Semester IV is off with a bang. I'm taking two classes- both with focuses on Strategy. So I'm going into the second week of class and still am not REALLY sure even of the name of the classes I am taking. Part of that has to do with one of the professors who has the Concordia course title on some of his documents and Operations Strategy on others. I'm too busy to really sort it out, but it is a little bit of a nuisance.
This week I had over 100 pages of reading. There were assignments to read both chapter twos in each text book. There was an article "Are you a Strategist or just a Manager?", there were three case studies- Mystic Monk Coffee, Whole Foods Market, and Sensormatic. For Whole Foods we had to write an Executive Summary (most of us in the class still don't know what an executive summary really is), and then we had to come together with our group to write a Case Study synopsis over the Sensormatic Case.
This was really tricky, and I knew it was going to be. This last weekend was my husband's and my 5th wedding anniversary. To celebrate we took off Friday night to Six Flags and from there headed up to Arkansas to visit the in-laws on their 30 acre ranch. They are really in the country so I knew my connectivity would be limited, so I tried to organize our team with rotational assignments based on the syllabus I had in an excel doc. I was hopeful we could at least know who was doing what for the paper due the following week before I left. Call it the joys of being the first cohort through, but after I left, one of my friends saw that an updated syllabus was reporting an extra section that needed to be covered, and now that had to be assigned as well.
I have a wonderful team to work with, and they ended up getting together yesterday at 2:00PM just as I was headed home back through Dallas. We were able to clarify what all we still needed in order to turn in a completed project the following night. To make it through this semester they've determined to meet weekly... I think life's just about to take it to the next level...
I made it home after 8 hours of driving, and still had to read two of the case studies, write my summary with bullet points, and write an Executive Summary over the 40 page Whole Foods case study. I was able to crank out about 4 pages for the exec. summary and 3 pages for the article summary, just in time to shower at 11:45PM and get in bed by midnight.
I've looked at the syllabus, and its going to be pretty intensive up front with group papers written weekly. On top of that are a few additional individual case studies for the other class, and don't forget the plethora of other projects waiting in the wings! Add into that a girls trip to Dallas, this weekend, and in a couple more weeks a trip to New Mexico for the Hot Air Balloon Festival.
I already get told that I do too much... often by people who don't see more than my Facebook posts. With this semester staring me down, I know I'll have to use my time very wisely.
So because I get asked quite a bit, how do I do all that I do, I have decided to share my weekly schedule. I may not describe exactly how, but it does the when part:
Monday- 7:30-5:30 work, every other Monday- Homegroup with church
Tuesday 7:30-4:30 work, 6:00-10:00 Class
Wednesday 7:30-5:30 work, Evenings meet with cohort group
Thursday7:30-5:30 work, Game night with friends
Friday 8:00-1200 work (generally there are additional work activities that tie me up til 3 or so) (Make time for Nap) (start cleaning house)
Saturday- exhausted and unmotivated (might take a trip somewhere) Must force myself to do some reading/homework
Sunday- Morning -church, Afternoon- make time for nap/ homework, Evening- Matt plays softball and I like to go and support him in something he likes to do... and I always aim to get in bed by 10, but its always 11:30PM... and tired as I am- its then time to start the rat race all over again.
What I consider important is relationships and life. School is not life. I make time for a game night, because I need friends. Ever so often - you have to get out of town just to keep things from getting stale. I like making time for Bible study with other believers, because nothing screams a sinful life other than a half full spiritual tank with energy on empty and the carnal nature takes root. My husband is my first priority, and even though I have a hard time paying attention to the softball games, I know it means something to be investing my time into the things he likes, him and this life we continue to build together.
Its not easy to just fit school in there, but you can make time. Just like the early investment, the education will pay off, and all the more, the earlier you can get it done. I don't have kids- and that's how I know this is largely possible for me. I also know others in my class swinging in their kid's baseball tournaments, tennis matches, family memories and vacations. It can be done. Plus- the saying is largely true... you can live through anything for a year... or two!
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