Applicants without Borders

As you interview for a professional position, your prospective employers will examine how well you are prepared for the tasks and responsibilities of the position, and what potential you have to further the mission and goals of the organization. 

Certainly your prospective employers will take into account your job-specific academic skills and career experiences. You must do your best to bolster your preparation in these areas. These baseline capacities will get your foot in the door, and the better you have performed in these areas, the stronger your application will be. 

However, if you want to move your standing from good to great, prospective employers are looking for even more. In addition to job-specific preparation, prospective employers value transdisciplinary, global skills and abilities. In no particular order, and by no means exhaustive, these include: strong communication skills, how well you can speak and write; strong critical thinking skills, how well you understand a complex problem and reason through all the possibilities; strong interpersonal skills, how well you relate to others in a diverse workplace; strong work ethic, how well you stay on task and reach the goals that you set; and strong self-development skills, how well you contribute to the organization through lifelong learning and a growth mindset. 

When preparing for your interview, think about how you have developed and utilized relevant knowledge and skills, from the specific to the transdisciplinary sense. These examples may well come from a course in your major or a research assistantship you completed, but it may also come from a liberal arts project or a volunteer experience or a challenge you have overcome in your personal life or a sports accomplishment or a goal you completed in a former career. 

Don't be afraid to translate the global skills you have developed in varied settings to the work required in the current position. For example, you may have developed multi-cultural competency by volunteering with an immigrant right's non-profit, which translates into an important skillset for a teacher working in a diverse classroom. 

In conclusion,  your GPA and your major matter, but to land the best position, you also need to demonstrate that you are an applicant without borders.

Strengths and Mindset

In terms of human development, I have gravitated toward the strengths-based approach over the last few years. Based in positive psychology, the strengths-based approach channels our energy and efforts through our natural ways of thinking, feeling, and doing (our "talents"). In short, the strengths-based approach is about authenticity: be who you are. I have found such an approach to be effective in developing potential, ours and our students. 

But there is a certain dark side to the strengths-based approach, which I have come to better conceptualize through the excellent book Mindset by Carol Dweck. Dweck proposes a simple but effective model of human development. On the one hand, we may develop through the fixed mindset. The fixed mindset focuses on natural ability and talent; these fixed capacities by in large determine outcomes. On the other hand, we may develop through the growth mindset. The growth mindset focuses on learning and evolution; these growth-oriented activities by in large determine outcomes. 

According to Dweck, the fixed mindset approaches intelligence as static and "leads to a desire to look smart and therefore a tendency to avoid challenges, get defensive or give up easily when facing obstacles, see effort as fruitless or worthless [since ability is inherent], ignore useful negative feedback, and feel threatened by the success of others” (245).

In contrast, the growth-mindset approaches intelligence as developmental and "leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, see effort as the path to mastery, learn from criticism, and find lessons and inspiration in the success of others" (245). 

In my conception, the strengths-based approach must be integrated with the growth-mindset in order to maximize both strategies. The dark side of the strengths-based approach is a fixed mindset that validates our worth and potential by compartmentalizing our strengths versus our weaknesses. In this scenario, the strengths-based approach will lead to limited human development, constrained by a fear of failure and an incessant need for affirmation of natural strengths and talents. In contrast, a strengths-based approach grounded in an active mindset sees our strengths as tools for growth, as opposed to natural abilities. In this alternative scenario, we become who we are through constant growth, challenge, and a positive response to failure and criticism. In my view, this paradigmatic shift creates a huge difference in the development of human potential.

Success or failure: which is the enemy? How we conceptualize our response to this question goes a long way in determing whether our development is fixed or growing. 

Further Reading
Dweck, C. (2008). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Ballantine Books.
Clifton, D., Anderson, E., & Schreiner, L. (2006). Strengthsquest. New York: Gallup Press.

Which is the Enemy: Success or Failure?

What is the opposite of success? Failure, some say. 

According to Carol Dweck, author of Mindset, the idea that failure is the opposite of success comes squarely out of the fixed mindset. In the fixed mindset, either you are good at something, or you are not. Either you have the ability to succeed in college, or you do not. Either you are born as a natural athlete, or you are not. Either you succeed, or you fail.

