Last year, I stepped into my graduate
department’s building with both excitement and trepidation at the prospect of
starting my PhD. The amount of requirements, professionalization opportunities,
and various paths I could pursue while in graduate school were incredibly
daunting. After seeking advice from faculty and advanced graduate students and
listening to my gut about what works for me, I’ve found various techniques to
help me organize the work I need to do in both the short and long term to help
me keep on track and plan out my tasks.
- Create an Overview of Your Graduate School Career
The big picture of
your graduate career is made up of many small puzzle pieces. Some of these
pieces can get lost if you don’t have a place to store it. To help me craft my
big picture, I created a “Grad Career Tracker” in Excel to organize my
departmental requirements, professional goals, grant application deadlines, and
teaching responsibilities. In another sheet within the same document, I created
a check-list of all my assignment deadlines, exams, writing goals, and
application deadlines for a particular semester. This way, I can easily switch
focus between my entire five-year plan and also the things I need to accomplish
in the present.
With the example that
is linked, you can customize the rows and columns to meet your specific needs.
This is also a great tool to help guide your conversations about your career
and professionalization with your faculty mentors. The most important thing to remember as you
make your own tracker, is to remember that it is YOUR tracker. Everyone’s path
will be slightly different. This tracker is also a good way for you to start
conversations about your goals with your advisor.
- Manage Specific Tasks
Now that you have a
tool to help you manage the big picture, it’s time to look at those individual
puzzle pieces. Throughout your graduate school career (especially as you are
taking classes, TAing, or RAing), you will have smaller assignments due
in-between longer-term projects. One of the first things I did was add my class
schedule and all of my deadlines to my iCalendar. I initially saw all of the
unscheduled white space as opportunities to work. However, that was not the
case. To help you manage these smaller tasks, you still need to put that work
time on your calendar. This will help you protect your time and keep track of
the things you have going on week to week. You should also take into account
the time you spend on email, in-transit, or the other pre-tasks that you need
to complete before starting your main work. Don’t be alarmed if for the first
few weeks of the semester you find that it’s taking you longer to complete an
assignment than the time you initially allotted on your calendar. Lastly, give
yourself a realistic set of goals for each day. Not only will it feel nice to
visually see your accomplishments, but you will get better at knowing what’s
doable in a day.
- Active versus Passive Brain Time
Active versus passive
brain time refers to the idea that some of your tasks will require different
amounts of attentiveness and engagement for completion. Tasks such as writing,
researching, and teaching are more active brain activities. Tasks like reading
for class or checking email require less deep engagement.
Your active versus
passive brain time will vary depending on when you feel most productive. If
you’re someone who has a lot more energy in the mornings, then you should
schedule your most intensive work for those hours. You don’t want to spend your
most alert hours on tasks that don’t do the most to advance your research
agenda. For example, I always hit an afternoon slump so I dedicate that time to
tasks like reading or checking my email.
- Self-Care and Pacing Yourself
First and foremost,
remember that the process of obtaining your PhD is a marathon and not a sprint.
You need to take care of yourself in the short-term to facilitate your success
in the long-term. This means regularly scheduling self-care into your routine
(self-care does not equal getting enough sleep or food; those things are the
foundations upon which other activities are built!).
Also, remember to be
flexible. Each semester will bring about unexpected setbacks and opportunities.
While most of this blog post is about planning ahead, you should also remember
that things will happen that are beyond your control. Be gentle with yourself
and know that in the long-run, things will work out. Remember, that your needs
and goals may change over time.
Related to
flexibility, know that each stage of your PhD will create different demands of
your time. As you are completing coursework or teaching, you will have classes
to help structure your time. When you are in the dissertation-writing phase,
your time may feel more unstructured. In that case, remember the earlier tips
on active versus passive brain time. Don’t forget that there are many tasks
associated with dissertation writing that don’t include the actual process of
putting words to a page. Breaking down your work plan to include those tasks
will also help give you structure.
5.
Finally, celebrate your
successes, whether they are big or small!
Shaquilla
Harrigan is a second-year
sociology PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses
on international development and governance in East Africa.
