what Harvard taught me, what it can teach you
Perhaps you know already, but tomorrow is the Harvard-Yale game. If you have tickets, please go and cheer on your respective team.
As you may have noticed, my posting frequency has sort of slacked off (thank you CS 50). But, expect major site changes in the next week or so.
Until then, enjoy watching the game from the stadium “Dedicated to the Joy of Manly Contest.”
Sometimes you just aren’t interested in tri-colored rotini or chicken. Other times you just need a break from dining hall food, but don’t want to fork over the cash for grub.
Fortunately, college students — including Harvard ones — are very easy to persuade with the promise of free food.
If you’re smart, resourceful and just a little bit lucky, here are a few ways to keep you feasting like a king without using your boardplus.
My Economics professor made an interesting analogy last week, comparing time commitments to “time debt.” Harvard students have a tendency to “promise” time to other parties that will be collected at a future point in time in exchange for things like grades, money, fun, etc.
Unfortunately, we too suffer from time inconsistencies regarding our time use. We commit to too much now, but have to perhaps renege on our promises later. Time inconsistencies are generally used by economists to explain things like addiction to procrastination, but at the core of it all, is a self-control issue. Whereas some people cannot help but to pull out their credit card to buy that new pair of shoes, we cannot help but to say yes to an awesome opportunity that will only maybe just take 2 hours a week.
The funny thing about “time debt” — a promise to pay back time/effort at a future date — is that the interest compounds. Time commitments snow ball, people expect and demand more from you, and soon your 2 hour a week gig ends up 3 or 4 hours a week, during a week, of course, of midterms.
So what is this “time debt,” and why in the world is this a problem of many successful people?
Recent Posts
Recent Comments