The problem with the fixed mindset is that it leads to fear of failure and the constant need for external validation. Since the fixed mindset asserts that your talents and abilities are primarily fixed - not suceptible to development or evolution - any circumstance or critique that challenges your ability is perceived as an existential threat. Thus, you constantly need awards or recognition or praise or - even worse - to make others look bad or to blame someone else in order to combat your own insecurities. Moreover, you avoid stretching yourself with new challenges because if you do not succeed at the new endeavor, what does that show about you as a person? Either you succeed, or you fail. 

As Dweck writes, "In the fixed mindset, everything is about the outcome. If you fail – or if you’re not the best – it’s all been wasted." 

Alternatively, the growth mindset sees infinite potential in your ability to learn and develop through challenging experiences. In the growth mindset, failure is not the opposite of success; rather, it is part of the process of success. A failure is a learning opportunity. "The growth mindset allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome,” asserts Dweck. If anything, success that comes without failure is the most dangerous potion of all because it breeds arrogance and complacency, two enemies of the growth mindset that will limit your success in the long run. 

To utilize a growth mindset: 

- See mistakes on quizzes and bad grades on essays as opportunities to learn from failure. Use these mistakes as learning opportunities and motivation to learn and make changes. 

- See through empty praise of outcomes, even if it is directed at you. If you did well without even trying, did you really do much to earn praise? Instead, ask for feedback on how to do even better next time. - Never assume that you cannot do something just because you do not have the talent or ability. People who succeed work hard and long in order to learn the skills and abilities that lead to success. 

- When mentoring or coaching others, focus your praise on effort, not outcomes. Praising outcomes (fixed mindset): "You did great on this test! You are so smart!" Praising effort (growth mindset): "You did great on this test! All the hours you logged in the tutoring lab are paying off!" 

Postmodernism, Heuristics, and Administration

"The feminist theorists had a great point when they noted that we’re all embodied, and flawed, and, in some sense, blinkered. The lesson I drew from that was a need for humility in the face of complicated, messy realities. But the humility isn’t in the service of fatalism or a flight to innocence and virtue.  It’s in the service of making changes that aren’t doomed from the outset," writes Dean Dad on The Confessions of a Community College Dean blog. 

For those with a background or interest in philosophy now hunkered down in the trenches of day to day reality as a higher ed professional, this is great stuff! It is insightful, relevant - and here I am speaking specifically to the armchair philosophers out there - fun to apply the theories and concepts of particular philosophies to the tasks and issues facing our contingent realities (that was a bit of a rhetorical flourish, I will admit). 

"I was reminded of that this week in a discussion about a proposed program.  When I raised a series of questions about the practicality of it, I was hit with the concept/implementation distinction.  And I realized that from the perspective of someone responsible for budgeting and staffing, the distinction is false.  A concept that can’t be implemented is a flawed concept," Dean Dad muses. 

Who doesn't love to "spend time in the weeds of postmodernism"?!? 

If the excerpts above at all capture your intrigue, I suggest you read the whole post, where Dean Dad uses basic concepts of feminist theory, postmodernism, and pragmatism to frame his view of best practices when managing the relationship (dare I say dialect?) between a strong conception and its realistic implementation (definitely a thesis-antithesis-synthesis thing!).

Anyways...Dean Dad's blog post brings to mind parallels with another book I am currently reading:Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. In this tome of contemporary psychology by one of its current stars, Kahneman talks a lot about heuristics. In short, a heuristic is a mental shortcut our mind takes - often automatically - to make quick and short work of the deluge of information constantly being hurled at it. For the most part, the use of heuristics is an effective and amazing ability of the mind. allowing us to adapt and thrive without getting mired in information overload, just as pragmatism prevents a postmodernist from getting "lost and paralyzed in an infinite regression of what’s already implicated in what" (Dean Dad). 

The challenge, however, is that heuristics - as a necessity - tend to (over)simplify situations and can produce inaccurate judgments as a result. And thus we have biases. 

This is an important consideration to make when we are involved in the fast-paced world of making administrative judgments, balancing conception with implementation and the like. Postmodernism, as well as the psychology of biases, reminds us that our judgments and intuitions are anything but clean cut objective assessments of the world. Whether or not we care to admit it, our thoughts are mired in conditions of emergence and heuristics. As Dean Dad states, this does not mean that we need to be fatalistic and throw our hands up. But it does mean that when making decisions, we should be mindful of the perspective and bias integral to our judgment. In this situation, a bit of humility mixed with time out for critical reflection and gathering the views of others can at least move us in the direction of a rational assessment befitting an effective action-outcome response to the contingencies that we face.

