Parkinson's Law - And Going to College

Parkinson's Law(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson's_Law)

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

Parkinson's law is the idea behind procrasination.  If I am given a month to write a paper that will take me an hour to write, why not wait til the morning that the paper is due to write it.  Somehow it always seems to get done.  Although I have found procrastination to be a dangerous path, developing your own timeline will help you get more things done.

I first came in contact with the principle when I began reading Tim Ferriss's Four Hour Work Week.  I don't want to say that I knew it already, but I did have a concept of it before I read it; after all, I had graduated before I had time to read the book.

My experience with college was unique.  Simply, I finished my Bachelor's of Science in two years.  Like my entire life, I never fit in and I felt compelled to go try something new.  Despite being quite compatible with Davis, things just didn't click with me.  I had learned the important life lessons early on when I was attending Davis.  The summer before my freshman year I began taking classes while living in an apartment; with 4 other housemates.  Living with anyone other than my family was an experience in itself, but having to do so while going to school required effort.  I felt as though I became completely able to live on my own or with roommates by the end of that summer.  At that point I was much less inhibited while other freshmen were just becoming acclimated.  This fed into the cycle of not fitting in.

I entered my first year as a Sophomore.  By the second quarter of "freshman" year, I was taking upper division courses.  Since they tell you that you need to complete certain courses to graduate, I took the required classes rather than general education.  I figured that the required courses are only available during certain times of the year, sometimes in a progression.  By completing my major requirements I could enjoy college later.  That philosophy changed when I used GE as filler or to absorb the credits of my work study.  Most students are allowed to declare a major in their sophomore year. By that time I had already graduated.

While I have some qualms about graduating early, I have no regrets about it.  I was able to continue my education by not receiving schooling.  I have learned more now that I am not in school, than when I was in school.  More than that however is the cost savings considering that many if not most of the UC Davis Tuition hike protestors were senior or super-senior standing students.

Back to Parkinson's Law.  Determine your goal and work to achieve that goal alone.  Despite having some quarters below 15 units, I was able to complete my major in two years because my goal was to graduate college from day one.  Understand the requirements that the classes are looking for an use your time to accomplish those tasks.  By setting yourself up to complete your goal, you can establish your timeline.  Four years is a general number given for students to develop plans to fit that time.  In my opinion, only one year might be needed.  Or seven.  It all depends on the objective of the student.  I was satisfied with the growing up I had after 2 years, therefore my college education served me no more utility.

Identify your goal and build YOUR OWN timeline.  Just because someone said it should take four years does not mean that it should take exactly four years.