New Academic Year

“For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning."
(Little Gidding) ― T.S. Eliot

The new academic year is upon us. Proverbial pencils are being sharpened, syllabi are being finalised, vacations are coming to an end.

To some, this brings about melancholy. To you, it should prompt a sense of joy and eagerness. The new academic year awaits a new student, a new professional, a new you! 

This is not an ill-fated stab at a motivational speech. It is, simply put, the truth. 

With every new academic year you are granted the opportunity to reinvent yourself. You are essentially faced with a dilemma. The first choice, powered by the quasi-omnipotent power of inertia, is to remain the same. Were you a person that always waited for a deadline to sting before starting to work? Someone who always made half-hearted attempts to finish essays and deliver on work streams? Someone who adopted subpar study/sleeping/work habits? You are, once again, free to choose to remain the same. 

On the other hand, there is always another door. Now, free from last year's frustrations and shortcomings, you can start anew. You can scrutinise your habits, examine any feedback received and put together a strategy.

How can you improve? Start with the smallest, most imperceptible, improvement that seems feasible to you. Iterate until repetition carves this new habit into the fabric of your life. Standardise before you optimise. Reap the benefits. 

Starting is always hard, but if it was easy everyone would do it. Don't overthink it, just start. In the words of author Alan Cohen: “Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.”