Trimming the fat

When British chef Jamie Oliver wants to convince someone that her/his eating habits are bad, he has the person pile a week’s worth of food on the table all at one time. Often the person he is working with eats all kinds of processed foods that are full of fat and sugar, and usually the table is filled with items that vary in color from shades of yellow to tan to brown—meats, chips, corn dogs, donuts, frozen pizzas, et cetera. The person usually has health problems related to their diet, and Chef Jamie’s technique brings awareness to the situation. With awareness he/she is usually eager to change.

Often my students cannot understand why they fail to reach their own expectations of themselves in their classes. I suggest to them the Chef Jamie approach to time management. For one week, create a spreadsheet of how each hour of time is spent. Pay attention to the true amount of time that is devoted to entertainment, socializing, eating, sleeping, studying, et cetera. The reason for less-than-desirable class performance is usually quite transparent; students do not do well because they tend not to organize their lives around studying.

The second step that I recommend after gaining awareness is for students to ask themselves what is really important to them in the long term, and to determine which commitments should take priority in time management given their goals. I remind them that they will most likely experience college for one short period of their lives, and how they use that time will impact the rest of their lives.

Chef Jamie always follows up his shock tactic with tutelage on how to cook healthy foods in cost-effective and time-saving ways. People vary in how rapidly and well they adjust to a new diet; it is a struggle to change lifelong eating habits. Changing time management and study habits is no different. I find that students are easily discouraged when they attempt to change; new-found awareness creates a spark of energy that can burn out rapidly. Another level of awareness is necessary if students are to sustain the changes they make. They must become aware of a few things: 1) organizing one’s time takes work. One must dedicate time to planning. 2) Change entails some short-term discomfort; if a friend calls wanting to go have a beer during a time slated for studying, then the dedicated student will suggest a different time for beer and get back to studying. 3) Often a student’s study habits are rusty and devotion of large chunks of time to studying makes little to no difference in their immediate performance. It’s like exercise; one does not get into shape over night, and (again) “Rome was not built in a day.”

However, if students stick with it, they eventually feel proud of their new schedule, their dedication, and their progress (no matter how slow or rapid). In my opinion it is more difficult to become a good student than it is to lose weight or get into physical shape. This is because good studentship does not come with a socially approved support group. In fact, some people disdain thoughtfulness, smarts, and the like. Becoming a good student is not something to be taken lightly, and it is not for everyone. If a student assesses their schedule, their performance in class, and their long term goals but decides they would rather invest time outside of studying, then at least they have done so with awareness. As a result they are more likely to (and perhaps should) lower their expectations of their own performance. There is no shame in doing this if it is a well-informed choice. What is shameful is expecting high marks without the required dedication.