The B-School Balance

By our very nature, students are known to live their lives in a convoluted sort of punctuated equilibrium. It's not unusual for students to go on three-to-four hours of sleep per night... and then cozy-up in bed for an entire weekend to catch up. We party until 3:00 in the morning... and then drag ourselves to the gym the next day. We flood ourselves with friends (some real, some otherwise)... and yet yearn for time alone to think and be one with ourselves.

This is the life of a student. It's works, but it's far from sustainable.

That's why I recently decided to start getting up earlier. I've always been a morning person, but frequent late nights throughout university (either at my desk or at a bar) have started to eat (err, drink?) into my mornings. And, for me at least, less morning means less productive.

No more. Two years ago, fellow blogger Steve Pavlina wrote an article on how to become an early riser. It has since become the most turned to article on the topic. He suggests going to sleep "only when too sleepy to stay up" and getting up at the same time every day. I'm giving it a try, and so far it's working.

Different things work for different people, though. What's important is that you find what works for you. It's easy to fall into the same patterns as our friends - but are those patterns best for our own health? ...productivity? ...social well-being? Probably not.

Alas, my point: to be most effective as students - as professionals - we must start thinking for ourselves. Gone are the high school days where you go to a party because your friends are going, or where you pull all-nighters because that's what it takes. No, it just takes a little time management and the ability to think for yourself.

Start setting goals, and figure out what you value. I'm not advocating leaving friends behind; they matter - a lot. But by reminding yourself of what's most important to you, you'll not only get more done, but - more importantly - you'll be a happier person.

And when you're a happier person, everybody wins.