The 9th Habit
Blogging my exploration of the first 8 Habits.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
On Buying Textbooks: A lesson in Proactivity
A new semester begins in two weeks, and so yesterday I went to the lovely building pictured here and engaged in a time-honored ritual: Deciding to buy my textbooks a couple of weeks early and read ahead, only to discover that fewer than half of the required tomes are available at the campus bookstore.
At least, that's how the story usually goes. I average about three trips to the bookstore per term: My early attempt, a second visit the Sunday before classes begin, and at least one visit after classes commence to get the inevitable straggler book. On Sunday, as I was reviewing my projects, goals, and appointments for the week, I saw the "Buy Textbooks" item and mentally started cursing the bookstore. I assumed, per the usual course of events, that not nearly all my books would be available. I imagined myself screaming at the clerks in the aisles, terrorizing the cashier, and raising all manner of hell. I fantasized about the scathing letter I would write to management and the University, the editorial I'd submit to the student paper that would whip the whole campus into a fury...
Then, as my rage and imagination were about to run amok several facts dawned on me:
The last point is hardly consolation, of course; here I am, trying to be responsible and prepare for class, and the monopolistic textbook conglomerate is thwarting my efforts.
The irony is that I was torturing myself over the fact that the bookstore was preventing me from doing the responsible, proactive thing in the traditional sense of those terms; in response, however, I was failing to be responsible or proactive in the 7 Habits sense of the terms. I was not taking responsibility for my own response; I was not being proactive in the sense of acknowledging that the choice of actions was still my own.
I decided, then, that there were several measured ways I could respond if I was denied the opportunity to study ahead:
Within a few moments of flexing my "proactive muscles," I felt vastly better. I knew that, for once, the experience of having to wait on textbooks would not cause me undue stress or anger, and that I was going to have a great couple of weeks preparing for a new term of study.
I think this exercise paid off, too; in fact, only half of my books were available, but I had a pleasant conversation with the bookstore employee who helped me, and left the store at peace and with a smile on my face. In semesters past, I would have left scowling with a raging storm inside; I'm sure my levels of joy and productivity during the rest of the day were much improved due to this little shift.
More ideas about Being Proactive can be found here:
A new semester begins in two weeks, and so yesterday I went to the lovely building pictured here and engaged in a time-honored ritual: Deciding to buy my textbooks a couple of weeks early and read ahead, only to discover that fewer than half of the required tomes are available at the campus bookstore. At least, that's how the story usually goes. I average about three trips to the bookstore per term: My early attempt, a second visit the Sunday before classes begin, and at least one visit after classes commence to get the inevitable straggler book. On Sunday, as I was reviewing my projects, goals, and appointments for the week, I saw the "Buy Textbooks" item and mentally started cursing the bookstore. I assumed, per the usual course of events, that not nearly all my books would be available. I imagined myself screaming at the clerks in the aisles, terrorizing the cashier, and raising all manner of hell. I fantasized about the scathing letter I would write to management and the University, the editorial I'd submit to the student paper that would whip the whole campus into a fury...
Then, as my rage and imagination were about to run amok several facts dawned on me:
- For starters, I didn't even know for sure whether or not my books were in. Maybe I would be in luck this time--in which case all of my pre-shopping rage was wasted energy.
- Secondly, even if the bookstore was doing their usual mediocre job, there would be plenty of time to deal with it afterwards (and, it should be noted, there are vastly more constructive ways of dealing with it).
- Finally, however inconvenient it may be by my standards, the vast majority of students do not have any desire to buy their textbooks this far ahead of schedule. What I'm asking for is, in fact, actually fairly extraordinary service.
The last point is hardly consolation, of course; here I am, trying to be responsible and prepare for class, and the monopolistic textbook conglomerate is thwarting my efforts.
The irony is that I was torturing myself over the fact that the bookstore was preventing me from doing the responsible, proactive thing in the traditional sense of those terms; in response, however, I was failing to be responsible or proactive in the 7 Habits sense of the terms. I was not taking responsibility for my own response; I was not being proactive in the sense of acknowledging that the choice of actions was still my own.
I decided, then, that there were several measured ways I could respond if I was denied the opportunity to study ahead:
- Typically, at least one of my textbooks is available this early; if only one of two were, I would endeavor to read a text in its entirety before the first day of class. Though I would not be ahead in all of my classes as I'd prefer, I would have the satisfaction of knowing I could coast for the rest of the term in that one class.
- I could re-read one or two of my textbooks from last year. I enjoyed my Social Psychology text immensely, but haven't cracked it open in over eight months. I also have a Cognitive Psychology book that remained criminally underused during its course last spring.
- Finally, I could take the opportunity to act on the situation: Writing a reasoned letter to the management of the bookstore, sending an anonymous note to the professors involved about the importance of timely ordering, writing a thank-you note to any professors whose books were in for having the foresight to order in a timely fashion, etc.
Within a few moments of flexing my "proactive muscles," I felt vastly better. I knew that, for once, the experience of having to wait on textbooks would not cause me undue stress or anger, and that I was going to have a great couple of weeks preparing for a new term of study.
I think this exercise paid off, too; in fact, only half of my books were available, but I had a pleasant conversation with the bookstore employee who helped me, and left the store at peace and with a smile on my face. In semesters past, I would have left scowling with a raging storm inside; I'm sure my levels of joy and productivity during the rest of the day were much improved due to this little shift.
Labels: be proactive, college, follett, habit 1, initiative, proactivity, responsibility, stephen covey, textooks, the 7 habits of highly effective people, university
¶ Posted by Mark @ 1:30 PM
