Someone PLEASE remind me, next time I get all enthusiastic about going to our department's series on professional development, how depressed I always feel afterwards. Here's a short (incomplete) list of the things I haven't been doing this term to strategically prepare for finishing my degree and having a life afterwards:
1. meet with advisor weekly.
2. continuously work on and refine dissertation proposal. Hell, I don't even really have a TOPIC!!
3. plan to attend annual conference.
4. present paper at said conference.
5. have contacts all lined up for summer pre-dissertation fieldwork.
6. have applied for funding for said fieldwork.
7. have detailed work plan for said fieldwork, with full set of alternatives if contingencies arise.
8. have detailed reading list to squeeze maximum efficiency out of 4 weeks between semesters. Jesus. My life is MORE complicated and busier during the holiday break than during the busiest time of the semester!
I am sure there is more, but that is PLENTY. Egads. It almost makes me want to go back to the relatively simple problem of worrying only about my seminar paper. (I'm about 700 words behind on my word count, btw. I blame the cat.)
Posted by otto0114 at December 10, 2004 08:23 AMMeet with your advisor weekly?! Do they really recommend that? My advice, Sno-cones, is not to stress the "shoulds." The ideal isn't really possible--instead, just celebrate each step that is forward progress.
Posted by: Summer in Portland at December 13, 2004 12:47 AMIn six years of grad school I have not once ever felt like I was doing all that which I should be doing. Come to think of it, I don't know any...wait... I've never even heard of any grad students who felt they were living up to their potential and doing all that ought to be done.
Posted by: Jim at December 13, 2004 09:49 PM