Undergraduate Blog / Career Development

Why 40 Hours a Week can be better than 16 Credit Hours

While our class times may be set, we all have experienced the unpredictability of what your workload for the week could be from your classes. But now that its summer internship season this is your chance to use some of that predictability in a full time schedule to your advantage. I know I have used this new set schedule to improve my own commitments to exercise, reading, and nutrition.

Boston Marathon in no time…

All the energy and determination I had, poured into one week only to see some project or event distract me and allow me to get back into a cycle of making excuses for myself. Well with a new almost certainty that my schedule would not be interrupted I have not only been able to stick to a habit of excercising regularly but have also reached the fourth week of an 18 month long distance running plan.

 Resisting the call of HBO…

While this is probably more of a personal challenge for me, I have a habit of purchasing books that I am very interested in reading only to have them sit on a desk never to be opened. Never mind the fact that I don’t even hesitate to use up an entire weekend to watch a full season of The Wire (my mother was very proud). But by setting much clearer goals for myself (have to read at least two chapters before moving on to the next episode no matter how close Lester is to breaking the case) I have been able to finish several books in the span of a few weeks.

Becoming the chef… 

I won’t go so far as to say that I have conquered this area yet, but the shift from Trim to having to cook every meal myself was drastic. Sure a meal here and there was manageable, but once it gets to the third or fourth week it can be a real challenge to find variety for those of us new to the stove. Regardless, I know that having to invest 10-30 minutes of prep for each meal has changed my consumption and the thought that goes into my own diet.

Sometimes the easiest way for us to change our habits is to have a predictable schedule to both work around and rely upon.