Habits to start while I still can

[braindump]

Ideally, I'll be starting graduate school in the fall. I realized that, while being a chronic procrastinator has worked out for me just fine in undergrad, it probably won't get me very far in graduate school. At the very least, I don't want to be taking a decade to graduate. 

 

So, while I still have a semester of undergrad to build good habits, does anyone have any suggestions? What helped keep you organized? Or sane? Anything that kept you from dragging out your degree for too long?

 

To start, I'll share 2 that someone recommended to me:

 

1. Start writing your thesis from day one. Every step of every experiment, every result, every thought pertaining to those results, all get typed up and documented immediately. Wish I'd thought to do this before I started my undergrad thesis.

 

2. Keep an annotated bibliography on every paper you read. Even if you think you don't need it now, you might in the future. Having all your references together and a summary of each seems immensely useful for future use. Also wish I'd thought to do this before I started my thesis.

 

Anyone have any other suggestions? 

[TakeruK]

In my field, theses are usually just all of your papers you published in grad school put together in thesis format, with some filler text in between. I agree you should document everything, especially methods, because you will have to write these up as papers and it will be a lot easier when you can just build a paper outline by combining all these chunks of writing that you wrote along the way.

 

Yes, you should keep a database of all your papers you've read (or know about). I recommend software to make your life easier. I really like Mendeley (free, works on Linux, Mac and Windows) but Papers and others are good too. Starting now, before you have a huge database, is ideal! 

 

I use Google Calendar to keep my life organized. I find that the flexibility of academia/grad school is a double-edged sword. So, I schedule time for specific projects / work / classes and try to ensure I stay on task for that project during that time. I keep a 8 to 5 schedule because I like routine, with small exceptions for doctors or extra work for deadlines. Some people don't like doing this because rigid/structured time blocks "ruins" the flexibility of an academic schedule, but I think of flexibility as the freedom to decide when to place my rigid/structured time blocks But do whatever works for you!!

[VulpesZerda]

Someone recommended to me the book "Getting What You Came For" by Robert L. Peters.

People really rave about it and although I haven't finished I think it's really helpful for the sort of thing you (and I) are looking for!

[Enhydra]

The Now Habit book was really helpful to me in terms of breaking procrastination habits. Some of the writing is a little cringe-worthy, but the tips and tricks were surprisingly useful.

[braindump]

I use Google Calendar to keep my life organized. I find that the flexibility of academia/grad school is a double-edged sword. So, I schedule time for specific projects / work / classes and try to ensure I stay on task for that project during that time. I keep a 8 to 5 schedule because I like routine, with small exceptions for doctors or extra work for deadlines. Some people don't like doing this because rigid/structured time blocks "ruins" the flexibility of an academic schedule, but I think of flexibility as the freedom to decide when to place my rigid/structured time blocks But do whatever works for you!!

 

I've been trying to use Google calendar too, but only for the big stuff (travel, meetings, exams, etc). I agree that trying to keep a consistent 9-5 is helpful. I'm trying to do that now, but some days I'm just so lazy, heh. Making a ton of to-do lists is helping a bit; it's always nice crossing stuff off and feeling at least a little bit accomplished.

 

Thanks guys! I'll be sure to check out those books 

[1Q84]

Someone recommended to me the book "Getting What You Came For" by Robert L. Peters.

People really rave about it and although I haven't finished I think it's really helpful for the sort of thing you (and I) are looking for!

 

Not sure if this is a graduate school guide but on that note, I would recommend Semenza's "Graduate Study for the 21st Century" too!

 

Also, I would very much get into the habit of being frugal, if not already. Trust me.

[rising_star]

Some sort of Calendar and some sort of task/to-do list keeper (Workflowy, Google doc, etc.) are probably essential, as is learning to use reference management software (Zotero, EndNote, Flow, Mendeley, etc.). Get into the habit of reading a paper related to your research interests every night if possible. Set up Table of Contents alerts for the major journals in your field. Try to take senior grad students out for coffee in your first year so you can pick their brains about what you need to be doing and when (do this in individual meetings). Oh, and start looking for grants now. Make a list of the typical deadlines, documents required, etc., and then start prepping for those as soon as you can.

[braindump]

Also, I would very much get into the habit of being frugal, if not already. Trust me.

 

At least I already have this goin' for me 

 

& That's very helpful, rising_star! Thanks! I guess I should start making a list.

[ninfiniteyes]

Set up Table of Contents alerts for the major journals in your field.

 

How does one go about doing this? This seems extremely helpful!

[GeoDUDE!]

