Grad school ain’t no joke. Even though I had an awesome year in terms of research contributions and awards, I struggled to adapt academic norms and while being the best version of self. After reflecting all summer, I wanted to share this thread for thriving in grad school.
1. Prioritize and protect your time. Grad school is about efficiency so besides writing in due dates and meeting times, schedule specific blocks of time to work and relax. Include writing time, time for coding transcripts, even time for lunch dates etc.
The more specific you are in planning, the more insight you will have about the steps a tasks requires, how to effectively say ‘no’ to extra things and you can have more focused work time.
2. Be resourceful. Most campuses have resources to support grad students. Do some light research on how to find these services by asking professors, faculty especially administrative assistances, or your fellow grad students!
If all else fails, Google has taught me one or two quant methods, explained theories in depth and pointed me towards amazing funding opportunities.
3. Use a citation manager (RefWorks, Mendeley) and find your note taking style. Last fall I struggled to retain information because I had no system for tracking what I read and what I learned. Having a strategy for reading makes it easier to retrieve and cite research
related to your work. It also helps you to figure out gaps in your field and new ways and reasons to insert your research.
4. Write it out. Grad school is more rewriting than writing. Once an idea is on paper, it has potential to be refined and developed through multiple drafts. The more we write and revise our work, the more opportunities we have to clarify and focus our message for more audiences
to engage.
5. Be open to the process. There were several times last year I felt like an imposter. Be transparent with advisors and peers about your concerns and victories. Save your
ego from being crushed by asking any and every question and communicating your needs early on.
ego from being crushed by asking any and every question and communicating your needs early on.
I hope these tips are helpful! Let me know if there are other tips you may be looking for 👩🏽🏫
