phd-in-crying - Tumblr blog

[phd-in-crying]

“I know that all of this is going to pay off. I just have to stay consistent. It’s not always easy but this is all going to work out in the end.”

— Affirmation of the day.

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Travel tip for grad students (and everyone else, I guess)

If you’re travelling abroad for research (this summer, or, you know, any time), check if your university is part of the Eduroam network. If it is, that means you can log into other universities’ wifi networks with your uni ID - and the way many European universities are spread all over the place (think central London, for example) means you might have free wifi access in unexpected places! 

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@gradblrchallenge post #3 // called out by my tarot app Today was my first day of academic work in a long time. It was two hours of transcription for my RA job, not even my own work, but it still felt significant to be getting back at it. It was also my last trip out to my MA institution before I move. This move is getting closer and closer, but still a week away. Today I repacked some bags and took my last box to the post office to ship, returned my library books, and started scanning the IKEA site to plan out my new space. I feel like I’m in this weird limbo where I want to just be in Ontario already or never have to leave Vancouver. The anticipation is killing me a little. But as today’s card reminded me, a times you can only wait.

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More unsolicited advice

If you happen to apply to a workshop or a conference, please make sure you have: 

read the CFP carefully to make sure your proposal actually fits the aim/scope of the workshop/conference 

read the CFP carefully to make sure you know about application requirements (CV? length of abstracts? DEADLINE?)

read the CFP carefully to see if the organisers mention anything about funding, and if so, what exactly

have an email adress that has your name in it some way so that emails can be identified as coming from you 

bonus: proper emails don’t end up in the spam folder quite so easily, especially if they are sent from somewhere at the other end of the planet (yes, algorithms discriminate…) 

send emails with a subject line that make them identifiable as relating to the CFP/conference in question 

send in your documents in a format that can be opened easily 

hint: that’s what PDFs were invented for

name your files in a way that is easily recognisable

ideal: have your name in the file title

hint: just calling the damn thing “abstract” is not going to help anyone

and please put your name somewhere on your application documents 

EDIT: good point by @shelomit :” with the caveat that many CFPs specifically ask NOT to have your name in the application letter or file titles”

Personally I’ve never seen this - probably because of academic differences between the US and Europe-Germany, but certainly a good point. I mean, this essentially boils down to read the damn CFP carefully. 

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@gradblrchallenge post #2 // blackberry break This challenge is looking very different for me than they usually do. I’ve (clearly) let go of my need to post everyday and I’ve been making this about preparing for the next step in life and career rather than about working on a specific project like a paper or other document.* When people told me I should just relax this summer, I felt kind of shocked. Shouldn’t I be reading everything I can and cramming in knowledge that I don’t have time to focus on during the school year?? I’m still having trouble letting go of that impulse, but I’m trying. So, a day in the life of an academic trying to let herself relax: -woke up early and walked to work. I’m not great at walking for leisure, but I do really like walking as a mode of transportation. -walked to the farmers market after work and bought these beautiful blackberries (plus lettuce, string beans, eggplant, and some vegan pastries). -currently eating said blackberries and writing this post before I start working on changing my address with five separate places. -later I’ll go to the yoga studio for class, then home for a quick dinner before I go out for desert with some friends. Relaxing so much still feels a little wrong, but it also feels really nice. *this is going to change in a week when I finally get started on my funding proposal, but I’m not quite there yet.

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@gradblrchallenge post #1 // you can read just for fun?? Despite becoming an English major because I loved to read, I’d forgotten that reading is something I could just do for fun during the MA. I’d read 200,000 word fanfiction, but not novels. Something about picking up a book that wasn’t for school was just too difficult. This summer I’ve been making much more of an effort to read just because I love reading. Right now, I’m read Ruth Ozeki’s My Year of Meats. It’s wonderful and I’m sad it took me this long to read it (a friend recommended it to me back in 2016). Since the challenge started, I’ve mostly been working on moving. I just shipped my things out to Ontario today and I’m going back to my old apartment tonight and tomorrow afternoon to finish up the last minute cleaning things. I haven’t been doing much that’s obviously academic, but it’s academic adjacent as I get ready to move for the PhD!

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Quick reminder, especially for you younger undergrads: Discipline is a skill, not a character trait. And just like any skill, it can be practiced and improved upon incrementally. Try not to get discouraged if you have a day, or multiple days, where you are less disciplined than you would like or need to be. Don’t quit. Don’t spend the next week binging Netflix because you think it’s a hopeless endeavour. Just get up the next day and try again. Each day you try is more practice, and each day you practice, you’ll get a little bit better, and that continual improvement will pay dividends in the long run.

Keep at it.

