Climbers prepare in very different ways. In his book Adapt, coach Kris Hampton describes four approaches: For Nothing, For Everything, For Something, and For Anything. The more I thought about it, the more I realized: these don’t just describe climbing. They describe learning, too. And […]
Category: Productivity
First Friday: Starting the Semester You Want
The Mirror of Stress I’ve realized something after years on both sides of the classroom. For faculty, the most stressful day of the semester is Day 1. We set the systems and policies that everyone will live with for sixteen weeks — and we make […]
The Week Before: A Calm, Confident Launch
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 […]
Declutter Your Mental Backpack
It’s two weeks until summer break ends and fall semester 2025 begins! The Hidden Weight of Week -2 In the weeks before classes start, everything looks quiet on the surface—but inside, students and faculty are already carrying weight. Not textbooks. Not laptops. The mental backpack. […]
When to Give Up
You’re going to spend your time doing something. Your money is going to get spent on something. Your effort and passion will be spent. These things aren’t to save, they are to spend. But on what? The more I experience, the more I realize the […]
A New Routine
I’ve recently realized that I basically have everything I wanted out of life. This is both incredibly fulfilling, and strangely challenging. What do I struggle for now? What gets me out of bed? What am I working towards? Growth. The first stage of life is […]
The Process, Not the Result
“I want to be a millionaire.” “I want to get all A’s this semester,” “I want to lose ten pounds.” We love to set goals for ourselves, dreaming of what life would be like if we just accomplished that next thing. I’m a “big goal” […]
Confessions of a Recovering Workaholic
One of the most interesting transitions I went through while I was a college student for over a decade involves the way I approach work. When I was starting out, I struggled to find the motivation to do the work – schoolwork, and even research […]
Things that Last
This past weekend my mother-in-law was kind enough to buy me a few shirts as a gift. Their purpose? Something to wear while rock climbing, running, hiking, and other outdoor activities. They’re made of specially-engineered materials that wick away sweat, dry quickly, inhibit odor, and […]
Three things everyone should focus on this summer
We made it: it’s summer!!!!!! Here’s a season where everyone gets a chance to let off the gas a little bit and recover from the grind that the first months of every year seem to hold. I’d like to offer you a bit of advice […]
