The MRR Day

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The theme these days is the glaring difference in the MBA life I'm leading today compared to last year.

The best example is today, Friday.

But what's with Fridays, anyway?

One year ago, Friday was notorious for being the day our class had to accomplish our individual Written Analysis of Cases (WACs). It was a test in a lot respects, all right. WACs tested your stamina, energy, your decision-making and your drive to accomplish something. The approach was like a mission Jim Phelps would get in Mission: Impossible-- You had 15 hours to write a paper or else you get a zilch, as simple as that. It also meant that your social life was virtually suspended in limbo.

For our electives term that started more than two months ago, Fridays are now designated as our "MRR Day," or a free day for us to do things related to our Management Research Report-- and that usually meant doing research on various data sources, going to our proponents' offices to do interviews or just bunking on the library writing the paper itself. Good thing our MRR coordinator, Prof. Titos Ortigas, maintains a website that contains key announcements and information regarding MRR matters. Otherwise, I wouldn't be reminded to make sure there's progress in my project.

So you see, the challenge for our batch now is still to accomplish something, but with something more long term. The deadline may be months away, but we still need to be motivated to ensure progress without a ticking clock. Because if you keep thinking the deadline is still far away, you may end up spending your Fridays the same way you did a year ago-- beating the choking-tight deadline.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Manner is the external symbol of man’s inner nature. It indicates his character. But sometimes it hides the real character of a man. A man may be rough or rude to others outwardly but in worldly he may have a good heart...
August 29, 2008 at 8:10 PM
Dr. Mark said…
Make sure you download the More Than Money book in PDF from which my publisher has given free to your school. This career guide on how to have a meaningful life and successful career, written by former HBS student and professor, co-founder of Net Impact, Mark Albion -- me -- also has a 3-minuted animated movie, The Good Life Parable, with it. "Mark Albion" on YouTube or FaceBook will get it.

enjoy and send me your comments at drmark@more-than-money.org
August 29, 2008 at 8:26 PM
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