OptimalWork October Challenge---October 1st to October 23rd
The OptimalWork Challenge is designed to help you engage in a meaningful way with the tools and content of the program, as well as with other campus resources. You can earn points by watching short videos, completing GoldenHours, completing Morning Preps and Evening Reviews, setting up a project with an OptimalWork tutor, using the Reframer tool (new to the 2026 Challenge), listening to audio shorts, and engaging with our Google Classroom. Our data shows that overall, students who use OptimalWork effectively have more fulfilling and successful academic, personal, and emotional lives. Our hope is to encourage you to make use of this UD-provided resource for your personal benefit, and for the benefit of all whom you encounter--and maybe win some cool prizes, too!
New to the 2026 October Challenge: A full team (10 participants) will earn a bonus 400 points! Also, prize offerings will be broken down by group size---groups between 2-5 will be offered one set of prizes; groups between 6-10 will be offered a different set of prizes.
October Prizes!
Individual prizes include:
-
-
Forno Party for eveyone who earns at least 150 points
**Top overall scorer, either individual or through a team, can choose their own incentive of up to $200. This can be an individual award, or they can invite friends! (subject to approval)
Team prizes include:
- Babette's Feast Movie Night and Dinner with Father Mallick (6-10)
- Hologram making experiment with Dr. Moldenhauer (6-10)
Guided tour of the Dallas Museum of Art with lunch afterwards with Dr. Harold and Dr. Voisin (6-10) - Pool Hall Challenge in the Dumb Ox with Dr. Shelby (2-5)
- Oak Cliff Auto Tour of the Blues Guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan plus appetizers with Dr. Roper. Students will go on an auto tour of the areas in Oak Cliff where he was born, where he grew up, where he went to school, where he started playing. See a memorial to him and his brother in Kiest Park, go to his grave in Laurel Land in far south Oak Cliff, and then end up at the Texas Theatre, where musical greats like Stevie Wonder took part in a memorial to him. Winners will need to help drive. (6-10)
- Opera outing with Dr. Rodriguez (2-5)
- Afternoon Tea and the ‘Photography’s First Century Exhibition’ at the Kimbell Art Museum with Dr. Romanick Baldwin (2-3)
- Brunch with students at Monaco with Dr. Kaisersatt (2-5)
- Beginner Knitting Project and lunch with Prof. Stubbs (2-5)
- **Top overall scorer, either individual or through a team, can choose their own incentive of up to $200. This can be an individual award, or they can invite friends! (subject to approval)
-
1. Accept your premium subscription to OptimalWork.
Go into your @udallas.edu email to find the invitation, and accept it using the links provided. If you cannot find your invitation, please email destubbs@udallas.edu
2. Sign up for the Challenge.
Use the form below to input your information. When you fill out the form, please use the email associated with your OptimalWork account (this should be your UD email).
Note: If you have forgotten your OptimalWork password, just hit the “forgot password” button on the login page. If you do not have an email invitation from OptimalWork for a UD account, email Prof. Stubbs at destubbs@udallas.edu. But first, please search your email for invitations from OptimalWork.
3. Accumulate points.
You will begin accumulating points by using various OptimalWork tools and resources from October 1st until Ocotber 23rd. The full point breakdown is below:
Points Breakdown
| Golden Hour (Maximun of 5 per day)--Be sure to hit "break" after the hour is complete | 10 points each |
| Set up a project with an OW Tutor (Maximum of 3 per week) | 50 point each |
| Complete a Morning Prep or an Evening Review | 6 points each |
| Watch one Masterclass or Overcoming Anxiety Class | 6 points each for a new view; 4 points each for a re-view |
| Use the Reframer Tool (Maximum of 2 per day) | 8 points each |
| Listen to an audio short | 3 points each |
| Gathering a full team (10 members) | 400 point bonus |
| Submitting reflections and responses in the OptimalWork Google Classroom (Maximum of 3 per day) | 5 points each |
Special Tips:
For a Golden Hour to count in the system, it must be done through the modules on OptimalWork.com AND you must complete a break at the end of each Golden Hour.
Participation in this challenge is voluntary, but we hope that participants will enjoy the challenge of the competition, and that they will benefit from all of the resources the OptimalWork program has to offer and from the growth that it inspires. If you have any questions, please contact Prof. Darcy Stubbs at destubbs@udallas.edu.