What advice would you give your past self before starting a clinical PhD program?

[decclynn]

I will be starting a clinical PhD program next month (woo hoo!). I am wondering what advice you would have given your past self before you started the program.

For example, do you wish you would have kept track of your hours in research or clinic experience? Would you have taken better notes in a certain class? Would you have started your thesis earlier?

I want to avoid common mistakes that people in this specific, rigorous program make. I would appreciate any advice about spreadsheets to create or software to get that may help me stay organized.

Thank you in advance!

[Plasticity]

I have been reading up on this extensively to make the transition as easy as possible and have a life that is not completely consumed by my program and stress. Reddit has some great info on this and it seems widely agreed upon that learning to say "no", not biting off too many projects/service commitments, and keep a work-like schedule make life easier. I noticed when TA'ing last year many of the other TAs spent most of their days talking to other TAs or profs and then stressing and claiming their 20-hour a week position was more like 40. The TAs who kept their doors shut got things done, never complained about "all-nighters", and were much less stressed. This idea was echoed in a few threads where many posters who say they work (or thought they used to work) 60-80 hours a week acknowledge that many of these hours are spent off task and not actually working. I'm not saying there is not a lot of work in these rigorous programs, I just want to be as productive as possible and avoid wasting time to keep the number of hours spent "working" down.

Another thing that has been echoed by current grad students in my program is practice the term "good enough grad school". In that, you do not have to be perfect in your coursework (dont abandon it either) but put more focus onto your research (Im at an R1 that employs a clinical science model and most benchmarks are research related). I believe the view is it is about building a CV, not a perfect transcript.

My goal is to keep work like hours from 730-330 or so and limit work to being done while on campus so I'm not consumed once home. Keep the home area for relaxing and enjoying life. I'm also avoiding buying a parking pass so I have to use the bus, this should help me keep those hours and avoid doing unnecessary tasks during my work day. I've also put in some filters so between the hours of 7am and 4-5pm I cannot check FB, reddit, and other sites that I spend too much time on. That way during work hours I can stay focused on getting things done.

Edited July 16, 2016 by Plasticity

[geekrock]

@Plasticity  What filters are you using for FB, etc... ?  I've had luck in the past using these filters, but the one I used to use wants me to pay.  Any recommendations ?