I urgently - URGENTLY - need something that 1) needs to be done and 2) is so unpleasant that I'd rather work on my dissertation ( Read more... )

i recently installed LeechBlock for my firefox browser, and my productivity has gone WAY UP!

if you don't already know about it, it allows you to set times when certain web pages are blocked -- say from 8am to 7pm M-F with an hour break for lunch -- or lets you specify how much time you're allowed to view a certain web page each day -- say 10 ( Read more... )

I'm just finishing up grading final exams for the class I TA for. At the end of the (essay) exam, one of the students wrote a note that was way too close to "goodbye cruel world ( Read more... )

Here's a follow-up on our discussion of light reading, from last week.

What do you do when you're bone-tired and don't even want to budge, and couldn't possibly do any work-related reading, but for whatever reason it's not suitable to go to sleep yet?

I try to keep handy a stack of very light reading and picture books. Tonight I think I'll be ( Read more... )

I'm wondering how people relax. After the hustle and bustle of the quarter and the mad dash for cheap presents, how do you unwind? How do you put it all behind... the whining students, the whining profs, and the stress you put on yourself. I keep thinking that I should do some reading, but grad school has made this practice anything but relaxing. ( Read more... )

Posted here because there's no such community as academics_rage.

( I will seriously consider a career in fast food before taking another online course. )

what is the craziest study technique you have ever used (or heard of someone else using)?

( for example )

I am currently a non-degree seeking grad student in philosophy, working as a TA, applying to PhD programs (and trying to figure out exactly which ones suit me best), prepping for the GRE I am scheduled to take on Nov. 9, and trying to stay up on my full time course work and job responsibilities (and the class for which I TA has an essay due ( Read more... )

So, I posted a while back about how I hated my college. Things aren't really better, I've just compromised more. But now, I'm not doing so well academically. Not that the work is hard, just most of my classes don't really keep me all that interested. Some more than others, but overall its not happening. I think there is a direct correlation between ( Read more... )

I'm working on an undergraduate thesis, and I find one thing that helps me settle down to work is to re-read my thesis proposal before I start reading, writing, or researching. Sort of like an academic Lord's Prayer. It reminds me of the specific parameters of my thesis, both the things I'm tackling that day, as well as the stuff I'll be getting to ( Read more... )