Ahead of the game

It’s not a race. But you could make it into one if you wanted to.

My team and I teach our students to create their own learning plans.

It’s exciting to empower them to make their own decisions about pacing. For instance, if they want to finish an algebra textbook by April 1, they might realize that they have to do two hours outside of class each weekday. When this “homework” is self-administered and in the service of a goal, they are much more enthusiastic about it.

One of these students, Kate, is particularly effective at creating and sticking to her learning plans. Kate’s secret is to purposely make the planned workload lighter than what she is capable of so that she can always be slightly ahead and, even on a challenging week, never fall behind.

Yep, she figured this out in sixth grade. And it really works for her.

I’m the same way. I would always rather work on a project that’s due a long time from now than focus on the one with the looming deadline. I would always rather be ahead and gaining ground than about to fall behind and scrambling to catch up.

There is value in compressing timelines so as to get the maximum efficiency and focus — that’s what a deadline can do. By creating a learning plan that is driven by specific dates, Kate is able to to benefit from deadlines, but she makes a game out of increasing the gap between where she is in the learning plan and where she is “supposed” to be. So there she is on January 13, doing work meant for January 15 and hoping to get all the way to January 17th’s assignment. She’s not resting and taking it easy — she’s getting an extra boost of energy from being ahead, and this drives her to push even harder. It’s fun.

Kate enjoys having the support and encouragement of her teachers. We cheer her on and reflect her accomplishments back to her. However, if we were the ones who set the aggressive deadlines, there would be a completely different dynamic. It would no longer be her project. She would no longer be ahead. There wouldn’t be anything fun about it.

I try to keep this in mind not only in my work with students, but in managing myself. It’s always better for me to build on what’s working (“Ooh, I can go from two minutes of yoga before bed to three!”) rather than escalate my expectations (“Thirty minutes of yoga every morning, starting today!”). No matter how reasonable the task or how much I enjoy it, I will lose a lot of momentum and enthusiasm if I have to struggle to meet my own expectations, whereas if I make the project doable in the first place, I will probably end up surpassing the target I had set for myself (for instance, doing ten minutes of yoga instead of three).

Being ahead of the game creates, for people like Kate and me, a wellspring of zeal and vigor that sustains us through the ups and downs of a big project and leads to success. Could it work for you?