Day 115: 40%

Now that P2 is over, guess this kinda means that I'm 40% done with the MBA. It is really surreal when I think about it. Attended the graduation party of the "senior" class last night. I'm sure they must be feeling like it's a lot more surreal that they're actually done. They're alumni now! Congratulations to the class of 10'D! Now go out there and make us all proud and convince employers to hire more INSEAD students. ;)


4 months in and I can tell you that pursuing an MBA feels very much like having a full-time job at times. The hours can be long, you may have last minute meetings that crop up and it can all be quite stressful at times trying to juggle everything and finding the right balance between school and life outside of school. Of course in this case it's a somewhat interesting dynamic as you are paying to participate in this rather than being paid to do all the work. That might explain why you can always decide to skip a class and take a nap if you want. You are the customer after all. Sometimes on particularly long days, it's not uncommon to see people sprawled out on the floor of the quiet room in the library "recharging". If anyone knows of a job that allows naps in the afternoon and yet still pays decently, please let me know. ;)

I've felt particularly stretched at times because I'm back home and there's not only so much going on in school but also so much going on outside of school for me. Oddly enough, working life overseas was much less complicated than student life is back home but the same organisation and management tools that I learnt while working still apply even as a student. I find myself constantly having to manage expectations of friends and family when it comes to the amount of time I have for them. People often think that just because you're a student, you naturally have more time which isn't always the case. When you're back home, you tend to have so many more things pulling you in different directions all at the same time that it's hard to prioritise the ones that you should/want to attend to. You really have to pick your battles as you can't win them all. If you choose to spread yourself too thin, you just end up losing them all.

I heard an interesting talk show on the radio today and they were discussing the idea that having less choice actually makes us happier as there is a lower opportunity cost of things you are forgoing as a result of your choice and there's a much lower search cost to find something that you want/like. Up to a certain point, choice is good. Beyond that point, it potentially generates negative emotions. They used the example of choosing sometime to eat off a really extensive restaurant menu but I can definitely see how it applies more generally towards life. Choosing just one thing to do among a wide range of options is often much harder than choosing one thing to do among a much more limited selection.