Learning Methods: Diversify and Conquer!

Read your textbook. Listen to a lecture. Memorize notes. Take test. Forget material. Repeat. 

The traditional modes of teaching encourage a small number of learning methods, primarily reading, listening, and committing facts to short term memory. However, based on scientific studies of the human brain and behavior, many faculty and advisors now incorporate a larger variety of learning methods when teaching - for example, group discussion and projects, a mix of reflection activities, ongoing feedback, and a wide variety of experiental opportunities to apply learning. 

There are a number of reasons why diversifying learning methods helps students conquer coursework (and, most importantly, understand it). First, we are capable of learning in different ways, so taking advantage of this fact not only provides multiples perspectives on a topic but also keeps things more dynamic and interesting. Second, due to the interplay between nature and nurture, each individual possesses a unique blend of strengths, and learning methods are most effective when emerging from these particular capacities.

So how do you diversify your learning methods? Whether or not your teachers incorporate diverse learning methods, you can employ a variety of methods in your studying and activities. There are a number of theories on learning methods, but let's take a look at Howard Gardner's concept of multiple intelligences to get some ideas for diversifying learning methods.

According to Gardner, linguistic intelligence involves sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals. Most traditional learning methods involve linguistic intelligence: reading, writing, building vocabulary, practicing grammar, and speaking. 

Logical-mathematical intelligence involves the capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically. Learning methods include concept diagrams, solving puzzles, critical thinking and analysis, use of numbers and statistics, and experimentation. 

Musical intelligence entails skills in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns. Learning methods include using sound as a part of memorization, crafting lyrics or music to make meaning, and using musical forms and concepts as metaphors. 

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence entails the potential of using one’s whole body or parts of the body (like the hand or the mouth) to solve problems or fashion products. Learning methods include moving while studying, using hands-on approaches (literally) to problem solving, and using tactile senses (touch) as a part of memorization and metaphors. 

Spatial intelligence features the potential to recognize and manipulate the patterns of wide space as well as the patterns of more confined areas. Learning methods include using photographs to make meaning, drawing out visual representations of concepts, and employing film and movies in the learning process.

Interpersonal intelligence denotes a person’s capacity to understand the intentions, motivations, and desires of other people and, consequently, to work effectively with others. Learning methods include participating in study groups, completing collaborative projects, and learning through group discussions and the viewpoints of others.

Intrapersonal intelligence involves the capacity to understand oneself, to have an effective working model of oneself and to use such information effectively manage and understand one's own life. Learning methods include using various reflection activities (such as journaling, uninterrupted quiet time), completing projects independently, and using theories from philosophy and psychology to make sense of things.  

These are but a few examples of diverse learning methods, using multiple intelligences as a framework. The trick is to strike a balance between 1) focusing on learning methods that draw on your natural strengths and 2) diversifying your learning methods across the spectrum of intelligences. We are most effective when operating within our strengths, but a diversity of methods adds a dynamism and multi-perspective view that also enhances learning. 

So go and conquer!

Student Affairs: Deep Versus Strategic Learning

I recently read What the Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain. The book got me thinking about how to facilitate deep learning, as opposed to strategic learning, when working with students within Student Affairs.

Strategic learning, or what Paulo Freire called the banking model of education, basically assumes that teachers tell students something and when students can tell it back, they have learned. In contrast, deep learning assumes that teachers facilitate the process of students putting facts and figures into context – the process of making meaning. Deeper learning aims to ascend students through Bloom’s taxonomy of thought, toward application, analysis, and synthesis.

As Bain asserts, “The most successful teachers expect the highest levels of development from their students. They reject the view of teaching as nothing more than delivering correct answers to students and learning as simply remembering those deliveries. They expect their students to rise above the category of received knowers, something they reflect in the way they teach and assess their students” (45).

In my mind, I see no distinction between the traditional division of student affairs and academic affairs when it comes to teaching. If our primary focus is student learning – in particular the development of knowledge and skills relevant to self, workforce, and civic development – why do we limit this enterprise to only part of the student experience? And so, as a student advisor and coordinator of student development activities, I firmly claim my ground as a teacher, just as a staff member in financial aid or career development or records should.

So, then, I am accepting responsibility for the question: When I look at my own practice with Student Affairs, how often do I focus on delivering the correct answer (so that the student can complete their FAFSA or register for the right course or turn in their transfer application on time)? Probably more than I would like to admit in light of deep versus strategic learning.

