ComradeAbeille

I think its worth putting out a word of warning about this kind of conversation regarding the question of mental health.

Graduate programs are extremely stressful environments and philosophy is no exception. Unfortunately, the mental health of graduate students faces a few serious challenges:
     1. First there is a the problem of over-identification with one's discipline. As the work/leisure distinction has collapsed over the past few decades (see, for example, the Google model & playbor), it can be hard to separate one's personal work from free time. Strangely enough, philosophy was a discipline that precisely began in leisure time, and yet with the professionalization of philosophy (and the subsequent corporatization of the academy), philosopher students are often trapped in the bind of over-identifying too much with their profession and as a result it makes it extremely difficult to maintain the work/leisure division that is necessary for mental health.
     2. One of the byproducts of this is that many philosophy students derive their 'self-worth' from their perceived academic standing in their peer groups. As the divide between work/leisure collapses philosophy students consistently treat their social time with other students as in this nebulous space, often feeling a need to overstate how much work they are actually doing or accomplishing. This is particularly common when students inevitably compare themselves to others in the field/profession and as a mode of compensation they often self-describe in ideal terms (which are usually unsustainable amounts of work). [Here contemporary articles that draw on Lacan's Mirror Stage and Imago re: instagram/social media would be helpful.] Of course, because this is intellectual labor, down time is extremely necessary. As the environment spirals into students comparing themselves with others purported clams about the amount of work they accomplish, it benefits absolutely no-one.
     3. As a result of this kind of setting, answering the question about how much effort and time people spend on their work each week becomes a question loaded with psychological stakes that I'm sure the author of this question didn't intent to invoke. It is not a neutral question and the answers we give to it are not neutral. They are directly related to the mental health of our fellow cohorts, our fellow students, and even our potential fellow co-workers or interlocutors.

In a certain way my answer to the original question is something like this:
With respect to time management, I would echo @hector549, make sure you are not treating work as the sole criterion for how to organize your time. Make sure you organize your life, with clear distinctions between leisure and labor. I work full-time as an adjunct professor, but I still manage to take my dog to the park every day for an hour or so. And if you want to read three other books that have nothing to do with classes you are taking, or prepare ahead of time for something, go ahead and do that, but recognize that you are doing so on your own leisure time. Not on your work time. And you need to be very careful to separate the two.

This is a bit late, but I solicited DGS at Michigan State Feb. 26th to find out that I was on a wait list, though not likely to be offered a spot given my place on it. In any case, it looks like a waiting list has been created there, even if it hasn't been announced.

I've decided to go to Pitt. The only problem is that Pitt rejected me.

I was waitlisted there too, but I declined my place on the waitlist because I already got into my first choice. Good luck with Notre Dame!

Yep, Princeton! *dies of excitement*

Yep, Princeton! *dies of excitement*

Yep, Princeton! *dies of excitement*

If you look at their profile, I believe it was Princeton.

Congratulations on being accepted to your top choice, and thanks for quickly removing yourself from the waitlist! You're one of my many heroes right now!

I was waitlisted there too, but I declined my place on the waitlist because I already got into my first choice. Good luck with Notre Dame!

I emailed to ask if I was off the waitlist at Florida State, and they had just voted to accept me even though no one had yet declined! Really nice of them! 

Waitlisted at Princeton. 

HI all,

I wanted to ask you a question regarding philosophical performance while waiting for admission results: do you feel that your capacity to work, or your concentration, diminishes or does it stays the same? I've been feeling that it is harder for me to concentrate and do assignments, etc. and I was wondering if it was normal or if I should see some mental health professional. 
Thank you all. 

Yes! 

To be clear, by this I just meant that I haven't heard anything from them, not that I've gotten a waitlist notice.
 
Hey, nice one! :D

Woke up to a rejection from Rutgers. Pssh, I didn’t even wanna go there anyway! ?

Hi guys! I've mostly been obsessively watching the results page but finally decided to join you lovely people on the forum.
I got accepted to Princeton on Monday (2/25)! Planning to accept their offer, so I'm declining the other two offers I was considering (UNC and Arizona). Hope this helps someone!

Hi guys! I've mostly been obsessively watching the results page but finally decided to join you lovely people on the forum.
I got accepted to Princeton on Monday (2/25)! Planning to accept their offer, so I'm declining the other two offers I was considering (UNC and Arizona). Hope this helps someone!

Hi guys! I've mostly been obsessively watching the results page but finally decided to join you lovely people on the forum.
I got accepted to Princeton on Monday (2/25)! Planning to accept their offer, so I'm declining the other two offers I was considering (UNC and Arizona). Hope this helps someone!

Hi guys! I've mostly been obsessively watching the results page but finally decided to join you lovely people on the forum.
I got accepted to Princeton on Monday (2/25)! Planning to accept their offer, so I'm declining the other two offers I was considering (UNC and Arizona). Hope this helps someone!

Hi guys! I've mostly been obsessively watching the results page but finally decided to join you lovely people on the forum.
I got accepted to Princeton on Monday (2/25)! Planning to accept their offer, so I'm declining the other two offers I was considering (UNC and Arizona). Hope this helps someone!

Hi guys! I've mostly been obsessively watching the results page but finally decided to join you lovely people on the forum.
I got accepted to Princeton on Monday (2/25)! Planning to accept their offer, so I'm declining the other two offers I was considering (UNC and Arizona). Hope this helps someone!

Not sure if I remembered to post that one. Can confirm that I got accepted on Feb 11 (really nice email from DGS). Have since declined the offer.

This is the encouragement I needed. Let's all collab on a YouTube channel now! 

You are always accepted to the University of my heart.