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08.05.2018 spring means switching from latte to iced coffee

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GradblrChallenge Intro!

name or nickname: Katt

location: BC, Canada, soon to be Ontario!

area of study: English

level of study: starting my PhD in September

a word on your thesis/dissertation: queerness in black racial passing narratives 

what has been your experience with graduate school/university thus far: My MA was a mix of wonderful and terrible. I’m actually hoping my PhD stays somewhere more in the middle.

what do you hope to accomplish with this challenge: I hope I’ll successfully finish my many moves (first into my partner’s place this week, then out to Ontario in the middle of the month) and get started on my funding application.

is this your first #gradblrchallenge: I think third! 

favourite film: I’m not sure I have one! I really love The To-Do List and Imagine Me and You

favourite tv series: Brooklyn 99, Good Girls, The Good Place

places you wish to visit in a near future:  I’m hoping I make it to London this year to visit some friends!

where do you see you self in five years: God willing, finishing this PhD and going on to a post-doc.

meaning behind your url: In addition to my PhD in English, I’m also looking forward to receiving my PhD in Crying (grad school is exhausting and sometimes it makes me cry).

a random fact about you: I’ve been vegan for 7 years!

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Currently setting up my bullet journal for August! I’m a fifth of the way through my notebook now, all is going to plan! (And a photo of a beautiful house that I took whilst wandering in central London yesterday).

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I am behind on posting my gradblr challenge intro because I’m moving this week! I promise it’ll be up tomorrow! Looking forward to anothergret opportunity to meet other grad students :)

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if you want it, get it. make it. create it. chase it.

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self discipline tips

here are tips I discovered very recently:

something is better than nothing. 5 minutes of work are better than zero. Just because you missed something on your schedule doesn’t mean you can’t still work on it, even for 5 minutes. Grow and build on this.

second drafts / reviews can be done after.

Don’t think you are going to do your very best work on the first try. Take the weight of perfectionism off your shoulders.

don’t think about doing it. just do it as fast as you can.

build on your productivity, not your failures.

If you come from a past of procrastinating and now feel motivated to change and discipline yourself, do NOT try to do everything at once.

if you have a set of different goals to accomplish, begin with the most important one. Wait until the rotine of working for that one settles in (you feel productive and comfortable-ish), and then begin with the next. Repeat.

this way you’ll be building your way up and not juggling everything at the same time, hoping everything works out.

be patient with yourself, you’ll get there!

set smaller deadlines for your goals

have monthly and weekly-ish deadlines

e.g. if you are doing a project, due 22nd Feb, set personal deadlines, like have Introduction written by 2nd Feb, have Methods written by 10th Feb, have project complete by 18th Feb.

take them as seriously as you possibly can, don’t miss out on yourself.

write realistic daily tasks and don’t stop until you finish them. after them you can do whatever you want

on writing realistic daily tasks, the secret is knowing you can only do so much in one day, but trusting you can accomplish everything in the course of any period of time (a week, or 2 weeks or a month, etc.) because you will combine the work from all these different days.

it’s very tempting to write down all the tasks you need to accomplish in one day to just get over with it, but the real deal is you won’t accomplish half of them. You’ll feel very unproductive then, wich leads to demotivation.

spread daily tasks in the time necessary.

have a consistent sleep schedule.

if your mind isn’t ready everything will fall apart.

have one rest day per week where you plan nothing, do whatever you want except studying. this can be harder than you expect!

(don’t forget these are effective only if you actually put them into practice! good luck babes!!)

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[29.03.18] Told y’all that one day you’d see me studying somewhere other than my bed, today is that day. 

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small habits to adopt

wake up early

drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up

meditate or concentrate on your breathing for at least 2 mins

visualize your goals for the day and for the future

make your bed 

do calf raises or squats while brushing your teeth

floss

dry brush

take a cold shower (or end a hot shower with cold water right after for about 3 mins)

put on lotion while your skin is still damp

cleanse, tone, and moisturize your face

apply sunscreen

drink a glass of water before and after every meal

listen to a podcast/ted talk instead of music while walking or driving

park far away from where you’re going

stand up straight

look at people in the eye when talking to them

look straight ahead when walking, not at the ground

smile at strangers

stop complaining (it’s bad for your health)

bring cash instead of credit card

track your expenses

turn off notifications on your phone when doing work

resist the urge to go on your phone and observe your surroundings more

set a timer for 5 mins when scrolling through social media and stop when the time is up

learn at least 5 new vocab words from your target language every day

exercise while watching shows/videos

read at least 10 pages every day

do tasks that can be done in 2 mins right away

drink tea

prepare workout gear the night before

jot down tasks for the next day before sleeping

write down quotes/lyrics that strike a chord

spend 30 mins on a hobby

journal and write down things you are grateful for

aim for 7-8 hours of sleep

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My bullet journals now and 3 years ago! It’s nice to see how much my handwriting and style has changed.