Author’s note: I’m about to overuse a food metaphor, so you might want to grab a snack. At Wesleyan, faculty talk to their advisees about “The Rule of Seven.” This time management strategy says college students should have no more than seven commitments at once. That includes classes, sports, leadership roles, volunteer commitments, work study jobs, relationships, hobbies, and anything else that regularly demands a student’s time and attention. In this age of frenetic resume-building and schedule-cramming, keeping the number to seven is not easy. During the first two weeks at Wesleyan alone, new students attend an academic fair to learn about 1,000 courses offered in 46 departments and an activities fair that boasts 317 groups scrambling to collect email addresses and claim spots in the precious seven. And, all that’s for a campus of fewer than 3,000 students. So let’s just admit it, most students don’t limit their list to…