You know, I was a huge procrastinator all my life, and I still am, and objectively I'm doing very well in graduate school. The difference between undergrad and grad is that because you always have stuff to do, you are always working on something at the last minute. I'm not saying don't try and change this, I'm just saying that procrastination is still possible (and seems very rampant) in graduate school.

[Demeter]

I like to watch Randy Pausch's Time Management lecture when I feel particularly lazy. It's a good way to get ramped up about keeping organized, which is key for me.

 

For me, my academics are my job. I literally feel a difference in my productivity when I have a to-do list. I use a Filofax flex to keep a running list, and use a different color ink for various types of commitment. This goes everywhere with me.  I have a list for library research, coursework, whatever. I keep stamps, a pen, and some other odds and ends in there that take away my excuses not to to handle something because I don't have X, Y, or Z. If I don't write it down, I can't be bothered to remember it, if it's not research or work. 

 

I do most of my work/research at my desk. Well, I come back to it everyday, no matter where I've been. So, when things are due on a deadline, such as a lecture, or a paper, I put them on my paper calendar. It's an Orange Circle Studio calendar pad that has the days of the week on one side, and a big writing space on the other. 

 

Appointments and other reminders go in my iCal. I get sent a reminder. This is mostly used for personal appointments and meetings that don't repeat. 

 

I second (Third?) Mendeley. It has been amazing, and the fact that I've saved research over the last few years has helped me a great deal. One thing I wish I had done sooner was to give each topic a folder on my computer. I did that this semester, and it helps me to organize papers, downloads, notes, and the like. Keeping an organized system of papers somehow is key for me. I have a very unique set up on my computer because it the center of my work. I've done a lot to get to know my machine to be very efficient. 

 

When I started my degree, I took the planning sheet, and I wrote down everything I thought I would need to do. I recorded grades and other information on there and use it for guiding myself. I'm in a Masters program now, so I imagine this will be extremely different in my PhD, but I made this degree outline, and I stick to reviewing it once and a while. It's helped me with short-term and long-term planning and keeping focused. 

 

I also carved out space to socialize and handle life because I can neglect those things easily. On Wednesday nights, I make every effort to Skype with my best friend. One other night a week, I handle logistical concerns relating to real-life, be it health or finances, or whatever.

 

I take one day off a week, mostly. I try, anyhow, because saying to myself, "I'm taking Saturday off." helps me to do what I need to do on Thursday. After 8, I do not answer emails, if I can help it. Being able to say to myself that I'm working or I'm not is helpfully mentally. That way, I can objectively evaluate if I should be on Pinterest right now or not. I try to be flexible in allowing myself to go with the flow in doing work when I can. If I don't feel like working on X now, I work on Y, and come back around, because I tried to plan things. 

 

I try my best to create a work/life boundary, and then some balance between those spheres of my life. For me, that means a lot of organizational systems, a loose schedule of 9-6 daily, time off, and clear boundaries. I also find that giving myself a fake deadline of two days in advance helps particularly ugly tasks to become completed. 

 

I second the idea of scheduling time to read journals in your area of study, and researching grants and other things you will want to remember later. In my field, it's also very important to keep up with legislation and current events, so I spend a little bit of time grounding myself in agricultural news. Usually I do that after checking my Facebook while finishing my tea, because I'm not typically in work mode then, and it's a decent transition. 

 

Mainly, what I try to do is give myself a framework in which to do the million things that are always going on, and a framework in which to give myself permission to insist that I do this now, or can wait until later.

 

Note that I also bend some of my self-imposed rules and I am okay with that. For example, I read articles the other night while the TV was on, but at least I knew I was choosing to do work in my off-time, and not that I was watching TV when I should have been working. The cognitive shift can sometimes help me to keep a balance to my life, even though it's small, because in the end, I know the work had to be done. 

Edited February 12, 2015 by Demeter

[braindump]

I like to watch Randy Pausch's Time Management lecture when I feel particularly lazy. It's a good way to get ramped up about keeping organized, which is key for me.

 

For me, my academics are my job. I literally feel a difference in my productivity when I have a to-do list. I use a Filofax flex to keep a running list, and use a different color ink for various types of commitment. This goes everywhere with me.  I have a list for library research, coursework, whatever. I keep stamps, a pen, and some other odds and ends in there that take away my excuses not to to handle something because I don't have X, Y, or Z. If I don't write it down, I can't be bothered to remember it, if it's not research or work. 

 

I do most of my work/research at my desk. Well, I come back to it everyday, no matter where I've been. So, when things are due on a deadline, such as a lecture, or a paper, I put them on my paper calendar. It's an Orange Circle Studio calendar pad that has the days of the week on one side, and a big writing space on the other. 

 

Appointments and other reminders go in my iCal. I get sent a reminder. This is mostly used for personal appointments and meetings that don't repeat. 

