Procrastination is a favorite tool of many. We wait until the deadline gets closer before we truly start to work on a project, assignment, relationship, etc. In the world of education the cure-all for procrastination is extra credit. There are some valuable parallels to be drawn between our approach to work, and our approach to health. Here are 3 things extra credit can teach us about health.
It can be easy to put things off when there is not an immediate need for it to be done. This is consistently found in the classroom. Students like to wait until the end of the semester to ask for extra credit. This happens because they don’t see their overall grade until the end. At that point they seek to remedy the situation.
One way to combat this is by offering extra credit assignments at the beginning of the semester. In doing this you can teach a lifelong lesson of doing work now instead of waiting until the end. This causes students to see the importance of doing more when they don’t have to. This helps them to plan ahead in case they may need it in the future. Rather than waiting to see if they’ll need it, they just do it and get it.
Another place where a search for “extra credit” is found is within hospital units. People are healing having after a stroke, heart attack, or bout with cancer. Many patients ask, “what can I do to change what is happening”? Or “how do I prevent this from happening again”? And there is always, “how can I get better” as well as many others that follow the same sentiment.
In essence, patients are asking, “can I get some extra credit”?
Without further delay, here they are: 3 things extra credit can teach us about health
Lesson 1 – Extra credit and health
Don’t wait to get bad news before you start trying to take care of potential problems. We know the semester will end. We know we will get old. As we get older we lose muscle mass and increase likelihood of developing an illness. The effects of poor health compound.
Lesson 1 is “Do not wait for extra credit to save you.”
You have assignments all throughout the semester that you can do well on. Similarly, don’t wait for medical advice post diagnosis to start healthy habits. Take the time to plan ahead on the grade you want in the class. Consider the kind of life you want, rather than just waiting to see what happens.
It can be hard with health because you don’t always get to see the immediate return on your actions. But as you will see in lesson 2, doing the work now will pay dividends.
There are often things you can do in the class to get extra credit. There are some assignments you can resubmit for half-credit and there may be extra credit assignments you can turn in. But these do not give that student the same credit they would have received for similar work. Had it been submitted correctly, and on time, the first time they would get more for their efforts.
That leads to lesson number 2 on what extra credit can teach us about health.
Lesson 2 – half credit for Half health
When students receive the opportunity to obtain extra credit, there are a few approaches that students take.
First, they feel like they are getting away with being a slacker throughout the semester. All because they have one last chance to improve their grade.
Second, they can view it as a bonus in a paycheck just to pad their bank account.
Third, they are saved by the skin of their teeth. As a result they of extra credit don’t have to take a bad grade in a course. And they “know they could have passed if they actually tried”.
Finally, some will view it as extra work, and that their grade is fine, so they don’t need to do it.
Unfortunately, they are missing the point that they are doing different work, and sometimes more work, for a lesser reward. They are doing assignments that will not reward them the same that all of the normal assignments would. Rather than being worth 100 points, the extra credit is only worth 40, for the same amount of work. Check out this article if you are interested in investing, and want to know how your risk aversion relates to health.
Lesson 2 is that doing it up front pays dividends and compound interest
It is always better to do the extra credit than not. However, why not do the work upfront so that you can experience the benefits of it. Why not get the experience, the application, the perspective that you will gain as a result of learning more?
You can start eating well when you’re 50 and trying to manage a disease. Or you can start eating well at 23 and delay diseases and experience health longer.
Once we have an illness participating in healthy behaviors can assist with managing that illness, preventing its severity, and improving overall health. Yet, participating in those healthy behaviors before there is a health scare can be life changing. You can delay the onset of a disease, prevent a disease, and even increase resiliency if diagnosed.
If you are going to run, swim, kayak, zumba, basketball, or lift weights you are going to gain mental and physical strength that will help you navigate life. Rather than feeling required to do it after a diagnosis consider all of the life you’ll experience with your health.
With our health, why not do more up front?
To bring this back to students, those who don’t put in the effort up front are more stressed at the end of the semester. That lack of preparation and organization during the semester compounds at the end. Similarly, those who do not take of themselves now will have more concerns later.
Lesson 3 – learning from extra credit
When extra credit is our only saving grace, we will take anything we can get. You will not get everything you want, but it will extend your situation for a little while. Maybe you can end the semester with a “C”. Or you extend your life a little bit longer. But you’ll have a weakened immune system, be required to take life-long medications starting at 32, or need surgeries.
So, what is the end game we seek? What extra credit can I give myself now to prevent the end-of-the-semester freak out?
Learning from the past is the third lesson.
If you’ve had previous “semesters” where you relied on extra credit to get you through then take the time to reflect on how you could have done better. Did it play out the way you wanted it to? What would you have done differently? How can you do better?
The goals with health is to stay healthy and delay illness.
It is is better to take care of your health and not develop a disease. However, if you have a disease, it is better to take care of it than to ignore it. It is always better to do something.
The hope with health, is that you do not rely on extra credit. That you don’t just “take what you can get”. Instead, you take action when you are a position of freedom and control. So, these were 3 things extra credit can teach us about health.
In the spirit of post semester reflection, do you prefer extra credit or would you rather get full credit for the work you do?
If you’re looking for ways to be proactive with your health rather than wait for things get bad, be sure to join our email list for new articles as they come out.
Article written by Zach Cordell, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist at www.cordellnutrition.com