I have to admit, waking up this morning was a wee bit painful. I'll let Meara and the 510 tell you more about it later but now that the confetti is being cleaned up, its time for some resolutions.
As an MBA, it feels like you're constantly reinventing yourself but new years brings with it the special benefit of everyone making commitments to change, at the same time. By informal survey, here are the five most common resolutions made by MBA students at the beginning of the new year.
Also, because we know that like most resolutions many of them will go unkept, we've also included the most common reality that MBAs face in keeping them.
Resolution 4: Read The WSJ
They pile up on our doorstep and though we know it's important, many MBAs just don't have the time to pick up our copy of the Wall Street Journal. Sure, we catch up with it online but nothing shows off your worldliness like reading the actual paper in the lobby as your classmates rush in late to class.
In all reality though, as papers decline in readership and more news goes online, reading the paper version of the WSJ is less and less in line with our study habits. Our advice? In theory you can afford to pass them up but just make sure to recycle them properly.
Resolution 3: Get More Exercise
Though you can live off pizza, tacos and beer in business school, late nights and marathon group meetings seldom incentivize a healthy lifestyle. The problem gets even worse over the holidays. Your choices are either cut some calories or sign up for one of our MBA classmates' 8:15 PM body sculpt classes at the Vanderbilt Rec. Center.
The reality is that 51% of these types of resolutions get broken by the end of February. Let's face it, this one is tough no matter if you're a business student or not.
Resolution 2: More Nights In, Studying
A healthy social life tends to be a hallmark of the business school experience. A perennial resolution, particularly after MOD II grades come in is to spend more time studying and less time out doing…whatever.
The reality of this resolution is that you can actually do something about this. MOD III tends to find many MBAs hibernating but then again, come springtime and MOD IV, all bets are off. Work hard, play hard. What more can we say?
And the most common MBA resolution…
Resolution 1: Read All Assigned Readings
As a very wise Owen alumni once said (reference), “you can't afford to do all the readings but you can't afford to do none of the readings.” For this one, you'll just have to find your own happy medium. Assigned readings are usually made for a reason but many professors recommend that if you're pressed for time, skimming can help frame the in-class discussion just as well.
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Read the full article: 4 New Years Resolutions That MBAs Make…But Probably Won’t Keep