spring break...

So what is this spring "break" that everyone is talking about? It's a time to be on campus without having to hunt as long for a place to park, it's quiet...more reminiscent of summer...and it's a time to get some work done. Right?

I just got back from a conference (totally unrelated to my campus/research life) and caught the flu (or some such crud) while I was there. One of the worst things in the world is having a congested head and coming in for a landing on an airplane. If you can avoid it, don't do it. I spent the last 30 minutes or so of the flight hoping my ear drums wouldn't burst. Then they left my bag in Dallas (for a few extra days of vacation for my clothes) before it finally came back to me. (Hey. My favorite shoes and sweater were in there.) Then I spent a few more days coughing and not getting much done. I realized that I have to be in a pretty good place physically and mentally to get much of anything done on my dissertation. I'm still coughing by the way...blech.

But I am getting some work done. For you TAs out there, this is a time to focus on YOUR work...not the work (however good or bad it may be) of your students. For the rest of you, if you're lucky, your advisor or major professor did a disappearing act for the week. It's a little sad when "break" actually means "time-to-work-on-MY-research-aka-do-other-work" and there's a lot of pressure to get something done. Here's a tentative week-long schedule for you:

Monday: Organization Day (aka. Procrastination Day)
You know you want to do it...go through and delete old emails. Sort through and organize papers. Organize your office so you'll be ready to get some real work done. Catch up on Facebook as a reward...then don't sign in again this week. REVISIT YOUR GOALS AND UPDATE YOUR CALENDAR.

Tuesday: Current Research
Search for at least two to three recently published papers relevant to your research topic (but no more than five). Read them and do a review. This will get you in research mode and (hopefully) remind you why you're doing this work and why you're excited about it.

Wednesday: Reader's Choice
I obviously can't plan out your whole week for you because everyone is doing something different and is at different stages of their programs. Do whatever is helpful to you. Update your literature review. Run some tests. WRITE SOMETHING. ANYTHING. EVERY DAY. 

Thursday: Reader's Choice Day 2
See Wednesday

Friday: UNIVERSITY CLOSED
The best day to get something done, close down your email and do not open it today. Do not go on the internet today (you had four days to get the info you needed). Write, run tests, read, propose, write, whatever will get you closer to graduating.

Saturday: DAY OFF
You earned it, right? Everyone needs a day off sometime. Go outside if the weather is cooperating. Dig in the garden. Go for a run/bike ride. Catch up on your favorite shows that you haven't had time to watch in a long time. Cook yourself a nice meal. Drink a little wine with that lovely dinner. 

Sunday: They're baaaack
Now prepare for the coming week. Write out your goals for the week and things to do. Make sure your research is in there. Every week you should have at least one or two things that represent progress toward graduation (PTG.) Make a plan. Make your advisor aware of your plan. Stick with your plan. You can do it!

"Piled Higher and Deeper" by Jorge Cham
www.phdcomics.com

~~~

One of the things I've been doing during my "procrastination time" is looking at self-help books about finishing your dissertation. While I was at my conference in Portland, I went to Powell's Books. If you ever go to Portland, you HAVE to go to Powell's Books. Trust me. It's a book store that takes up a full city block. There was one used copy of Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis. It was the only book of this genre that they had...and it was on the second from the top shelf and I had to get on a ladder to even read the titles. It got ok reviews on Amazon, so it's a start. There are a few others out there that have better reviews and they're on my wish list. Have you found any "self-help for graduate students" books that have worked (or are working) for you or your colleagues? If so, please email me the titles at dfarver(at)uark(dot)edu. I'm going to see if I can purchase a few to review for you all as a part of my GA position. I'll try to give you a report back about "15 Minutes a Day" soon.

Happy Spring Break!

-- Dawn

~~~
 

it's been awhile...

Time to get caught up. Spring break is coming up soon and I have quite a few things on my "to do" list. One of them is being more consistent with posting in a timely manner. The last few weeks I've been doing quite a few presentations for different graduate student groups. The last one in the Career Development series, sponsored by the Graduate School, is:

Applying for Academic Jobs

Wednesday, March 6 at 3:30pm 

Reynold's Center Auditorium

If you're interested in registering (there will be FREE FOOD), please go to: http://grad.uark.edu/dean/events/index.php

As a part of these presentations, I was trying to do a few things that I've seen in other career-development-oriented presentations done by my awesome colleagues here at the CDC... 

1. Come up with small activities that enhance the message of the presentation without making the attendees feel like they're doing sometime juvenile or useless...icebreaker anyone?

2. Find some short video clips that illustrate a few of my points. 

I'm not sure I truly succeeded at either of those things, but I did find some wildly entertaining videos about applying to graduate school, being a graduate student, and just making fun of graduate students in general. For example, if you go to YouTube and search "Simpsons Graduate Students" you can find a short compilation of videos making fun of grad students in the Simpson's. 

One of my favorites is The Grad Student Rap...and it's SFW***

The rest of the videos, the professional/serious ones, while containing some useful information were in the general format of someone on video giving a PowerPoint presentation...and they were LONG. The whole presentation. Some even over an hour. And in various stages of being able to read the PowerPoint presentation being given. In a dark room. Not very good in production value, and not a short clip to include in a presentation. 

So enjoy the Grad Student Rap, and email me if you find some good ones I might have missed. 

On to giving some "GrAdvice"...to find a job after you graduate, you must learn to NETWORK. It should become like second nature to you...and it will lead you to great places. One of the statistics I saw stated that 70% of positions do not get posted. That means to have access to 70% of the positions out there, you need to meet people who know about those positions, know you're looking for a job, and know a little about your qualifications. I have to admit, after some introspection, I may be a serial networker. (Not an official term, I'll grant you.) Wherever I happen to meet someone who does something I'm interested in, or works somewhere I'm interested in, or tells me about a project I'm interested in, I ask some questions, get a business card if I can, and then follow up. Conferences are a haven for serial networkers. I can attend presentations and speak with presenters afterward about their work, I can attend working group meetings, I can attend social events, career and business fairs, go out to dinner with former colleagues and meet their new counterparts. And I can get a lot of business cards. This was all before LinkedIn...

LinkedIn provides us with a place to do some serial networking on a global scale, and connect with people we've never met. It provides us with an opportunity to put our best foot forward on the internet. (What comes up when someone Googles your name? Might be good to know if another "Ryan Miller" has done something untoward that could potentially be attributed to you if you're not careful.) LinkedIn has some great "getting started" videos if you go to the LinkedIn YouTube Channel and search "students."

You can also schedule some informational interviews. I did this as part of a class I took here at the U of A called Preparing for the Professoriate: Research & Service. We had to speak with 4 - 5 faculty and ask them a few set questions, and then a few of our own, then write down what we learned. In my mind, I had already asked a bunch of these questions and didn't think I'd learn anything...BUT I DID. I learned a lot and it helped me do some self-reflection and make a few major decisions with guidance from people I knew and trusted from a network I've developed over the years. 

To start your informational interview process, identify some people in positions you'd like to aspire to, at companies where you think you would like to work. Send each of them a polite email (or pick up the phone) letting them know who you are, how you found their name/contact info, that you would like to schedule a time to speak to them and learn more about what they do. This sounds a like it can be scary, but most people like to a) talk about what they do, especially when they enjoy their work and b) help mentor other people. After the interview, ask them if they can think of anyone else who might be willing to speak with you, send them a thank you note, and then send them a polite and professional LinkedIn request. 

For more information from our website, please go to Informational Interviews.

Good luck. I'm off to add some more connections on LinkedIn...

-- Dawn

*** safe for work.