Have you ever had a super overwhelming semester?

[harrisonfjord]

I have been in graduate school for over a year now, but I recently switched to a different (but similar) master's program. This is my first semester in the new program and I am feeling burnt out. I had to take 4 classes this semester (because some of them are only offered once a year) and I needed to get in all 4 before starting my thesis next fall. I am also working 20 hours a week in an unrelated job and doing research. All of these things keep piling up and I feel like I barely have enough time to eat or sleep, let alone take care of myself. Some of my classes are not difficult, but they are still time consuming.

 

I know there are some people in PhD programs with a full time job and kids, so I know this is not impossible to handle. But do you have any suggestions for making things feel a bit more manageable? I feel like I am always catching up and I never really get ahead. I am constantly tired and stressed out. I recently was out one week for a conference, and for the past 2 weeks I have been fighting a bad head cold. Looking at the amount I have to accomplish in the next 4 weeks before the semester will end makes me feel like I am running a race I will never finish.

Edited November 11, 2014 by harrisonfjord

[surefire]

Hi harrisonfjord!

 

I had a totally overwhelming 2nd semester of the first year of the PhD, punctuated by some of the things you describe. I was taking too many courses (mandatory ones offered once a year and best completed early on in the program that were also a total time-suck - stats, in particular, which didn't come easy to me). I was also TA-ing too much. The breaking point came with a death in the family in April, as I was rushing to complete my marking and my own final papers/projects/exams. Something had to give, so I took a SHORT course extension (1 month) for one of my courses, so I could complete everything else without worrying about the final paper for that class, which I eventually knocked out by the end of May.

 

I think that there are some periods of grad school that one just has to "take as a montage" (like, bursts of 3-6 weeks were one is totally overworked, but you just imagine it like those studying montages in movies, where the protagonist is at the library day and night). You can do these and recover, but burn-out happens from too many of these stacked back-to-back over time. And crisis can occur if you don't leave any room for "life" to happen (like illnesses or deaths in the family). So, my advice is to (1) initially, take this as a montage and buckle down and try to get 'er done while practicing some self-care (lots of rest and trips to the gym and tea, for example) and (2) have a contingency plan if "life" happens and something's got to give and then don't be afraid to take the "out" and ask for help. It really can make all the difference in the world to your mind-set just knowing that you've got an "out". The course extension might be worth looking into - I found my admins and the prof to be very understanding - but I would recommend that this should be (i) a one-time thing (ii) for ONE course (iii) that is a SHORT extension (maybe to write a final paper over the holiday break and have it done for January, you don't want this over-lapping with whatever you have next semester and it'll just get harder to wrap-up as time goes on). Again, I think you should look into it and having the strategy in your back pocket might on its own make all the difference.

 

Talking to the grad admins and colleagues can help as well, just to figure out what the culture of your program is and what people typically do - grad students are often an overachieving bunch, and I remember that semester as being kind of a profound moment where I was staring down a situation that I maybe couldn't negotiate without some help, a circumstance that had been foreign to me at the time, where all challenges up until that point had just been rectified by my working REALLY hard. It's actually good to get a sense of your limits to know what that landscape looks like, but you need to know when to pull back, and if you get a sense of prospective "taking something off your plate" strategies before you're in crisis and actually need them, then this will help to make it feel more manageable, and you'll have an "out" if needed. I'm sure you're not the first in your program to feel overwhelmed, and give yourself a break - get acquainted with your limits, flirt with them a bit, but don't walk over the edge, ask for help!

 

HTH! Good luck!

Edited November 11, 2014 by surefire

[TMP]

I definitely did in my second semester of my first year in the PhD program (I came in with a MA).  I was taking four courses- 2 reading courses, 1 independent study, and a research/writing seminar.  They were all necessary for my exam fields and dissertation.  It was just one of those semesters where I didn't have a class where I could take a bit easier than others.  I ended up crashing at the end and took extensions for all of my courses except for one.  I felt very embarrassed and like a failure because I had never asked for an extension before in graduate school (except for once because of eye strain) and was usually able to cover up anything I didn't get caught up on. Depression and anxiety also got the best of me- took over my life.  That semester was a wake up call for me and my adviser in context of better management and recognizing my limits.

 

You should reach out to your professors and let them know what's up, particularly if you see that you're not going to be able to deliver good work.

 

Is there a way you can cut back on your job for a few weeks?  I did during my MA for a few weeks and it was really helpful (I did eventually quit).

[harrisonfjord]

Thank you both for your insights. It definitely helped me to put things into perspective.