Organizing grad school goals

[accidental_philologist]

So I'm hoping to get some thoughts on this kind of way of organizing what I want to do in grad school. I will be a new grad student in the fall, so I've been spending this summer thinking a lot (a LOT) about my goals, and trying to figure out what they should be, and what the healthiest way of goal-setting is -- I tend to be a perfectionist, as is the wont of many grad students, but it really got me in my last year of undergrad with some serious burnout when I tried to take on Too Much and suffered the whole year -- so I tried to approach setting up what I want to do more ... holistically (?). But then I just came up with a massive, unmanageable list of dozens and dozens of things, from huge to minute, that I dream about doing. In trying to make that list manageable, what I've come up with so far is basically a four-fold approach to organizing what I want to get done while in grad school (note that these are NOT in order of importance): 

1.       Do well in course work. Not only in getting good grades, but also in really applying myself and learning as much as I can from every course

2.       Research. If I want to be competitive on the job market, I need to produce some research and hopefully get some things published. 

3.       Professionalization. I need to cultivate good professional connections, present at conferences, win awards, and participate in professionalization activities/groups.

4.       Personal. Keeping myself sane through all of this by scheduling time to relax, tidy up, hang out with friends, cook healthy food, etc.

Then, within these four sort of "themes", I can create smaller sub-goals. A goal for 1 might look like organizing my notes really well so that I can refer to them in the future; a goal for 2 might be setting aside a block of time to work on my extracurricular research projects; a goal for 3 might be to apply to X number of conferences/awards during a semester; a goal for 4 might look like setting aside a day per month to deep clean the apartment; so on and so forth. Then, if one goal supports multiple themes (like submitting an abstract to a conference to present on my research, so themes 2 and 3, or working on revising notes with a friend from class over coffee, so 1 and 4) then I know that it's DEFINITELY something I should try to do.

So my questions are these: what do you think? Have I missed any critical things? What sorts of sub-goals, or edits to the system, would you recommend? I will also be teaching in later years, and I'm not sure how I'd fit teaching into this system, so I'd love suggestions on that! AND, of course, is this ALSO as unmanageable as a straight-up list of dozens of goals (I often trick myself into thinking I have broken things down when I have actually made them more complicated...), or overly complicated?? Am I overthinking this? Of course I understand SMART goals and use them for structuring bigger aims, but I don't otherwise know how to organize smaller sub-goals so that I stay on top of things without letting basics slide. 

Looking for feedback! Thanks! 

[MarineBluePsy]

I think its good to be thinking about this early and keep revisiting your strategies regularly to make sure your system is still working for you.  In terms of your personal goal, my biggest piece of advice is to schedule this just as you would your classes and research.  I keep an electronic calendar and I schedule all of my workouts, weekend events/activities with friends, mani/pedis, hair salon visits, etc.  If its on the calendar I'm already committed to doing it and it reminds me that it is just as important as everything else.  These things often can't be rescheduled and if I've prepaid then I'm going no matter how tired or not in the mood I am.  Forcing myself to prioritize my self care in this way has served me well.  Once there I always end up having a good time and then I don't feel like my whole life is nothing but school.

As for your other goals I would say resist the urge to plan everything extremely far in advance because in grad school things change constantly and you're always learning about new opportunities.  I started out just making a weekly plan and setting reminders for long term deadlines.  Then I added a daily to do list and that seemed life changing.  Then I started planning two weeks at a time and now I'm trying to expand to a month.  I'm aiming to plan 2 months at a time, use a daily to do list, and set reminders for long term deadlines and I think that'll be enough for me.    

Also its impossible to do everything and that's ok.  There will always be more opportunities in the future.

[Sigaba]

 

 

 

On 5/16/2019 at 3:30 PM, accidental_philologist said:

Have I missed any critical things? 

Am I overthinking this?

Yes.

Focus for now on your qualifying exams.

To paraphrase a bloodthirsty quote from an American admiral during the Second World War, if it helps you with quals it's important; if it doesn't help you with your quals, it's not important.

[accidental_philologist]

On 5/24/2019 at 2:41 PM, Sigaba said:

Focus for now on your qualifying exams.

