Tag Archive for 'time management'

Hacking the Mental Supply Chain

The supply chain and distribution network behind a simple product, like a lamp, is ridiculously intricate and complex. Chances are the lamp had to cross the seas, move through customs, hit a warehouse, get distributed via trucks or planes, hit the stores, get deboxed and brought out to the sales floor for a given store. And somewhere along the way, all of this needs to be coordinated.

Think of the sheer number of people involved, the time, the effort. But, somehow, we can keep massive grocery stores perfectly stocked with a few thousands different types of items. So, although the supply chain is exceedingly complex, the network becomes more efficient with increases in scale and follows a few basic principles.

If you consider the end product of thought and action — be it a novel, new business etc. — it too follows a mental supply chain of sorts, going from conception to finalization.

This post examines ways to improve the mental supply chain — decreasing the time/effort between thought and action and increasing efficiency overall.

Read more…

Just-In-Time Thinking

The Japanese perfected just-in-time inventory, with a great many savings and benefits. Right when you need a product, you produce it. No need to worry about the cost of holding that inventory and sitting pretty on potentially 5,000 extra units of stuff that might not sell.

Similarly, while I was stressing out over my class schedule last summer, I realized the sheer pointlessness of brooding over decisions that I can’t possibly make without further, next-to-the-last-minute information. I’m not going to be able to decide between two core classes unless I shop both of them…two or three months down the road. There’s no point in spending hours two or three months ahead of time trying to decide between the two.

Just-In-Time thinking is a way of managing decision-making, so that you think through what you need to think through WHEN you need to think through it.

Read more…

Maximizing Sleep Harvard-Style

Chances are, you’re gonna be busy or at least, keeping yourself busy at Harvard. One week you’ll be smooth-sailing, but then you’ll hit a snag, and oh-no! you find yourself pulling two or three all-nighters for your two or three midterms coming up.

Sleep is important (for some people). Because Harvard can get a little crazy at times, there are little tricks here and there that can maximize your sleeping hours.

(Triple apologies for this late entry. Fourth of July plans set me back. Expect an extra post. Point 7 added by John.)

Read more…

Organization for the Busy and 7 Minutes Late

A “typical” Harvard student is busy and bounces from one activity to another. Events are back-to-back, overlapping, with locations and times changing at will.

No one likes waiting on someone who’s late for a meeting. So, don’t be that girl or boy.

Here are some tips on how to keep organized.

Read more…

On Surviving Distractions

Harvard will keep you busy, but we all get too easily distracted by the likes of gmail, facebook, nytimes.com and youtube. Other times, your roommates will drag you out for an impromptu glow in the dark Frisbee session at night.

Here are some ways to minimize the impact of distractions if you really need to haul some ass.

Read more…

On Surviving Reading Period

Reading Period is that time of heaven/hell when students have approximately a week and a half of “no” classes to spend time reviewing for their finals and writing their final papers. It’s wonderful because classes meet less often. It’s awful because it’s a mammoth amount of free time to re-remember what you should have learned this past semester.

Kids at other schools looong for this. Harvard kids have a tendency to love and hate it because it is and isn’t quite the original conception of the “Reading Period.” Sometimes classes still meet, sometimes you have four papers due and take-home finals.

Here are some tips I’ve gained from my 3 previous reading periods on how best to survive and utilize this precious but damning amount of free time.

Read more…

Treat Yourself Like You Would a Good Friend

The folks at lifehack.org have an interesting article titled “How to Be a Friend of Yourself” –

We often focus on building relationships with others that we forget the essential first step: being friends of ourselves. That is the crucial first step if we are to have good relationships with others. How can we have good relationships with others if we don’t even have good relationship with ourselves? (read the rest)

It’s a fantastic article — but I think in order to be a good friend of yourself, it doesn’t just mean being able to accept and embrace yourself. Rather, to be your own best friend, you need to start treating yourself like you would a best friend.

Would you demand as much from your good friend as you do of yourself?

Read more…