Thanks for this! I might be more optimistic about how compatible our advice is—I’d say students should cut out both class and non-class activities that don’t go far toward advancing their goals. I’d also be curious to hear:
It sounds like maybe you consider the credential, networking, or research opportunities offered by universities to be significantly less valuable than classes (“Classes are usually the most valuable thing offered by a university ”). If so, what’s the thinking behind that?
You write: “You shouldn’t cut classes until you’ve already cut out many other non-educational low impact things. ” I’m not sure I follow—wouldn’t it be better to cut out both at the same time?
Maybe the worry is that low-impact activities like video games will expand to fill spare time? But for people who struggle with that, this caveat from the post seems applicable: “Some people’s productivity benefits a lot from oversight/accountability/deadlines. If that’s the case for you, consider alternatives to classes which provide that structure, e.g. part-time supervised work or collaborations.”
Thanks for this! I might be more optimistic about how compatible our advice is—I’d say students should cut out both class and non-class activities that don’t go far toward advancing their goals. I’d also be curious to hear:
It sounds like maybe you consider the credential, networking, or research opportunities offered by universities to be significantly less valuable than classes (“Classes are usually the most valuable thing offered by a university ”). If so, what’s the thinking behind that?
You write: “You shouldn’t cut classes until you’ve already cut out many other non-educational low impact things. ” I’m not sure I follow—wouldn’t it be better to cut out both at the same time?
Maybe the worry is that low-impact activities like video games will expand to fill spare time? But for people who struggle with that, this caveat from the post seems applicable: “Some people’s productivity benefits a lot from oversight/accountability/deadlines. If that’s the case for you, consider alternatives to classes which provide that structure, e.g. part-time supervised work or collaborations.”