Minimize Friction to Maximize Functional Time

The less time you spend "in transit," the more functional time you have in your day to study, do homework, go to the gym, or relax. In economics, we call transition time "friction." Here are some tips for minimizing friction in order to maximize your functional time.

Stay "on campus"
Don't make unecessary trips back to your dorm or apartment. Even if the trips are short, you can waste a lot of time walking back and forth. If you can stay on campus until your functional day is over, you can save a lot of transportation time.

Use the library
It's close to your classes for a reason - to be convenient. You also study better in a library. Everyone thinks "I can study just fine at home." Maybe. But you study better in the library. I'm not saying you should never study at home. I did some of my best studying on relaxing evenings on my couch with music playing. It just wasn't as efficient as library studying.

Create large chunks of non-commuting functional time
Plan your day so you can maximize your non-commuting time. The fewer location changes you make, even on campus, the more time you have for everything else. When possible, group activities (like meetings, gym trips, etc) together and with classes, rather than with spaces in between them, to maximize the size of your available time chunks. Packing up your stuff, traveling to an activity, returning, unpacking, and refocusing takes a lot of time.


Remember, more functional time means more fun time too. Make the most of your time by reducing your friction!