 

I second (Third?) Mendeley. It has been amazing, and the fact that I've saved research over the last few years has helped me a great deal. One thing I wish I had done sooner was to give each topic a folder on my computer. I did that this semester, and it helps me to organize papers, downloads, notes, and the like. Keeping an organized system of papers somehow is key for me. I have a very unique set up on my computer because it the center of my work. I've done a lot to get to know my machine to be very efficient. 

 

When I started my degree, I took the planning sheet, and I wrote down everything I thought I would need to do. I recorded grades and other information on there and use it for guiding myself. I'm in a Masters program now, so I imagine this will be extremely different in my PhD, but I made this degree outline, and I stick to reviewing it once and a while. It's helped me with short-term and long-term planning and keeping focused. 

 

I also carved out space to socialize and handle life because I can neglect those things easily. On Wednesday nights, I make every effort to Skype with my best friend. One other night a week, I handle logistical concerns relating to real-life, be it health or finances, or whatever.

 

I take one day off a week, mostly. I try, anyhow, because saying to myself, "I'm taking Saturday off." helps me to do what I need to do on Thursday. After 8, I do not answer emails, if I can help it. Being able to say to myself that I'm working or I'm not is helpfully mentally. That way, I can objectively evaluate if I should be on Pinterest right now or not. I try to be flexible in allowing myself to go with the flow in doing work when I can. If I don't feel like working on X now, I work on Y, and come back around, because I tried to plan things. 

 

I try my best to create a work/life boundary, and then some balance between those spheres of my life. For me, that means a lot of organizational systems, a loose schedule of 9-6 daily, time off, and clear boundaries. I also find that giving myself a fake deadline of two days in advance helps particularly ugly tasks to become completed. 

 

I second the idea of scheduling time to read journals in your area of study, and researching grants and other things you will want to remember later. In my field, it's also very important to keep up with legislation and current events, so I spend a little bit of time grounding myself in agricultural news. Usually I do that after checking my Facebook while finishing my tea, because I'm not typically in work mode then, and it's a decent transition. 

 

Mainly, what I try to do is give myself a framework in which to do the million things that are always going on, and a framework in which to give myself permission to insist that I do this now, or can wait until later.

 

Note that I also bend some of my self-imposed rules and I am okay with that. For example, I read articles the other night while the TV was on, but at least I knew I was choosing to do work in my off-time, and not that I was watching TV when I should have been working. The cognitive shift can sometimes help me to keep a balance to my life, even though it's small, because in the end, I know the work had to be done. 

 

 

This is very very helpful - thank you so much for writing it all up!! This is something along the lines of what I've been trying to do, but just making these regular habits means changing everything and that's hard. I try to keep up with to-do lists but they're all over the place so they're only moderately helpful. But I've found Mendeley infinitely helpful so far; somehow I feel like I can get through papers much faster using it. Hopefully I'll have your organizational skills soon.   Maybe once I watch that lecture, heh.

[Demeter]

Braindump, you're very welcome. I kind of worried that my advice was too overbearing, but I really have benefited from being serious about my organizational habits. It's actually been key to my ability to thrive in grad school, or at least stay afloat. 

 

I started developing these habits in undergrad when I realized that my brain could not do everything I needed it to do without some management system.

 

I started by simply keeping a small notebook with me at all times and writing everything down. You've started with Mendeley. You have made progress. Change is an ongoing process that's hard to do. My advice, backed by experience and a few years of classwork? Start with one thing and build on it. You started with Mendeley, so keep on organizing those files, or something. It takes about 45 days to feel like something is a habit, so keep that in mind. 

 

I think a beneficial framework of thinking about origination is systems thinking. You can google it, it's really actually quite cool from an agricultural perspective, but it works when thinking about organizing stuff, too, because there's one thing I forgot to mention. Your circumstances and needs will change. 

 

A functional system will come later once you gather information about what your lifestyle and specific circumstances really entail. I have had to change my system several times, so be warned that a system may stop working. I find it's best to look at the components. These are mine. They might look different from yours, but… 

 

1) Classwork (Homework, schedule, whatever)

 

2) Meetings/Departmental Obligations

 

3) Research

 

4) Life 

 

5) Fun 

 

 So then what I do is I take a look at the major things going on in each of those areas and I just write everything down. I write down what I currently know or have done, and what I need to do, and how I'm going to make that happen. It sounds simply, and really actually overzealous, but there have been times in my grad school career that I have written down: No clean laundry. Need to do laundry.  Then, I've figured out a solution. Maybe it wasn't a good one, maybe I dusted off some hems, but I tried to develop awareness so that I didn't feel so blindsided by things. 