Bain then adds, “Rather than just thinking in terms of teaching history, biology, chemistry, or other topics, they [the best teachers] talked about teaching students to understand, apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate evidence and conclusions” (46).

Certainly,  it takes more time and more scaffolding to change from service delivery (of correct answers) to student learning. But, if you step back, does it really? Because how many times will a student return for the correct answer? Alternatively, what is our future interaction with a student if we expend the time and effort to facilitate deep learning?

I will conclude with Bain: “Highly effective teachers design better learning experiences for their students in part because they conceive of teaching as fostering learning. Everything they do stems from their strong concern for and understanding of the development of their students. They follow few traditions blindly and recognize when change in the conventional course is both necessary and possible” (67).  

Bibliography

Bain, K. (2004). What the Best College Teachers Do. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Foundations of Success: Code Shift

Who are you?

You may identify yourself as a parent, a student, a brother, a Muslim, an environmentalist, a teammate, a friend, an American, a gamer, a Latino, a Republican, a nurse, a veteran, and so on. Chances are, you have a number of different identities: some more prominent, some less; some that you were and some that you are and some that you want to be; some that you define for yourself and some that others define for you.

This leads us to the next question. How do you act when you are within a certain role or identity? Do you act the same when you are a parent as when you are a friend? Do you speak the same words when you are talking with your parents as when you are talking with your Army buddies? Do you dress the same when you go to work as when you go out on a date as when you go to church?

In many cases, the answer is probably not. You most likely act, speak, and dress differently when you are being a parent as compared to when you are being a friend. What is expected, or what is considered normal, most likely varies from one role to the next.  In other words, the code that guides how you speak and act and dress shifts when you transition from being a parent to being a friend.

College, just like a synagogue or a work place or a dance club, has its own code. There are certain expectations and beliefs about how you speak and how you act and how you dress, unwritten rules that define what is considered normal - just as you find in the military or in your family or in your neighborhood.

Of course, within any of these culture, you may choose to speak or act or dress differently than what is considered normal. Nevertheless, you need to be aware that many others are perceiving you and judging you based on the unwritten rules. 

Now, when you talk differently as a nurse than as a friend, does that somehow make you less of a friend? No, you are just shifting code. When you act differently at college than you do in your family, are you pretending that you are someone you are not or abandoning your past? No, you are just exercising cultural awareness.

For example, if you follow college code while in your neighborhood, you may be perceived as a square, but if you follow college code while at college, you will be perceived as a responsible student. Alternatively, if you follow street code while in college, you may be perceived as disruptive, but if you follow street code while in your neighborhood, you may be perceived as strong. It all depends on the culture in which you are currently operating.

You do not need to follow college code, but if you do, you will face less judgment and bias and misunderstanding, and - in general - you will have an easier time collaborating, communicating, persuading, and gaining legitimacy with students, faculty, and staff.


 Some major aspects of college code:

- Always be on time and communicate with faculty and staff if you cannot attend. 
- Take initiative and ask for help if you do not understand.
- Use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling when communicating with faculty and staff.
- Resolve conflict through discussion and mediation (not argument or aggression). 
- Value diverse perspectives and backgrounds.
- Think critically for yourself  (as opposed to looking for the "right" answer).

Success Stories Don't Come Easy

Trouble keeping food on the table, a family member in jail, no guidance at home about how to register for courses or complete a scholarship application - yet this student made it into college and set her path for success. Such a story amazes me as an advisor, a student overcoming so many obstacles on her way to success. 

In such powerful stories of personal triumph over harrowing circumstances, I hear a common theme: these students define life for themselves as opposed to being defined by the obstacles they face. These students choose how they respond to obstacles instead of letting obstacles determine their response. 

But let's be real: it easy to talk about personal responsibility, but life can be much  more complicated. Sometimes the obstacles are so great that we are knocked down and - as dedicated as we may be - we falter, we lose hope, we want to just give up, we just want to blame someone or something for our situation. 

And let's be honest:  it would be naive to assume that we all start from the same blank slate, and that the singular determinant of success is individual effort and hard work; we do not all have the same boot straps. A simple analysis of history and society makes it abundantly clear that we do not all face the exact same combination of obstacles and opportunities. We are not born in the log cabin that we built. 

