Grad Student Mental Health
Dear to my semi-serious runner's ear was a comparison of time management in grad school to running a marathon vs. a sprint (will you ever finish at your current pace? will you survive at your current pace?), and the mandatory discussion on prioritizing based on importance, not urgency. A few suggestions involved:
- Emotional management: no negative talk, letting go of guilt;
- Stress management: take breaks, reward yourself, take care of your physical health;
- Buiding a support network: family, friends, mentors (and I would have to add bloggers!).
Web resources:
- Mental health tips: http://www.gradmentalmakeover.com
- Time management: there are lots of programs out there, just pick one that works for you (i.e. http://www.tickspot.com)
- Task management: also lots of choices (I use Remember the milk)
- Mind mapping: http://freemind.sourceforge.net
- Reference management: Papers for Mac (I use this one), EndNote, RefWorks
- Ph.D. Comics http://www.phdcomics.com/
- You and your research by R.Hamming (1986)
- How to be a star engineer by R.Kelley (1999)
- The unwritten rules of PhD research by G.Rugg and M.Petre (2004)
- Writing your dissertation in 15 minutes a day by Joan Bolker (1998)
- The 7 habits of highly effective people by S.Covey (1989)
- Emotional inteligence: why it can matter more than IQ by D.Goleman (1995)
This is all I've got in my notes, but if you have other suggestions, please add them in the comments!
9 comments:
I'm pleased to see that PhD comics made your list. I would say it is absolutely essential!
thank you, this is oh so very timely for me. time (and motivation) management for class, lab work, home life, presentations (both for lab meetings and conferences) and homework for my courses has disintegrated to just trying to stay afloat. this doe not make for a happy or healthy grad student.
Academic - agreed :)
Quiet - I hear you! And thanks for delurking!
So this kind of advice is tossed around frequently...because it is really good advice. The missing piece of info is how to get your PI on board with the whole thing.
Why on earth should I be taking time for my physical/mental health when I could be using that time to do science?
I know I should do those things, but when the guy who pays the bills insists it can wait until the next expereiment is finished, and the one after that and the one after that...what to do then?
I think that they should require PIs to attend sessions like the one you describe.
AmbivalentAcademic - very true! Many advisors push to the breaking point, so I think part of grad school is also learning when/how to push back. The most successful grad students I know in real life guard their personal time -> are more productive -> are in a better position to push back. I am still trying to learn all of that myself.
Good post! I'll have to check out some of those sites. I agree that it's hard to push back and tell Advisor that I have to take some time off, but it's looking like it'll be worth it.
Amanda - pushing back is definitely worth it. There has been at least a handful of times when I seriously thought of quitting, but luckily was able to take a break and reevaluate my situation instead of making a rash decision. I am still working on pushing back lightly, just enough to not get to the "why am I here?" point on a daily/weekly basis.
i actually miss my master's program (different school than my ph.d) not for the classes, project or advisor, but because i had a running group that went out at least twice weekly and usually three times. we were all female students and would brainstorm/vent/fulfill our mental health needs by telling jokes and it got us out of our respective labs.
btw, i agree with academic, PhD comics is essential!!
A running group would be nice! There is only a handful of girls in my department, and even less of them run (I only know 1 more runner, and she is now pregnant), so I have lost hope on getting a running buddy.
Have you tried getting a running group in your new school?
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