Work/Life Balance
I work 40+ hours a week, I’m taking 6 credits (one is a seminar, one is a studio) - I already get up at 5:30 in the morning, and I cut off all my hair so it takes less time to get ready. I leave the house at 7. That means I have 45 minutes to spend on work in the morning. I get home at 9 on M, T, W, and by that time, I’m too exhausted to sit ( Read more... )
If you have a presentation due tomorrow, the law of diminishing returns works like this:
Spend 0 minutes on presentation = F
Spend 30 minutes on presentation = C
Spend 1 hour on presentation = B
Spend 2 hours on presentation = B+
Spend 4 hours on presentation = A
Spend all weekend on presentation = A+; blow my professor away with my genius
...or something.
I just figure out how much time I have to spend on every given thing on my plate according to this. This is especially important when it comes to readings:
Spend 0 minutes looking at article = look like a jerk in my seminar
Spend 3 minutes skimming aritcle = be able to keep up with discussion and answer basic questions
Spend 15 minutes reading intro, conclusion, and 1st and last sentence of every paragraph = be able to critique basic argument of the article
Spend 2 hours reading entire article and taking notes = be able to discuss any aspect of the article
Generally I don't find that it is worth it to go balls to the wall with everything I do. I would rather be a B+ grad student with a life outside of academia than a straight-A student who is on the verge of a breakdown. I have been both the former and the latter and I know which one I prefer.
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