Our 28th and 29th book winners are Milena Kinga Berestko (prospective PhD student) and Kathy Vo (prospective PhD student)! Be sure to enter the book giveaway for your chance to win a copy of A Field Guide to Grad School! More details below (at the end of the post).
I’m really feeling the weight of spring term. After a long and intense job market cycle, I secured a fantastic assistant professor position in marketing at Stony Brook University. I’m now tasked with managing a big move, prepping a new course to teach in the fall (Social Media Marketing), and transitioning my projects to a new institution. And I’m doing this while continuing to move research forward, assisting with an MBA course, and managing responsibilities related to my postdoc funding. There’s nothing too exceptional about my to-do list—yet, I’m quite tired. So what am I’m going to do about it?
I love the water, so imagine my delight when my partner let me know we would be taking a ferry from Estonia to Finland. While on the ferry, I was quite entertained by the number of birds taking advantage of the free ride to land (see just one above). Perhaps we can learn something from these birds — like take advantage of supports as they become available (or even seek them out!). This is easier said than done, but something certainly worth practicing. For now, I share a few things that I’m doing this week to help me rest while still allowing me to move important work forward. Let’s call this “The 3 Rs.”
REST. If not trying to come up with a cute name for this package of strategies, I’d call this strategy, “Trim the Fat.” That is, give yourself time to rest by cutting out things that aren’t important or pressing. What this looks like for me is: 1) not adding any meetings to my schedule, 2) generating a concrete list of to-dos for each day and not feeling compelled to add in any “reach” items, 3) deliberately creating space for activities that bring me joy (e.g., mailing books to prospective PhD students, posting book reviews to Instagram, walking my dog), and 4) going grocery shopping to stock up on good food (and avoid highly-processed takeout). I’ll also spend time (re)connecting with friends and exercising.
Keep in mind that what looks like rest for you may not look like rest for someone else. My “restful” week may, in practice, look busier than my intense work weeks, which have me at my desk for 12+ hours a day. You get to decide how you best recharge and take care of yourself.
REVIEW. Related to resting and “trimming the fat,” it’s good to allocate time to reviewing the expectations that you have of yourself, that you have of others, and that others have of you. Sometimes we get tired because we haven’t set reasonable expectations (nor reasonable boundaries). Rather than experience intermittent, intense periods of work, my goal is to develop a sustainable workflow that doesn’t require multiple recovery days each week. To regain some balance, I have stepped away from research projects, requested extensions, and renegotiated timelines with coauthors. You may find that you need to do the same at some point in your training. Know that it’s completely normal. In fact, it’s expected.
REFLECT. Take stock of what you’ve done and think through where you want to go. While doing this, you may surprise yourself with all that you have done (and by writing it down, you will have record of your progress when you’re feeling like you’re falling behind). You may also identify opportunities for you to better manage your time moving forward.
Upon reflection, I know that a lot of the “tired” I’m feeling is a result of making too many promises to too many coauthors/collaborators. To make sure I’m not feeling like I’m feeling now in another month or so, I’m going to need to table or renegotiate my role on some projects. In some cases, I’ll just need to ask for help even though I don’t want to (I want to be able to do it all!).
Speaking of resting, reviewing, and reflecting… I will be posting less frequently this summer (June-August). If there are topics you’d like me to discuss for sure, please let me know!
And just for fun…
What I’m reading this week: The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington
What I’m playing this week: NYT Spelling Bee
What I’m listening to this week: 00s House Music Classics on Spotify
What I hope to eat this week: Nachos
RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT
In this section, I highlight resources you may find helpful as you navigate the PhD application process as well as the PhD itself. This week, I’m highlighting a few Twitter threads on “managing up” and presenting your research.
If you’d like to see a specific resource appear here, please share the relevant information via this survey. And remember, I maintain a running list of resources here.
On managing up: Knowing how to (re)direct your advisor can be difficult. In this thread, Wes Kao shares some important tips for “managing up” and making sure your boss knows what you are asking and needing from them.
On communicating your findings: In this thread, Dr. Larisa Heiphetz walks you through how to generate a thoughtful presentation that considers your audience’s perspective.
On designing effective slides: Slides should complement your presentation, not give it for you. Check out Dr. Dorsa Amir’s helpful thread on how to design effective slides.
How to reach me: You are always welcome to email me (letstalkgradschool@gmail.com) or find me on Twitter @tweetsbymidge.
Want to support my #hiddencurriculum efforts? Consider “buying me a coffee” via Ko-fi. All funds will be put back into my Let’s Talk Grad School initiatives (i.e., weekend groups, buying/mailing books, etc.). Learn more about my efforts here.
Let’s give away some books: Readers located in the United States and Canada are eligible to enter the book giveaway to receive a copy of A Field Guide to Grad School by Dr. Jessica Calarco. To do so, complete this survey and note that you only have to complete it once to be entered in all subsequent giveaways! I do hope to expand the reach of the giveaway; however, at the moment, the shipping costs are too great to scale. If you’d like to talk about ways your institution could secure an electronic (or hard) copy, please let me know.
Until next time!
Margaret
Enjoy the break and hopefully you’ll get back refreshed!