The Week That Feels… Strange
This week always feels strange, doesn’t it?
Summer has its own rhythm: slow mornings, flexible days, deciding what to do as you go. Then suddenly, the semester is here—and life doesn’t fit the same way anymore. It’s like parking on campus in July versus September. In July, you can roll in anytime and find a spot. In September, you circle endlessly, hunting for the right fit.
That’s what this week feels like to me: the transition from wide-open space to a packed lot where every move takes care and planning.
A Story from Grad School
I’ll be honest—there were times in my life when I handled this transition badly. In grad school, I was buried: hard classes, full-time research, and endless work. My weeks stretched to 60+ hours and my relationship with my girlfriend (who’s now my wife) was fraying. I thought the answer was to work harder—wake up earlier, stay later, grind through it. But the list never ended, and I was exhausted.
Eventually I realized: either my work habits would change, or my relationship status would. So I stopped. I spent one long weekend learning about productivity and time management, and I built systems I still use today. I made a single commitment: no more working after dinner.
Miraculously, I started getting more done in fewer hours. Why? Because systems gave me focus. I no longer meandered through 14-hour days; I worked with purpose inside boundaries that kept me human.
That lesson changed my life. And it’s why I approach this week differently now. The goal isn’t to get ahead—it’s to get ready.
For Students: Build Capacity, Not Urgency
If you’re tempted to start homework early, I get it. That feeling often comes from a desire to “do better this time,” to avoid the overwhelm you’ve felt before. But working ahead usually just shifts the stress earlier.
Being Ready ≠ Being Ahead
Being ready doesn’t mean being ahead. Being ready means having the systems in place to handle what’s coming. This week is a chance to set up those routines—when you’ll do homework, how you’ll track deadlines, where you’ll study—so that once the semester hits, you’re not scrambling.
You don’t need to exhaust yourself trying to “win” the first week. You need to give yourself enough structure that your semester can fit into your life.
One shift to try: Instead of doing assignments early, try sketching a weekly routine you’ll follow when the semester begins. Your ability to get a bunch done right now, when the todo list is relatively light, doesn’t mean much. Your ability to manage when your todo list feels overwhelming, that’s what we want to make a plan for right now. Make it realistic, not perfect. Then practice it once or twice this week, just like a rehearsal.
For Faculty: Systems Beat Hustle
Faculty feel the squeeze this week too. The inbox fills. The syllabus isn’t finished. Course prep feels like an avalanche. And it’s tempting to believe that if you just work harder this week, you’ll finally feel “caught up.” But I’ve learned the hard way: it doesn’t work.
⚠️ The Danger of Over-Prepping
One summer, I prepped obsessively for a new course—on my own time, off contract. I thought I was buying peace of mind. Instead, I entered the semester just as overwhelmed… but without the rest I needed. You can make all the plans you want, something unexpected will show up and derail them.
Plans don’t work. Systems designed to handle the unpredictable dynamics of life do.
Now I measure success by the clarity of my systems, not the length of my prep list. Where will grading fit? What’s my rhythm for feedback? How do I protect evenings and weekends? When I decide these things before the semester starts, I weather the chaos with steadiness instead of panic.
Faculty—our students need us rested, focused, and present. Not wrung out from trying to out-hustle the calendar. This isn’t just because they need you to bring your best self to class. It’s because they need to see examples of work-life balance in their profession and start imagining how they’ll choose to shape their lives apart from the limited set of examples they grew up with.
A Shared Invitation
This week isn’t about getting ahead. It’s about laying down tracks so the train can run smoothly once it leaves the station.
Whether you’re a student sketching a study routine, or a professor blocking time for grading, your goal is the same: create enough clarity that your semester can fit into your life.
Remember: being busy isn’t bad. Being busy doing the wrong things is.
