Some of us at the School of Management come here to study Finance. Others Marketing. Yet others General Management. But if there is one discipline with which all of us are fast becoming very well‑versed, it is time management; the SOM is a very busy place.

As early as Orientation, it became very clear that prioritizing our time would be vitally important. With each passing day, this lesson is reinforced. Classes are now underway and in spite of the ability to leverage one’s learning team to lessen the load somewhat, there is enough new material that a significant amount of time must be devoted to internalizing new concepts. This is particularly true for those of us, including yours truly, who have not formally studied business at the college or graduate school level.

In addition to classes, there are professional clubs, social gatherings, recruiting activities, and personal obligations. Depending on where our priorities lie, the time devoted to any of these activities will vary. For instance, founders of new clubs might find themselves spending most of their time outside of academia marketing their club and organizing activities. On the other hand, those of us with young families prioritize our time so that we can meet our obligations to spouses and young children. As is often the case with a diverse community, the key is to know exactly what matters most to you at any given moment and act accordingly.

I have found myself making behavioral adjustments in order to cope with the changing landscape. In lieu of immediately responding to the non-stop trickle of emails, I now set all but the very time-sensitive aside and answer them altogether at a later time. Instead of procrastinating in between classes, I’ll use the pockets of time for things such as contributing to this blog. I’ve bought a coffee maker (you can take the boy out of Seattle but you can’t take Seattle out of the boy) with a timer so that my alarm is the sound of freshly brewed light roast dripping into a pot right next to my bed; a 4AM alarm has never felt (or smelled, for that matter) so wonderful! More to the point though, the truth is that I simply cannot function without a healthy (or is it?) dose of caffeine and the earlier I get it, the quicker I can become productive.

In all honesty, I felt a little overwhelmed by the flurry of activities that marked the MBA program’s commencement – a sentiment echoed by some of my classmates. However, I’ve found that there is something to be said for taking a few moments to step back and view things philosophically. The biggest insight – and one that wasn’t immediately obvious – was that this may just be the best preparation for the real world, even if it is implicit. In less than two years, we will once again be in the working world. Some of us will be thinking of starting families and others will be well on the way. Responsibilities such as homework assignments and resume workshops will make way for international business travel, raising young children, etc. I can think of no better preparation for the busy post-MBA lifestyle than the one we are going through right now…