The Allure of Last-Minute Success

When you work a hard day, it will feel natural to want time to relax, unwind, or recharge.  We want to play and while fun is not wrong most people devote way too much time to fun.  Television, video games, Facebook, and texting, are classic time wasters. We are good at time wasting when we have something we don’t want to do staring us in the face.  
I have watched my younger son play with thread rather than do his writing exercises.  When we have work hanging over us, any diversion becomes even more fun.  Many successful people talk about doing the most important things first, then rewarding ourselves with things that are more fun.  This is habit three of Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

It is important to realize that we are making choices in our use of time.  It is a good idea to take a week and log what you have been doing with your time.  Just get a sense of what you do.  This will allow you to budget time realistically.   You probably will not like doing this because it shines a light on what you do and you may feel ashamed.  Please push through this feeling and do the exercise.  This is the same issue people face when they try to create a budget.  
With time, there needs to be a schedule or things will not get done.  If you go off of feeling, you won’t get things done.  I am a very organized person at work when it comes to my time, but I struggle to keep track of things going on at home because at work I only have to keep track of what I need to do while at home I have to accommodate my wife and children’s needs in addition to mine. 

It is important to realize that there is a behavioral element to our usage of time.  We tend to procrastinate on those long-term important things, because we don’t feel the pressure of time.  Feeling is an unreliable guide when setting your schedule.  Most of you have experienced that rush of productivity and creativity that accompanies trying to get something done in the last minute.  Unfortunately the problem is that it works sometimes.  
If you got burned from procrastinating, hopefully you learned your lesson.  I’ve interviewed a number of high level students and asked them to tell me the advice they would give themselves if they could go back a few years, and more often than not they tell themselves to not procrastinate on homework.  You know this, but for those of who didn’t learn your lesson about the pitfalls of procrastinating, please realize that you will probably not get too far in your college career if you keep procrastinating.  
So much of what is done in college is long term work such as reading, studying for tests, researching, and writing.  These cannot be done at the last minute with any degree of success.  This is why some of the most brilliant students struggle, because the system that was utilized in past does not work for them now.  The more time you can devote to long-term things the better you will be doing in many areas of your life.  This concept is progressive, the longer the view of your perspective, the more purposeful the activity of your life (2 Cor 4:18).

Productivity: A Student's Best Friend

Have you noticed that some people are able to balance many responsibilities?  Their secret is something called productivity. Productivity is a business concept that measures efficiency. Increased productivity leads to more getting done with the same amount of time or resources. Productivity is the reason American businesses continue to thrive despite all the horror stories, but the real cool thing is that productivity also applies to individuals.  You have periods of the day when you are more efficient and times when you just can’t think straight, and there are ways to make the time you have more productive.  If you block off a single chunk of time for study, you may find that there comes a point when you are no longer thinking straight because you are mentally fatigued.  It may be better to break up your studies into multiple bursts of hard study.

One secret to unlocking more of your productivity is the concept of trash time.  Have you ever had to wait for somebody, a bus, a class?  You can redeem (repurchase) that time by studying when you wouldn’t normally study.  Redeeming time is a way to force purpose into your life.  This adds to the overall amount of time that you study.  The idea is to utilize all those moments in our weekly schedule when we are waiting.  The trouble is that we often do not have the spider sense ability to detect when we are in trash time.  If you find yourself saying, “I’m so bored” that is your cue to get back to work.  You are building purpose in your day, when you disengage from idleness (Proverbs 6:19) (Eph 5:16).  Side note:  there are times when you must be still, reflect and talk to God, this is an active thing and not idleness.  It takes great faith and mental work to stop and depend on the Lord. 

Waiting is uncomfortable, because we feel silly doing nothing. That is why many people instinctively pop out their cell phone.  As a student, you need to convert that urge to text to an urge to study.  In fact applications are available to do note cards right on your cell phone. 

Be aware of when you are most productive and use those times for study and less productive times can be used for work or entertainment, or socializing.  Just don’t label all of your time as unproductive.  Do you remember the distance equation from algebra?  Distance equals rate times time.  (D=R*T) The same applies to memorization and study.  The more intensely you study (Rate) and the more time (Time) you study will increase the overall amount you learn (Distance).  The intensity of study is the key factor.  When you are setting down to study, be ready to hate it, because we hate to struggle mentally.  When the urge hits to get distracted, fight it.  Daniel Coyle has done some amazing research as to the nature of talent.  His premise is that talent has nothing to do with genetics, but rather practicing deeply many hours.  This deep practice is striving intensely to master something and this state of thought is exhausting. The best athletes, students, artists, dancers, musicians work intensely at the edge of their abilities, spending their practice time working to acquire higher and higher levels of talent.  With regard to studying you need to purposefully be looking at information you know will be on the test, but not wasting your time by working on things you already know.  You should be pushing yourself to your outer limits of your ability, and when you reach a plateau you have been gunning for recalibrate a higher plateau to work intensely at.   

Balancing Work and School

Photo by Thomas Hawk

Most students report difficulty getting their work schedule to accommodate their class schedule.   If you put work over college you will never finish your degree.  Sometimes a lower paying job will net you more money if your schedules can mesh. 


For some people, there is a cool job factor, whereby some of you will take a lower paying job because you feel this job impresses friends.  Conversely, some of you will take less pay to avoid jobs you feel are beneath your dignity.  

Photo by DAEllis

Think about this, if you had a high paying job where you couldn’t work as many hours, you make less money but will tend to spend more money because you have more time on your hands. Also if you can get paid more it can reduce the number of hours that you need to work and have more time to study.  If you are concerned about spending more because of free time, then just work the full schedule and save the excess. 


