn’t take long before you’re […]
Why Time Management Doesn’t Work for Students and Teachers
The promise of most classic productivity books is: “follow my steps and you’ll be able to get more done, faster.” The promise of most recent productivity books is: “follow my steps and you’ll be able to get the right things done, largely by saying ‘no’ to the […]
Course Coordination and Control
Weeks 1-5 of the semester: lectures, reading assignments, homework (some of which is collected and graded). Maybe a quiz or two. Week 6 of the semester: TESTS! Every semester is the same thing. Each class arrives at big assignments at the same time: tests always […]
Unconscious Self-Sabotage
It’s 10:00 PM, you’ve got 2 assignments due tomorrow, a quiz the next day, and an exam the day after that. You haven’t eaten dinner yet, and you haven’t started either assignment. You think to yourself, “if I could just clear this to-do list, I […]
New Semester Resolutions
Think back to the end of last semester. How did that go for you? How much sleep did you lose preparing for exams? Were you overwhelmed with coursework and study that needed doing? Did you simultaneously have several projects and several exams to prep for? […]
Success Tactic: Finding Freedom In Routines
In my last post, I commented on a strategy that highly successful people use to free up mental energy for the things that matter. This post continues on that theme, offering up specific tactics that have worked for me. As a full-time academic, my schedule […]
