I've noticed a strong correlation between how busy I am and the types of food I eat on busy days. I need to run a regression to verify this data, but today, a day filled with my Real Estate Investment and Finance class and back-to-back-to-back-to-back meetings, continued the pattern from my first year - an Espresso Roma Cafe turkey sandwich for lunch during time-crunched days.
So how do you manage your time in a MBA program? A friend suggested that approximately 1/3 of my time should be devoted to academics, 1/3 should be dedicated to the career search, 1/3 should be given to MBA-extracurricular activities and clubs, and 1/3 should be given to my non-MBA related things. While my friend may not be the most proficient at math, he was definitely right: time management will always be a challenge for MBA students.
I think I strike a good balance between the four categories listed above, but there will definitely will be times when I focus more heavily on one of the categories. To make sure I'm using my time effectively, I started making to-do lists at the start of each week and then checking off things each night before going to sleep*. This tip came from one of my study group members last year and it has really helped. Feel free to post your tips for time management here or ask questions about my 'Day-in-the-Life' at UCLA Anderson.
*As an aside, my weekly to-do list now includes keeping a tally on how many turkey sandwiches I eat this year - it will be a great way to unofficially measure the time crunch of being a MBA student. I'll keep you and the time-efficiency researchers posted on my findings.
Whether or not you fancy dressing-up in high socks and short shorts with headband and wristband accessories or you like to dawn drag every once in a while and improvise your rendition of Chicago (boys???), you just might find yourself smack dab in the middle of Orientation Week 2 at Anderson. Gone are the days of Week 1 and the somewhat more structured lecturers of Leadership Foundations, your current mission is to dive headfirst into Section Spirit in attempt to make your bid for the Section Cup. Bonding with your fellow classmates is not an option; it’s the consequential reaction to spending too much time together while working out the dance routine for the section skit.
Week one of orientation taught me that the b-school experience at Anderson is filled with normal people who have an uncanny ability to act crazy if given the opportunity, goodies, food and more food, and events full of amazing fun.
Having little or no experience with accounting, excel, and business related math (it’s a misnomer that architects need to know a math – we have consulting engineers for that). I took the opportunity to take in all the pre-orientation classes offered by Anderson prior to the first week of orientation. What does that amount to you ask? Five days (Monday through Thursday) and a Saturday of 9am-4pm classes with an hour break for lunch.