 Many companies exploit young workers because they are cheap.  Once your boss sees how hard you work it is highly likely that you will be pressured to work additional hours.  Remember that time is a scarce commodity during college, so additional work must come out of your play time which we earlier noted was very low.  You will need to be firm but tactful in ensuring that you are not made to work more hours than you have available in your schedule.  


Be careful about loading your schedule too heavily, because breaks and diversions can help to reduce the likelihood of burnout. You studies will probably suffer if you work beyond 20 hours because you will tend to forgo study over having a good time with your friends.

For those living at home there will be an adjustment that parents and adult children both will have to undergo.  College takes more time than high school.  Parents sometimes don’t get this.  If your parents did not go to college, you will have to respectfully explain your time commitments.  This sample schedule could be a useful conversation tool with your parents.  Some of you have huge family commitments you need to renegotiate.   If you don’t then you will not have enough time to study.

Remember, you will need to recreate your study schedule every semester as class schedules change.  In addition, as you near the end of your degree, you will see less flexibility as you will need to do certain classes at certain times.  It is also rare to get exactly the classes and times that you want, so you will need to constantly adapt to a changing schedule.  


Multiple classes can fill some requirements, so look for those opportunities to create flexibility. If you are inflexible, you will take much longer to finish your degree.  The longer it takes for you to do your degree the less likely you will complete the degree. 

Savoring God Right Now

Today’s post is part of the Christian Writer’s blog chain. This month, our theme is “Savor.” Please visit my friends’ blogs by clicking on the links in the right-hand column. 

Is your life in transition?  Are you starting something new, or preparing for a new phase of life?  Oftentimes the present seems so cluttered with preparations for the future that we usually neglect the present.

Psalm 46: 8-10 (NIV)

Come and see what the LORD has done,
   the desolations he has brought on the earth.
 He makes wars cease
   to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
   he burns the shields with fire.
 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
   I will be exalted among the nations,
   I will be exalted in the earth.”

Psalm 34:8 (NIV)

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Regardless of our situation, we are able to imagine something better.  This is why most people (including Christ followers) have an attitude of bitterness (Rev 2:4).  If we can be really honest with ourselves, then we would realize that this bitterness is directed at God (John 15:24-25).

When we obey God regardless of how we feel, we are acting in Faith (Heb 11:1).  God rewards this active faith with a stronger sense of connectedness to Him (1 Tim 3:13).  

When we stop and ponder who God is and what He has done for us, we will be filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude (Rom 5:8).  This gratitude should empower us towards greater devotion to the purpose of expanding God’s kingdom (2 Thess 1:11).

Savor the Lord, for He is good.

Study Schedule Anaylsis Part II

Image by Peter Griffin

It is suggested that you not work more than 20 hours a week while school is in session.  The problem is that you can not earn enough money to live on your own.


Working 20 hours a week would not even pay rent costs of a mini-dorm, much less other expenses.  This means that parental support or a loan will be required.   There just isn’t enough time available to earn enough money to support you without a loan.  


Loans aren’t evil; you just need to be aware of what you can afford.  The basic rule of thumb is to not borrow in more than you will earn in your first year of salaried work (about $45k).  You will need to beware that once you borrow, you must pay back the money with interest.  


Government loans offer better terms, watch out if you need to work with a bank.  School loans typically aren’t repaid until after you graduate, and you will have a tiny bit of grace period to find a job.  The problem is if you drop out.  You must pay it back even though you will have no more earning power than someone with just a high school degree.  College loans are similar to a chainsaw.  You need to use them sometimes, but remember they can maul you badly if you stop paying attention just for a second.  


Even if you worked full time and didn’t go to college, you would probably struggle to support yourself financially, so don’t feel guilty about taking a parental “handout.”    All parents want to see their children become self-sufficient, but they also know that you will need help. 

Many college students get bitter over the amount of work needed to pass classes, and the apparent abundance of free time of parents, siblings, and friends eats at them.  A student is in a sense doing two jobs.  


The thing to remember is that college is demanding and only 25% of our population has a degree. The time commitment is demanding but well worth the lost leisure time.  Another thing that embitters college students is the good life exhibited by their friends who did not go to college. 


An adult homebound child not in college has a lot of discretionary (play) income.  A college student will not be able to match the apparent fun factor of doing no college.  I believe the “deadbeat threshold” is reached much quickly for a child not in college.  If you can keep these things in mind it will be easier to tough it out and get your educational goals accomplished.

Study Schedule Analysis

For those of you in college, you need to be aware of the large amount of time it will take out of your schedule to do study.   For the purpose of this discussion let us assume study is defined as all of the work you will need to do outside of the classroom in order to achieve your target grades.  For those of you hoping to be admitted to a graduate program, beware that you will need outstanding grades.  Do your homework and find out what the requirements are because this will determine the time requirements for each person.  Study activities include homework, papers, research, reading, and test study. 

            If you are taking a three credit hour class (which is standard) then you would expect to spend about 6 to 9 hours per week studying for that class. 5 classes times 10 hours study per class equals 50 total study hours.  Remember the ratio is 2:1 meaning you should spend twice as much time studying as sitting in the class.  This is an average and some classes are much harder and some much easier.  You will need to quickly determine the amount of work each class will demand.  After you have done this you can then do the work necessary to figure out your study schedule. 

Let’s assume you had the following “typical” schedule.  You will work 20 hours a week Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.   Assuming you have a full load of five classes you would need to study at least 45 hours to do well academically.  Where would you put the 50 hours?

There were 63 total hours of time available for study leaving (assuming no more commitments) 13 hours of “free time.”  How do you feel about the prospect of only 13 hours of free time? Which day would be the most challenging for you and why?

If you didn’t have to work and lived on campus, how much time would you get back as “free time?” would there be time for an additional class?  If you did one additional class each semester, you would finish a semester early.   Is this something you would want?