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IMBA Student Blog: Managing my Time for Study at the IMBA in JapanFeb 15, 2010
Since I became an IMBA student at Globis University, my life has changed dramatically! I entered the University in April, quit my job in August and started working for a “Gaishi-kei” company in September. A year ago I never thought I would lead such a busy life, but now I am gradually enjoying it.
Let me share some episodes of how I manage my time in order to study at the IMBA. One term lasts for 3 months, and I usually take 3 classes a term (some are on weeknights, and some are on weekends). One class consists of 6 sessions, so I attend about 1.5 classes per week. Consequently, I have to read several “cases” at a time, and to be honest, I can easily lose track of which case is used for which class. Anyway, I am trying to put small amounts of time together in order to do my homework.
Fortunately (or unfortunately), it takes 2 hours to go from my house to my office because I live in Setagaya-ku and my office is located near Narita Airport. Many friends use to ask me how my new work life was, and I always would say, “It is far away from my house….” The good thing is that I can utilize my time as I want during my long commute, which is 4 hours total per day.
After spending such long hours on my commute for 5 months, I have realized how to use my time efficiently. I made a rule to separate my time according to “input” or “output.” “Input” mainly means reading books or cases and “output” means summarizing my thoughts or writing assignments/reports. When I only have a small amount of time, such as 10 minutes, I use my time for “input.” On the other hand, if I have an hour to sit on the NEX (Narita Express), I definitely use my time for “output” so that I can concentrate on my creation. If I try to use my one hour as “input,” in my experience it is easy enough to take nap right after looking at the case.
These days, I feel that physically moving from one place to another is valuable to separate my work life and my private life, and my old ways of thinking from new ones. I couldn’t imagine life like this if I hadn’t started at the IMBA and switched my jobs. I am sure I will face additional changes from now on, but I would like to be a person who can enjoy any transition. And I hope the IMBA is a great training tool for me to be tolerant and positive under any circumstances.
Yoko Horiuchi
IMBA 2009
The IMBA Student Blog is updated on Gaijinpot.
Let me share some episodes of how I manage my time in order to study at the IMBA. One term lasts for 3 months, and I usually take 3 classes a term (some are on weeknights, and some are on weekends). One class consists of 6 sessions, so I attend about 1.5 classes per week. Consequently, I have to read several “cases” at a time, and to be honest, I can easily lose track of which case is used for which class. Anyway, I am trying to put small amounts of time together in order to do my homework.
Fortunately (or unfortunately), it takes 2 hours to go from my house to my office because I live in Setagaya-ku and my office is located near Narita Airport. Many friends use to ask me how my new work life was, and I always would say, “It is far away from my house….” The good thing is that I can utilize my time as I want during my long commute, which is 4 hours total per day.
After spending such long hours on my commute for 5 months, I have realized how to use my time efficiently. I made a rule to separate my time according to “input” or “output.” “Input” mainly means reading books or cases and “output” means summarizing my thoughts or writing assignments/reports. When I only have a small amount of time, such as 10 minutes, I use my time for “input.” On the other hand, if I have an hour to sit on the NEX (Narita Express), I definitely use my time for “output” so that I can concentrate on my creation. If I try to use my one hour as “input,” in my experience it is easy enough to take nap right after looking at the case.
These days, I feel that physically moving from one place to another is valuable to separate my work life and my private life, and my old ways of thinking from new ones. I couldn’t imagine life like this if I hadn’t started at the IMBA and switched my jobs. I am sure I will face additional changes from now on, but I would like to be a person who can enjoy any transition. And I hope the IMBA is a great training tool for me to be tolerant and positive under any circumstances.
Yoko Horiuchi
IMBA 2009
The IMBA Student Blog is updated on Gaijinpot.