And so, I understand when a student responds to an obstacle by blaming, or complaining, or simply giving up. We have all been there, and sometimes it is a realistic response to an extremely challenging situation. 

But I witness a defining characteristic in successful students: when they get knocked down, they dust themselves off, and they get back up. To do that - to get back up - that is a choice the student makes. You can make excuses, and they may certainly be reasonable, but if you stay knocked down, you stay knocked down, no matter who is right and who is wrong. 

This is the essence of accepting personal responsibility. Do you focus on who or what knocked you down, or do you focus on how you can go about dusting yourself off and standing back up? 

It is  empowering to accept personal responsibility for how you respond to obstacles and opportunities.  Success stories don't come easy, and to be honest, they may never come at all. But if you have the courage to always stand back up, no matter how difficult it may be, then you have lived a life to be proud of, a life of success. 

Solve problems. Adapt. Evolve. Change the way you do things. Control your response. Learn from your past. Accept personal responsibility for your actions. And then, succeed!

Vision to Action: Stay Motivated

Whether you are aware of it or not, your thoughts determine your action. In the previous post, I suggested that you become more conscientious of this process by articulating your vision of success, your thoughts on success. If you have not yet read Vision of Success, start there!

Once you have created your vision of success, you are ready to put it into action! The process of goal setting is a good way to create a plan of concrete steps to take toward your vision of success. Review Part I, Part II, and Part III of Goal Setting to create a blueprint of action steps.

Which finally brings us to motivation.You have an idea of where you want to go (vision), and you have a plan for getting there (goals), but how are you going to find the drive to act toward your success? And what fuel will keep you going, through the ups and the downs, until you reach your goals and realize your vision of success? In other words, how will you stay motivated?

To stay motivated, you must see value in what you are doing. That is, does what you are doing right now lead you to where you want to go? Is what you are doing important and relevant in terms of your vision of success?

Also, to stay motivated, you must believe that you can influence the outcomes of your life. Do you see yourself as a strong, hard working person that can take control of your life? Or do you believe that all of your success is do to luck and fate and things that you cannot control?

Strategies for creating motivation:

1. First things first, you must create a vision of success. Consider creating a vision board or write out your vision. Revisit your vision of success often. 

2. Use goals to focus on the immediate action steps that you can take to control your outcomes. This will remind you of your ability to impact what happens in your life.

3. Instead of blaming or complaining, use proactive "I" language to address solutions to the challenges you face. Over time, such a mindset will make you feel powerful and in control.   

4. When times get tough, take a moment to think about the value of what you are doing. How does what you are doing right now lead you to a better place? 

5. Hold yourself accountable to completing your goals. Reward yourself when you reach your short-term goals. Consider setting shared goals with a friend or partner to keep each other going!

Barriers to the Adoption of Online Learning Systems

Among the many sea changes reshaping higher education these days, the opportunities and pitfalls present in the use of online learning systems may be amongst the greatest. I read an interesting report - Barriers to the Adoption of Online Learning Systems in U.S. Higher Education - that is worth considering. As the title implies, this report comes from organization that supports the use of online learning systems and pursues the "promise of adaptive learning technologies...to educate more students at lower cost with similar or even better learning outcomes." 

Some of the main points that I took from the report include: 

• a wide range of systems and models of online learning currently exist and are of varying quality
• a number of software companies are pushing into new developments the report calls Interactive Online Learning, which is adaptive and "machine-driven"
• the use of learning analytics (data mining embedded within the online learning system) has the potential to support individualized student-centered learning based on proficiency
• the report asserts that cost considerations (and - by implication - market share) are the primary drivers for the implementation of online learning at most institutions, at the moment
• the report concedes that there is limited data on student learning outcomes, at the moment
• the report also concedes that there is limited data on student success and persistence, especially research that controls for the self-selecting variables that shape the demographic enrolling in online courses (older, motivated, self-organizing)
• if "machine-based" online learning systems free faculty from the tasks of content delivery, grading, and tracking, then such systems - in a hybrid environment - may allow for more productive and optimized use of faculty talents and knowledge (mentoring, research, feedback, et cetera)

I came across the Barriers report in the article Elitism, Equality, and MOOCS, which raises one point, in particular, that I find interesting, especially in light of the Barriers report. In sum: online education may lead to better access to high quality education for more students, or it may lead to further bifurcation of higher education whereby the elite institutions maintain (expensive) faculty-driven relationship-based education whereas (public open access) institutions under greater financial stress (and political pressures for numbers and efficiency) pursue machine-driven online learning disconnected from significant faculty guidance.

