Stealing the syllabus
Let’s be thieves together / Issue 1,204
Oh, hi friends!
I’m too afraid to search my archives for how many times over the past seven years I’ve used the phrase “back-to-school energy.”
Um, a lot.
But I do love structure! And a fresh notebook.
So I had this idea to basically steal something from college, and apply it to life as it exists now (far, far removed from college, how did that happen?).
I’m talking about the syllabus.
I wrote a piece about this for Quartz last week — “Hit your new goal by structuring it like a syllabus” — and how creating a syllabus can turn a goal from blobby to well-defined.
And, OK, I just have to share this case study of one…
Yesterday, Colin read my piece — and then he actually created a syllabus for a new project!
It worked!!!
This makes me so happy.
I hope it might be helpful for you, too. Here’s the quick version, and the piece with the details.
Step one: Title your course (make it something fun!).
Step two: Delight in your objective.
Step three: Absorb all the prereqs.
Step four: Chart the best possible course.
Step five: Build in a midterm and final.
And the major point: “A syllabus is a contract with yourself—and a promise of progress.”
This idea is so attractive to me right now.
We always need to see our progress.
It’s what keeps us going.
Wonderful timing as usual. I read your article on the syllabus and loved this part most: "It’s easy to dismiss quietly burbling interests ... They’re symbols that you’re not confined to one job description or a single prescribed path." This is especially inspiring because I'm not your average mid-career woman (here in Nebraska at least). I'm 65yo. I graduated from college 8 years ago, believe it or not. I went back to learn/prepare for my career after retirement; a second career, if you will. I'm not retired yet. I'm still learning and looking forward to what will come. Thanks so much for all your encouragement! It's greatly appreciated.
Love love love this. What I especially love is that the format helps guide me towards the gaps in my plan. When I can’t immediately map out the 12-week (a Canadian term length) "class descriptions", it shows me where I need to think more clearly about the steps in my goal. I added a “Course Curriculum” section, for the key resources and inputs I’d need, and it highlighted where I didn’t have enough information or had questions needing further expertise. And then, another Canadian feature – there’s a “reading week” at the half-way point for catching up and resetting. I'm delighted by the energy this is giving me on two key projects!