Travel Time!

Ack, I'm leaving for Spain today! I'm really excited and nervous and just sort of a ball of feelings and preparations. Fortunately, as you can see above, the quality assurance team was on hand to inspect my luggage for me.

Amazingly enough, I feel really prepared. Usually before I go on a trip I am frantic and run around thinking I forgot something, but not today. I'm still getting the last things together, but I'm not too worried. It doesn't hurt that I'm going to a city where I could probably find something if I forgot it. Plus, assuming high school didn't completely fail me, I speak some of the language. That barrier has made me nervous when I've traveled internationally before, so it's nice that yo hablo español.

I'm not even too scared about giving a presentation. Honestly my biggest concern is the fact that I'm presenting early in the morning and may still have some jet lag! I did this paper for a class last semester, so I've presented it before, and had feedback so I knew what needed to be fixed. It's almost like my class presentation was a dress rehearsal! Don't tell the professor I said that, haha.

It kind of sucks that I have to miss classes, but I've been working hard to get ahead so I don't fall behind. Plus, the week after I return is spring break so I can catch back up on anything I miss.

Wish me luck!

Is Procrastination Always Bad?

My work ethic was fairly perfect for journalism. I thrive on pressure and looming deadlines, so knowing I had to write 1000 words in the next hour or else was a great way to crack the whip so I'd churn out some fantastic work.

Doctoral studies are a different animal. Of course there are deadlines and assignments to do, and a lot of my writing still happens close to due dates, but the nature of the work doesn't leave as much room.

In a way, my strict calendar-keeping offers me some constant self-imposed deadlines. Knowing I have to finish reading this chapter by noon makes me actually buckle down and read. But I still need a little leeway.

It seems like a little bit or procrastination can actually be a good thing, as long as you don't overdo it. Giving myself a day off to lounge around the house knitting and playing The Sims can seem like a lazy waste of time, but it also helps me recharge.

So while the prep work involved in my doctoral assignments means I can't leave as much to the last minute, there's something to be said for knowing how my own brain works. Often, procrastination and last-minute work gets a bad rep, like I don't understand how to budget my time. On the contrary, I am budgeting my time in such a way that I will actually work when I need to instead of staring blankly at a computer screen not doing anything. And if I am turning in work that meets the expectations of my school, it really shouldn't matter if I wrote it little by little over weeks or all at once the day before it was due.

Besides, really knowing yourself and being comfortable with that is a pretty Adultish thing.

An Ode to Google Calendar

I mentioned last week that I am relatively terrible at maintaining physical organization (there are already things starting to pile up on that desk again). But I am good at organizing my assignments and appointments. I use both a physical day planner and Google Calendar to do so.

My normal week, before I add any school work in, looks like this:

My work schedule and classes are there, but nothing else. As I start to add in my readings and assignments, we get this:

I do my best to stick to the times allotted there, especially when I am at work (yes, I can do school stuff at work, because I am a graduate assistant).

Like I said, I also like to keep a hard calendar with me. I get a different level of satisfaction and sense of accomplishment by checking off assignments and crossing off days than I do with digital. Sure, with the number of changes and holdover readings it can get messy, but I like it:

Organization is really important with the amount of work doctoral students have. And this is how I do my best to keep up with that.