Adam’s Apple #6: Time Management – Flat Hat News

Adam Jutt ’25 is a mathematician and economist from Cincinnati, Ohio who writes articles occasionally. Contact him at adjutt@wm.edu.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own.

The new year of the Adam’s Apple has arrived. For those who don’t know it – for example, people who are just starting out, almost everyone who is not new – Adam’s Apple is part of Flat Hat advice. That means you can post questions (usually asked on an Instagram story) and I’ll pick one each week to answer. Because this is it officer paper advice column, everything I say represents the true opinions and beliefs of The Flat Hat and all its employees. (Editor’s note: That’s not true.)

This week’s question reads: “Adam, how am I using my time with all my responsibilities this semester?”

Great question for the beginning of the semester! Most of my shoes at this point would write the following seven hundred and fifty words: prioritizing, reducing commitments if necessary, leaving room for rest and social events, and – preferably – use a planner or calendar. I’m not big.

George Orwell famously said that “Journalism prints what someone else does not want to print; everything is social relations.”

I do not take my responsibility as a journalist lightly. I am proud of doing this the right way, even though it is difficult. If I lose position, reputation, or even life because of my honesty, so be it. I can’t be bought. I can’t be forced. I can’t be controlled. I will no longer worship corporations, interest groups, dollars, government or culture. These words confirm two things: 1) I am dangerous, and 2) I am always in danger.

I start with such an introduction to the grave because what I am going to say in this article will surprise many. It will worry many. It will be revolting to some. My friends will become my enemies, and my enemies will use my words as weapons to end my work. I will be removed from my high-profile job here at Adam’s Apple and land who knows where: perhaps part of the second-rate tabloid pop culture that is rapidly changing, circulating in the stores of fewer and fewer groceries each quarter. Like I said, so be it.

With that out of the way, it’s time to reveal my secret. Here are the media breakdowns:

I don’t use a calendar or planner, and I think life is much better that way.

Yes, you read that correctly. There was no typo. I don’t have a paper calendar. I don’t have a digital calendar. I only have a mental calendar.

When I plan with my friend to have lunch next Thursday, I don’t write it down anywhere. When I’m clearly told by my superiors to pull out my phone and write down the dates of upcoming meetings and events, I simply log into the ESPN app and check the information. When I need to remind myself what time my classes are in the first few days of school, I go to registration.wm.edu and type in the name of my class.

I only have a mental calendar. You should do the same.

I’m sure you have a few objections to the lifestyle I’ve just described and encouraged you to live. It’s because you’ve been brainwashed by the establishment. She is a Big Planner doll. However, it may not be too late to see the light. If you give me a chance to explain the joy of calendar-less-ness, I believe you can still be set free.

The first objection that you may have “anticipated” (or rather, been instilled in you by your puppeteer) is this idea that without a plan or calendar, you are often I forgot the events. I can speak from experience and say that this is a lie, plain and simple. It is true that I have not forgotten the event that I said I would go to in four whole days. Four days! It’s a long time. Three more and God would have completed the new universe and I slept well. Anyway, I finally remembered and arrived after half an hour. First objection, consider yourself legally rejected.

The second, more subtle, argument is that having to mentally adjust to every commitment you have, no matter how far in the future, can be exhausting and stressful. You would lay your head on the pillow every night and wonder if you missed a meal and hurt your friend in the process. You’ll always be scared to double-book yourself in March (because whenever someone asks you if you’re free for something longer than two weeks, you really don’t know so you just say yes). Even though all of that will happen – every day is a schedule-based worry – you’ll be stronger for it! Most of your mental energy will be devoted to remembering the days and times when your brain will need to recruit new areas and neurons to do other things like numbers and language. You will become superhuman! Second objection, destroyed!

The real joy of a mental calendar is that it does all the “managing” for you. With a physical calendar, if you have to decide between two similar events, you have to make a hard, careful choice to cut one. With a mental calendar, you will attend any event you remember – or maybe not! Its wisdom follows from the simple heuristic that whatever consumes your thoughts should consume your time. The things you remember, and therefore remember to pay attention to, are the things you don’t know are your most important responsibilities. If something is slippery, it was not meant to stay.

The other less itsy-bitsy thing about those benefits, for me at least, is that I don’t see them. I feel bad about myself whenever I forget something. I behave excessively and hyper-neurotically to avoid “slipping” at all costs, which completely undermines my argument and means that the mental calendar causes me to suffer endlessly and unnecessary.

Once I figure out how to get over that little kink, though, the mental calendar route will be truly perfect.

Hope that helps!

– Adam