A Moment of Reflection on My Graduation
I’ve spent the last couple weeks trying to catch my stride.
- I completed the last course of my MBA and attended the graduation ceremony.
- I’ve had some major projects hit the front burner at work which have required some additional attention.
- I found some time away from work for some family time back in Sheboygan, WI (my home town).
- I’ve found a little time in the past couple days for some professional and technical development that included finally installing Ubuntu 8.04 and toying with the idea of setting up a new hosting provider for my personal sites.
With all of the things occurring around me one recurring question was posed by those close to me, “Now that you’re done with your Master what are you going to do with all your free time?” While my immediate response may have been, “I don’t know” as I consider the relief of regaining my late nights and weekend from the imposed deadlines of school I quick realize that the more appropriate answer may have been, “What free time?”
As I reflect on the question and the time spent perusing my degree in the past couple years I quickly realize that completing a college degree program isn’t the end unto itself but rather a means for other things. For me, pursuing an MBA as in part about realizing professional goals and in part continued self improvement. If I were to accept the idea that completing my MBA implied I would have “free time” I would be accepting the idea that I have met all my goals and have “perfected myself.”
Of course, when I take the question posed and frame it differently, such as, “Now that you are done with your MBA how will you prioritize your time?”, I can provide a more appropriate answer.
I will have more flexibility in my schedule to concentrate on the things that are most important or I have been forced to sacrifice in the past like family, community, self improvement, and work. Since I have eliminated a number of fixed commitments I can now gain more control over how I will schedule my time based on the priorities that will allow me to meet my long term goals an realize the person I intend to be.
Now all of this discussion may appear to be inane, self-aggrandizing, blather (and it probably is) but as I consider the lessons learned from my reflections it is worth sharing because it really speaks strategy. In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey places a focus on understanding who you aspire to be in order to establish your priorities—I do that personally and professionally on an on-going basis which allows me to ensure my time is spent doing the things that are most important to the person I intend to be. Each step, whether it is finding a new job or completing a college degree ought to be planned in consideration of your goals and they all become means to the end.
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