Thanks for pointing this out! I think I'll include this under "coursework", because we take classes until the quals and those reflect our coursework and specializations (is my understanding) so I'll be sure to study and organize with an eye to retaining/organizing information in order to reference in preparation for the exams, instead of just for the course itself.  

[Sigaba]

18 hours ago, accidental_philologist said:

Thanks for pointing this out! I think I'll include this under "coursework", because we take classes until the quals and those reflect our coursework and specializations (is my understanding) so I'll be sure to study and organize with an eye to retaining/organizing information in order to reference in preparation for the exams, instead of just for the course itself.  

IMO, coursework should be subordinate to preparing for qualifying exams, not the other way around.

[Meraki]

3 hours ago, Sigaba said:

IMO, coursework should be subordinate to preparing for qualifying exams, not the other way around.

This could be highly program specific. In mine, we do not receive a separate reading list or really have any way of preparing for exams other than to be organized with past notes and ideally have a reference software. But we aren't asked about specific topics or papers we've read in the past. We're meant to apply our critical thinking to critique new papers given at the start of the exam week and then create our own theoretical relationships. It's the sort of thing where you should know what you're doing by now and if not, you're screwed. But I know other fields or even programs in my same field that do things quite differently. OP's program kinda sounds like mine for qualifying exams, although it's definitely something to ask other students about early and often, and especially ask students a year ahead of you when they're fresh from completing their own exams. It's amazing how quickly we put that stuff behind us and forget the details of the experience.

[Teaching Faculty Wannabe]

On 5/16/2019 at 6:30 PM, accidental_philologist said:

1.       Do well in course work. Not only in getting good grades, but also in really applying myself and learning as much as I can from every course

2.       Research. If I want to be competitive on the job market, I need to produce some research and hopefully get some things published. 

3.       Professionalization. I need to cultivate good professional connections, present at conferences, win awards, and participate in professionalization activities/groups.

4.       Personal. Keeping myself sane through all of this by scheduling time to relax, tidy up, hang out with friends, cook healthy food, etc. 

Then, within these four sort of "themes", I can create smaller sub-goals. A goal for 1 might look like organizing my notes really well so that I can refer to them in the future; a goal for 2 might be setting aside a block of time to work on my extracurricular research projects; a goal for 3 might be to apply to X number of conferences/awards during a semester; a goal for 4 might look like setting aside a day per month to deep clean the apartment; so on and so forth. Then, if one goal supports multiple themes (like submitting an abstract to a conference to present on my research, so themes 2 and 3, or working on revising notes with a friend from class over coffee, so 1 and 4) then I know that it's DEFINITELY something I should try to do.

I think this is great! Your post is inspiring me to do the same before I start in August. 

On 5/16/2019 at 6:30 PM, accidental_philologist said:

So my questions are these: what do you think? Have I missed any critical things? What sorts of sub-goals, or edits to the system, would you recommend? I will also be teaching in later years, and I'm not sure how I'd fit teaching into this system, so I'd love suggestions on that! AND, of course, is this ALSO as unmanageable as a straight-up list of dozens of goals (I often trick myself into thinking I have broken things down when I have actually made them more complicated...), or overly complicated?? Am I overthinking this? Of course I understand SMART goals and use them for structuring bigger aims, but I don't otherwise know how to organize smaller sub-goals so that I stay on top of things without letting basics slide. 

For me, I think I am going to had another category: Communication. This can connect with Professionalization in the sense of presenting at conferences, and writing research articles. Personally, I want to learn how to present to crowds with varying amounts of knowledge of my topic. I think it's important to be able to relay information to people with different backgrounds, but especially to the general public. Scientists have a hard time trying to make the public understand their research and the importance of it, and that's definitely a skill I want to work on while doing my PhD.

Additionally, another category I would think of adding is Volunteering. I plan on doing outreach programs with my department and college. I am not sure if you find this important for your goals, but it is something to consider.

I am not sure if you are really overthinking or overly complicating things, but just be prepared to not accomplish everything you want to accomplish since being a grad students is a very time-consuming task. It is a good thing to keep in mind, and you shouldn't beat yourself up for it if some things don't happen like you want them to. Getting a PhD is not about becoming a perfect researcher--that's impossible, but it is possible to try your best, learn a lot, and use those things you learned to grow as a researcher and as a person.