In Student Affairs, I see great potential for utilizing online learning as a pedagogical tool embedded in a relationship-based student development program (such as TRIO). There is merit, in my mind, to many of the strengths proffered in the Barriers report (increased access to services, student-centered proficiency-based learning, technology and the millennial generation, cost and time efficiencies). Yet, I am concerned about overreach and pursuing online learning as our primary pedagogy, as opposed to a pedagogical tool. There is much research (e.g. Tinto) and many anecdotes that affirm the significance of a caring, mentoring human relationship when viewing education through a student (human) development lens.

A few questions now on my mind after reading the above report and article:

•  How does online learning support (or not) creativity, critical thinking and other higher capacities of the human mind (that, to here, we have not extended to artificial intelligence)?
• How do changing social norms regarding human interaction change learning?
• How well can online learning adapt to multiple learning styles and diversified delivery? 
• Is tech savvy the new variable of inequality? 

Vision of Success

Vision is the foundation of any successful journey. If you do not know where you are going, how can you take the first step? Alternatively, if you do not have any passion or philosophy animating your actions, how can you know that the journey is meaningful? 

When I envision success, I picture a tree. To me, success is growing tall toward the light while being sustained and grounded by roots. Success is looking toward the horizon for inspiration while swaying in the freedom of the wind. Success is becoming who you are and being authentic in every season. The decisions I make in my career, the way I carry myself each day, the vocations I pursue: I do my best to ensure that every choice I make in life resonates with my vision of success.

At this moment in life, my vision of success is intuitive and free. Other people define success in more concrete and specific terms - complete a Bachelor's degree, get a job as a nurse, travel to South America, buy a house, et cetera. Either approach works, whatever resonates with you at this time in your life. If this is the first time you are thinking about your vision of success, it will likely be easier to start with concrete and specific goals.

Your vision of success will likely transform and grow over time through new opportunities, life-changing experiences, and self-development. Great! From where you stand now, what is your vision of success? 

How to create a vision board:

1. Picture yourself 20 years down the road, then write down answers to the following questions. What have you accomplished? What do you have? What do you do? Where do you live? How do other people to perceive you and your actions? What contributions have you made? How do you act? How do you feel?

2. Pick up a 20"x30" piece of sturdy paper, foam board, or card board.

3. Collect pictures, words, and phrases from magazines or your own albums that represent your vision.

4.  Make a collage or map on your board using these images. Use markers or paints to add color or words. Be creative with your vision!

5. Place your vision board somewhere you see it often. In a year or two, make another vision board!

A vision board created by a student in TRIO Summer Bridge

The Challenge of Priorities

It is no secret: there are too few hours in the day for us to accomplish all the things we would like to do or need to do. From working to parenting to attending class to completing an internship to finding time for exercise and wellness, we are - quite simply - too busy.

Time management strategies - from planning a schedule to minimizing distractions to using technology - help us be more efficient, and thus achieve more in the same amount of time. This can certainly be helpful in managing our hectic lives. However, let's not confuse time management with time travel or cloning multiple selves. Whereas these science fiction strategies might allow us to complete an unlimited number of tasks, the human reality is that efficiency can only take us so far. There comes a point where we just need to decide what we will do, AND what we won't do. In other words, we need to set priorities.

But how do you decide whether it is more important to work or to go to class? To take your child to soccer practice or to take yourself to the doctor? Such dilemmas are the challenge of priorities.

There are no easy or clear answers to these questions. But you can make a few considerations to inform tough decisions. Consider:

-  What are my goals for the next year? Does this activity move me closer to my goals?

- Does the benefit of doing the activity outweigh the cost of not doing the activity, or vice versa?

- Am I sacrificing my own achievement/wellness in order to support another person, while not being supported in return?

-  Is the amount of activities that I take on each day sustainable in the long run, or do I need to cut back to avoid burnout?

- Is there a strategic way to cut back on the time spent on an activity in the short term without compromising the longer term outcome (such as fewer courses per semester)?

- Are there any major issues dragging you down (emotional imbalance, debt, sour relationships) that can be resolved in the short term with extra time and attention, thereby freeing you up for the longer term?

- Is the activity you are working on just busy work, or are you actually achieving some sort of outcome that moves you forward?

- Are you busy or are you productive?