Page 124 - A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science

“To combat procrastination, I make a schedule of everything I have to do. For example, I
tell myself, ‘Friday, I need to start my paper and then finish it on Saturday. Also, on
Saturday, I need to do my math homework. On Sunday, I need to study for my German
test.’ It really helps me stay organized and practically stress-free. If I don’t follow my
schedule, then I have twice the amount of the work to do the next day, and that’s really not
something I look forward to.”

—Randall Broadwell, mechanical engineering student with a German minor

Incidentally, if you’ve tried starting a planner or journal before and not had it
work for you, you might try a related technique that has a more obvious
reminder function built in: Keep your task list on a chalkboard or whiteboard by

your door. And of course, you can still feel that visceral thrill of pleasure every
time you check something off your list!
Notice my goal finish time for the day: 5:00 P.M. Doesn’t seem right, does it?
But it is right, and it is one of the most important components of your daily
planner-journal. Planning your quitting time is as important as planning your
working time. Generally, I aim to quit at 5:00 P.M., although when I’m learning

something new, it can sometimes be a pleasure to look at it again after I’ve taken
an evening break, just before I go to sleep. And occasionally there is a major
project that I’m wrapping up. The 5:00 P.M. quitting time comes about because I
have a family I enjoy hanging with, and I like to have plenty of time for a wide
variety of reading in the evening. If this seems like too easy a schedule, keep in
mind that I rise early and do this six days a week, obviously not something you
need to be doing unless your study and work load is extra heavy.

You might think, Well, yeah, but you’re a professor who is past your
youthful study days—of course an early quitting time is fine for you! However,
one of my most admired study experts, Cal Newport, used a 5:00 P.M. quitting
10
time through most of his student career. He ended up getting his Ph.D. from
MIT. In other words, this method, implausible though it may seem for some, can

work for undergraduate and graduate students in rigorous academic programs.
Time after time, those who are committed to maintaining healthy leisure time
along with their hard work outperform those who doggedly pursue an endless
treadmill. 11
Once you’ve finished your daily list, you’re done for the day. If you find
yourself consistently working beyond your planned quitting time, or not
finishing the items you’ve laid out for yourself, your planner-journal will help

you catch it and allow you to start making subtle shifts in your working strategy.