 

I'm not advocating slovenliness, but it's important for me to note that no one has a foolproof system because we're all works in progress.  You can't know exactly what your life will be like, your schedule, or your needs, but you can begin to break down these areas as they are currently relevant to you and think about how they all fit together. You seem to know where your concerns are contextualized, so I think you're off to a good start. 

 

Two more things: I think you should focus on having one list right now, rather than trying for two or even more. One ongoing, running, messy, horrible monster of a list in a bound notebook of some sort, or on some app that you will not forget to open and use. I like paper, but that's just my preference.  I swear that doing this one thing will help you to feel more together and it's one habit that you can build off of later. They may only be moderately helpful because it's not something you're used to doing. I can't really cope with more than one master list myself.  Build a launchpad of small successes and focus on the good you have done in creating change. 

 

And last, that lecture is awesome. Pretty soon you'll be hanging out on Filofaxy and debating planner styles. I'm teasing you, of course, but I did want to mention that a system of any sort is constantly changing, and that thinking of various components of life might help now as you prepare to enter grad school. 

[braindump]

Braindump, you're very welcome. I kind of worried that my advice was too overbearing, but I really have benefited from being serious about my organizational habits. It's actually been key to my ability to thrive in grad school, or at least stay afloat. 

 

I started developing these habits in undergrad when I realized that my brain could not do everything I needed it to do without some management system.

 

I started by simply keeping a small notebook with me at all times and writing everything down. You've started with Mendeley. You have made progress. Change is an ongoing process that's hard to do. My advice, backed by experience and a few years of classwork? Start with one thing and build on it. You started with Mendeley, so keep on organizing those files, or something. It takes about 45 days to feel like something is a habit, so keep that in mind. 

 

I think a beneficial framework of thinking about origination is systems thinking. You can google it, it's really actually quite cool from an agricultural perspective, but it works when thinking about organizing stuff, too, because there's one thing I forgot to mention. Your circumstances and needs will change. 

 

A functional system will come later once you gather information about what your lifestyle and specific circumstances really entail. I have had to change my system several times, so be warned that a system may stop working. I find it's best to look at the components. These are mine. They might look different from yours, but… 

 

1) Classwork (Homework, schedule, whatever)

 

2) Meetings/Departmental Obligations

 

3) Research

 

4) Life 

 

5) Fun 

 

 So then what I do is I take a look at the major things going on in each of those areas and I just write everything down. I write down what I currently know or have done, and what I need to do, and how I'm going to make that happen. It sounds simply, and really actually overzealous, but there have been times in my grad school career that I have written down: No clean laundry. Need to do laundry.  Then, I've figured out a solution. Maybe it wasn't a good one, maybe I dusted off some hems, but I tried to develop awareness so that I didn't feel so blindsided by things. 

 

I'm not advocating slovenliness, but it's important for me to note that no one has a foolproof system because we're all works in progress.  You can't know exactly what your life will be like, your schedule, or your needs, but you can begin to break down these areas as they are currently relevant to you and think about how they all fit together. You seem to know where your concerns are contextualized, so I think you're off to a good start. 

 

Two more things: I think you should focus on having one list right now, rather than trying for two or even more. One ongoing, running, messy, horrible monster of a list in a bound notebook of some sort, or on some app that you will not forget to open and use. I like paper, but that's just my preference.  I swear that doing this one thing will help you to feel more together and it's one habit that you can build off of later. They may only be moderately helpful because it's not something you're used to doing. I can't really cope with more than one master list myself.  Build a launchpad of small successes and focus on the good you have done in creating change. 

 

And last, that lecture is awesome. Pretty soon you'll be hanging out on Filofaxy and debating planner styles. I'm teasing you, of course, but I did want to mention that a system of any sort is constantly changing, and that thinking of various components of life might help now as you prepare to enter grad school. 

 

Again, so helpful! I really don't find this overbearing at all, because this is the sort of organization I know I need to function well, but have been too all over the place to try to begin. I've never heard of systems thinking but it sounds very interesting, I'll see if that perspective helps me at all.

Sometimes I wake up and think, "today I'm going to get my life together!" before promptly falling back asleep, sleeping in, and being too tired/wasting too much of the rest of the day to get much done. Maybe my lack of successes in getting stuff done (or my lack of stuff to do) is what's stripping my motivation to do anything, but I'll start today by making a nice, organized To-Do list. Thanks for reminding me how important this is. 

[Demeter]

I think maybe saying that you're going to get your life together is too much pressure. I could never even try to have my life together. Today I'm doing some mail and making my weekly to-do list, as well as doing some reading. Just keep working your to-do list. And don't blame me when you start buying planners and stationary.