Monday Check-In

Obsessing Over: How the summer feels like it’s already halfway over, and I’ve yet to settle into any semblance of a routine; how I feel like I’m behind on a number of things; how I can’t get the motivation to get ahead and tackle so many of the things  I need to get done. (Sounds like someone’s got a case of the Monday’s.) 

Working On: At the moment, working on wrapping up my morning ritual of coffee and blog reading so that I can get dressed and out to a coffee shop to get some serious work done today! 

Thinking About:  What an amazing fourth of July weekend I just had. On the other hand, I’m trying to figure out what’s causing the knot I’ve had in the pit of my stomach for the last month or so. Bah. 

Anticipating: The new Zumba class I’m going to check out with some of my friends this evening. 

Listening To: The morning traffic outside of my apartment. 

Drinking: Nothing at the moment.

Wishing: That today is as productive as I’m hoping it will be!

What I’m Working On

Summer is nearly here (although in my head, it’s been here for weeks), and I’m trying to ease myself into a schedule that will allow for work to get done while I’m also able to kick back and relax much more than I did during the school year. I just found out this morning that the class I was scheduled to teach this summer was cancelled (low enrollment – boo!), so that frees up some time to put more energy into other things this summer. 

I’m working on both school-related projects and personal things this week, including…

School-Related

• Writing a proposal for a group of grad students in my program to write a quarterly column in an I-O journal
• Working on reviewer comments for an R&R I’m first author on
• Generating new research questions for a project I want to propose

Personal

• Settling on a budget for this summer
• Writing some new blog content
• Continuing to clean my apartment
• Getting some more plants for our place 

Grad-School Check-In

It’s officially week 10 (I think? truth be told, I’ve had no clue what week of the quarter it’s been for about a month now), and my brain is in full-time summer mode. As in, I have no motivation – zero, zilch, nada – when it comes to doing anything school related. Alas, I’d be in a bit of a pickle if I stopped working altogether. As far as this week goes, here are a couple of the things I’ve got on my plate right now. 

-Attending a two-day data training session for a lab I collaborate with. 
-Attending a teaching portfolio workshop on Wednesday afternoon. 
-Organizing the edits that need to be made to a manuscript I’m in charge of. 
-Going to a lab meeting on Thursday.
-Signing up for summer class credits.
-Finding out whether or not the class I’m scheduled to teach this summer is going to be cancelled. 

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…

Life on the other side.

I’m a week removed from the end of my comprehensive exams, and it seems like the dust is finally settling around me. The celebrations have died down, and I seem to be regaining some of my energy – with the help of lots of rest, of course. I’m trying to get back into the swing of writing, and want to try to get back on here more regularly (as I’ve said so many times before). 

I’d like to write a longer post on the whole comps process at some point, but for now, let me say…whew. Those were something else. While I’ve heard of programs with harder processes, and many with easier processes, mine consisted of three days of written exams, with each day including four straight hours of writing. After finding out the results of my written exams at the end of that week, I had my two-hour oral exam with my three-member comps committee. Thankfully, the process went smoothly for me. 

I’ll be doing some traveling this upcoming week, and anticipate taking a good deal of photos along the way. My first stop: Los Angeles for a conference. Number two: San Francisco to visit a dear friend. And finally: home to Michigan for my partner’s brother’s wedding. I’m so excited to learn, grow, relax, and unwind on this trip, and be in the company of friends and family. 

By 2pm tomorrow, I will be free.

I’ve officially passed the written portion of my comprehensive exams. (YIPPEE!!!) Tomorrow at 12pm, I have the oral portion of my exam. I’ve been incredibly relaxed and happy all weekend…until this morning, when it settled in that I actually wasn’t finished. Cue the anxiety and stress all over again. My body isn’t going to know what to do when I’m officially DONE with this tomorrow afternoon. 

Monday Check-In

Obsessing Over: Nothing new here – the sheer amount of work that is involved with studying for my comps. The first week I felt like I spent too much time studying, and not enough time taking care of all of my other responsibilities – this week, I feel the exact opposite. I need to do an actual separate post on what this all entails, but suffice it to say, it’s a real pain in the butt. 

