Charging.... please wait

Batteries need to be charged now and then to provide energy to our gadgets. Now its vacation time and batteries are working overtime while we are recharging our internal batteries. I've been off to a couple of weeks of vacation time now, and it has been deliberating. Although I feel that I have a good grasp of managing my own work day, some time without thinking about work at all is really good. Lazy days with books, coffee, family and friends has really brought me into a state of mind that the professional world is very efficient at taking away from people. I think it is called harmony.

So... since this is a very nice feeling, I started thinking. How to bring more harmony into the workplace when the vacation is over - to elongate the effect of the holidays? I came up with three bullet points that I will test when I have spent a few more weeks doing absolutely nothing but reading, swimming and relaxing;

1. add some physical activity during the work day (my job is very far from manual labor...), like a walk during lunch time (I know this is a classic, I've just never made myself do it).
2. plan for procrastination... or plan for meaningful breaks duirng the day. Like reading a poem. If you plan for it, it won't make you stressed out.
   
3. cut through during stalled meetings such that you don't have to spend your time there.

When I am back to work I will start to practice this and try to devise a way to judge the effect of it on my own well-being as well as my work day productivity.

Enjoy the holidays!

Three-year degrees at American colleges?

The Washington post today has an article on the fact that some U.S. colleges are now starting to offer 3-year Bachelor's degrees, European style (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/22/AR2009052203681.html?hpid=topnews). Critics, of course, claim that this will take away the traditional broad education offered at universities, and steer more in the direction of job training. In some cases, this may be true. However, they want to offer the three-year degree to especially qualified students that are motivated and intellectually capable of going through with a four-year program in just 75% of the time. Personally, I think this is an excellent approach. For very good students, getting the full benefit of a traditional degree in just three years is a very good option, with the economic advantage of saving a year of college tuition and expenses. 

It will, however, be demanding of the student's, smart as they may be. A condensed program would require better attention, more focus on what is important and self-awareness of the students. Therefore, I think such a program should be accompanied by support functions that teach self management and give students a sound foundation for gaining confidence and dealing with stress in a positive way; the most important thing is to put down clear goals and have measures to guide the fulfillment of these goals!