Feeling like you need some structure?
On June 14th, Let’s Talk Grad School turned one year! Now, I’m hoping you can help me make it to 800 subscribers by the end of the summer. Know anyone starting their first year of grad school? Know anyone applying to grad school this year? My goal is to reach as many prospective social science PhD students as possible in an effort to reduce barriers to participation and demystify the higher education hidden curriculum. Subscribe here: letstalkgradschool.substack.com.
Our 34th and 35th book winners are Claudia Sehl (current PhD student) and Anurada Amarasekera (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).
It’s summer for those of us in the northern hemisphere! With that (typically) comes a break between academic years and an intense desire to make progress on new and old projects. Progress seems inevitable given (often) fewer administrative, teaching, and class responsibilities. Yet, I struggled my first few summers in grad school precisely due to this lack of structure. Paradoxically, the more time I had on my hands, the more stress I felt. So, what are some things you can do to help you make the most of your summer, both professionally and personally, and avoid the stress that can come when lacking structure?
Make a plan. With so much time on our hands, it’s easy to procrastinate and table responsibilities and making progress toward goals until “later.” Don’t fall into this summer trap! Work with your advisor (and/or other trusted mentors) to map out summer goals, break them down into their component parts, and identify how you’re going to evaluate progress toward those goals (noting what is and is not outside of your control). To do this, consider making use of great resources that are already available. For example:
Dr. Barbara Sarnecka has made her book, The Writing Workshop, freely available via the Open Science Framework (check out the OSF page here). As a part of her online offerings, she has included templates for term plans. Term plans are meant to provide an overview of your planned activities on a week-by-week basis for a set amount of time. Consider working with your advisor to map out your planned activities for the summer, especially your first summer. You may also consider sharing a version of your term plan via a collaborative document like Google Sheets.
Dr. Sa-kiera Hudson created a fantastic worksheet for generating summer writing goals (link to the worksheet here). Conceptually, there’s some overlap between the term plans linked above and the worksheet created by Dr. Hudson; however, what I love about Dr. Hudson’s worksheet is that she walks you step-by-step through the goal-setting process and helps you identify your top priorities more explicitly. This may be especially helpful if you are unable to collaborate with an advisor or mentor on your goals.
Check in with other students. As will often be the case, current students are one of your best resources as a new(er) PhD student. It is completely appropriate to ask other students how they navigate and structure their summers, including how they build in breaks. Are you expected to take courses? Are there lab and/or department meetings to attend? What are typical summer research activities for junior (and senior) students? If there are other students in your lab, definitely talk to them. They should have a good sense of your advisor’s expectations and what summer mentorship looks like with them.
Know your requirements. In addition to checking in with other students, be sure to consult your program handbook (I hope you have one!) and, if necessary, check in with your program (or graduate) chair. I know some students who have been required to write literature review-type papers over the summer. At Michigan, I was required to write an overview of my summer activities in order to receive my summer stipend. So, when figuring out your requirements, know what is required for your degree and what else may be required for funding, etc. Your program may have no summer requirements or they may have several. Do everything you can to remain in good standing with your program!
Build out your schedule. Once you’ve identified your goals and requirements, it’s time to find the time to make it all happen. Here, time blocking can be your best friend. Time blocking entails breaking your day up into chunks and assigning tasks to specific blocks of time. For example, I may decide that I am going to write every day from 9am-11am, recruit participants from 11am-12pm, and then be available to run participants from 1pm-4pm. Imposing structure in this way can be very helpful for those who need it. You can find more information about time blocking, along with other time-related methods, here. Oh, and when time blocking (or really when using any other method), be open to revising your schedule as needed. It’s going to take some time to find a system and schedule that work for you.
Make time for breaks. For some, it can be tempting to work nonstop in the summer. After all, summers are prime data collection times for those of us studying children!! For others, it can feel “wrong” to take time off (perhaps we feel we don’t deserve it and/or worry about being judged negatively). Yet, breaks are so, so necessary. Stepping away can help us return to our work with fresh eyes. Stepping away can also create space for us to (re)connect with others and nurture relationships that may have been relegated to the back burner during the academic year. If unable to take or uncomfortable taking large chunks of time off, build in some 3-day weekends. Explore your (new) city! Immerse yourself in a good book! Learn how to make a new meal! Stepping away doesn’t always have to be a grand gesture. It can be as simple as waking up without a plan and seeing how the day unfolds.
Invest in your communities. Although many students volunteer and engage in activism during the academic year, summers can be a great time get involved in communities in new ways. Perhaps you are in a position to help care for and/or supply a community fridge or maybe you have a few hours a week to help teach computer literacy at a local library. Whatever your availability (i.e., weekly, monthly, one-time), there are likely to be opportunities. Even better if you can get some other students involved!
Consider outside employment. Stipends are often inadequate and many students would like to take on additional employment. At the same time, it’s not always possible to do this (e.g., many departments simply don’t allow it and/or there may be visa implications). If wanting to secure temporary (or long-term) outside employment, I highly recommend checking in with your program office. You may also want to check in with your advisor before you finalize your plans. I also know that sometimes students need to work outside the system and hope for the best (this is an unfortunate reality that I’m not going to pretend doesn’t exist).
EXTRACURRICULAR #1: DR. LORENA ACEVES
Many scholars display amazing talents outside the classroom, lab, studio, etc. In “Extracurricular,” I would like to share these talents to highlight the importance of pursuing passions outside one’s typical work (whatever typical means for you). These “outside” talents often inform our research approaches and, importantly, help us think about things in new ways. If you have something you’d like featured, please let me know! I would love to see your creations of any kind. I welcome contributions from folks at all career stages.
For this first installment, with permission, I am re-sharing a poem written by Dr. Aceves (originally shared via Twitter).
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