It is amazing how much time it takes to work on a lecture. I am getting a lecture ready now I have given the last couple of years. So far I have probably spent 20 hours working on this already completed lecture. Reading new reviews of the area to see if there was anything new that I should incorporate, see if any figures were better than the ones I was using etc. A big part of getting the lecture ready is to make sure it flows and is understandable.

Advising honors students

I serve as an adviser for a number of honors students. This is actually a pleasure since the students are always doing so well academically. They generally are quite interesting people and are quite willing to work very hard. And probably most importantly they are self motivated. Much of my advice is about preparing for the next step - yes for almost all the students I see they are thinking about the next step - graduate school or professional school (e.g. medical, pharmacy, dental). I am sure they faced the situation in school about other students asking them why they work so hard - well it is because they have lofty goals and that is the only way to reach them.