| The academic year has started. Classes are running. You’re getting the hang of what is where and how to get there. Other things have been sorted out, or are in process. Accommodation. Books. Food. So many things to pay attention to, much of it new, especially if you’re a first year. It can feel totally overwhelming. Slow down. Read carefully. You may find some help. In these newsletters, we will come back to one theme constantly: setting goals, and planning how to achieve them. A plan gives you control. Without it, you are like a chameleon on a box of smarties, never knowing what to do or even how to be next. There are two areas of your life which you cannot handle without a plan: money and time. They are similar in many ways. You only have a limited supply. When it’s gone, it’s gone. Your choices have what economists call opportunity cost: if you spend your time or your money on one thing, it is no longer available to spend on something else. Your choices are crucial in achieving your goals. They can lead to success and prosperity, or to disaster. |
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| So, it’s all about choices. Choices happen in this moment, but they affect tomorrow and the day after: you either spend this evening hanging out with your friends or you close your door and study. Both options will change the total amount of time AND of money you have left over tomorrow. And both options will affect your path to the SMART goal you have set yourself. (Check out our videos for some fun examples of how this plays out.) The easiest way to make sure your choices take you toward your goal, is to construct an overarching plan for both your money and your time – a budget for money, and a schedule for time. That way you actually make your choices ahead of time, so that answers become obvious: “No, I’m not going out. I study on week nights from 7 – 10.” “No, I’m not buying takeaways today. I can fit it into my budget on a weekend, but not every day.” Next week we’ll start with some clear guidelines to drawing up a monthly, weekly and daily schedule, as well as how to bring order to your to-do list. (Some of you will have seen this in our September newsletters. I hope you have been working with it!) In the meantime, think about your priorities for this year: Where do you want to be academically at the end of the year? Your time-choices will make that happen … or not. What do you want your financial situation to look like at the end of the year? Your money-choices will determine that. Enjoy the start of a new year. In the midst of all the stress and busyness, it’s fun! The GRAD team |
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| GRAD – your guide to university success is a partnership project of Ruda Landman, StudyTrust, Van Schaik Publishers and Capitec Bank |
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