Working On: A million different things – reading journal articles, writing outlines, reading more journal articles, and trying to brainstorm ideas for a research project.

Thinking About: How lucky I am to have my amazing boyfriend here, who’s been incredibly supportive of me these past several weeks. Also the really fun and busy weekend we had with close friends. (Happy hour and brunch and hiking and dinner oh my!)

Anticipating: Mid-May when I can have my life back.  

Listening To: A quiet apartment; a murmured phone conversation in the other room. 

Drinking: Nothing…though I should probably get some water in me! 

Wishing: That I could spend the rest of the night knitting. 

Monday Check-In

Obsessing Over: Beginning the long, grueling journey that lies in front of me – studying for my comprehensive exams. Today was the first day I ‘officially’ started reading, and it was a bit of a struggle. I feel the need to have the perfectly planned schedule, and already know that that’s next to impossible. Here goes nothing!

Working On: Trying to perfect my study plan, and then maybe getting back to reading! 

Thinking About: How lovely this past weekend was, and how much I’d like to go back and re-live it – if only for the fact that I could live in the post-quarter-starting-bliss that would return with it. 

Anticipating: Working from home (mostly) tomorrow. 

Listening To: Silence!

Drinking: Nothing at the moment. 

Wishing: That the next 5-ish months aren’t as awful as I’m anticipating them to be.

It never ends…

I’m pretty sure I’ve been running around like a chicken with my head cut off for the past week or so, and it’s been pretty exhausting. I’m trying to prioritize everything I need to get done in the next four days, and the list seems like it’s never ending. Case in point:

• Read 5 articles on recruitment
• Come up with an idea for a recruitment study and write a 5 pg paper about it
• Come up with a research proposal idea for a motivation study and write a 2 pg outline
• Read four articles on motivation
• Come up with 3-4 discussion questions about those motivation articles
• Finish revising the methods and results section of my manuscript
• Look up and send out some additional results to my coauthors
• Start the discussion section of said manuscript
• Finish writing another section of the book chapter I’m working on
• Go to an all-day conference on Friday
• Find time to see my friends Friday night
• Read a labmate’s thesis proposal and give him feedback
• Finish reviewing 9 conference submissions
• Clean my entire apartment
• Go to a Halloween party (yes, during November)
• Make something for said party
• Maybe actually go to a bikram class (or two)
• Buy and send my Mom’s birthday present

Edit: As of Sunday morning, I’ve gottensomethings done…but I’ve got a whole lot left. And I notice pretty much all of the “fun” things on this list were done. As for the work, though…that’s a whole different story.

Monday Check-In

Obsessing Over: The fact that my boyfriend will finally be in Portland in a mere eight days. I have a ton of cleaning and organizing to do, but I’m so excited!

Working On: Nothing at the moment. I just finished doing some writing for a book chapter I’m working on with one of my professors, and am thinking about maybe doing some writing on a manuscript I’m working on. Or maybe not. I’m exhausted.

Thinking About: How sore I am from yesterday’s half marathon! That deserves a post all to itself, but suffice it to say the race went really, really well. Thankfully I was able to work from home today, so hopefully my legs will be feeling a little lot better tomorrow.

Anticipating: My new laptop coming in tomorrow (fingers crossed I’ll be home to get it!); as I mentioned before, my guy getting here in EIGHT DAYS; and my bestie from back home coming to visit in ELEVEN DAYS!

Listening To: ”Slow it Down” by The Lumineers

Drinking: Nothing at the moment.

Wishing: That my anxiety doesn’t turn me into a train wreck this week.

Goodnight, Moon

Once tomorrow is over, I will have successfully made it through the halfway point of the quarter. (I suppose technically it’s Friday, but my last class of the week is on Wednesdays.)

I’ve got a presentation and class facilitation to rock in the morning, and then I can turn my focus back to research-related stuff for a bit…until I have to dive back into a pile of reading this weekend. (Yikes. Just thinking about it makes my chest hurt.)

In the midst of all that, things are good. Really good. I absolutely love the class I was second-guessing just weeks ago, and I’m feeling more confident by the day. I feel like I’m at a really exciting point right now with so many things!

Oh, and I’m running my third half marathon this Sunday!