Hello again, readers! It feels like a lifetime ago that I wrote my last blog post in October, and I am now a couple of weeks into the second semester of my MA program in Sociology. Over the winter break, I caught up with friends I hadn’t seen in months, organized my home, and attempted to recharge for the upcoming semester. I had a chance to visit with my family living across the island of Newfoundland, including in Glovertown, where I took this photo looking onto a calm Saunders Cove, Bonavista Bay, while doing some reflecting. For this post, I want to focus on something that I thought about a lot over the break: taking care of yourself during grad school.
For some people, dealing with the loose structure, high expectations, and busy workload of a graduate program comes easily to them. For many others (myself included), staying relatively stress-free is something that requires an active effort. The internet is full of forums, blogs, and comics about tired and frustrated grad students. I have taken some solace in knowing that I’m not the only one who sometimes feels like I’m running on coffee and the pressure to fulfill obligations alone. Over the past couple of months, there are definitely times I’ve forgotten that I am here in my graduate program because I love my area of research, I love learning, and I am very much capable of researching and learning well. Remembering those things is only possible if the stress that can come with academia doesn’t take over.
Graduate study truly provides an opportunity to learn and grow in all areas of life, not just intellectually or academically. I think a big part of growing wiser and having a well-balanced life is learning how to take care of yourself and taking the time to do it, even during a busy grad program when time is definitely precious. After all, what is more vital to your research and your learning than you, yourself, feeling up to the challenge? I am no expert, of course, but here are some things I’ve learned and some strategies I hope to employ after taking lessons from an intense, but rewarding, first semester:
1) This may be an obvious one, but being organized makes me feel great. Lists are particularly fantastic. In fact, I’m making a list right now. I have been creating a weekly schedule for myself with Google calendar, which is pretty user-friendly and conveniently connected with my Memorial e-mail address. I block out some time each Friday afternoon to print my schedule for the upcoming week and do some planning. The calendar has items like my weekly classes scheduled in, time for readings and responding to e-mails, my research assistant work, and time for preparing for classes and working on assignments. Each Friday, I make a list of any tasks I haven’t completed in the preceding week, and then get to work listing the specifics of what needs to get done the next week, like which articles to read, which interviews to transcribe, or when to take the bus to an appointment. This system has been working well for me, and I would suggest adopting some version of a weekly schedule to any graduate student.
2) An important part of scheduling for me is blocking out time to be active and go outside. Spending even fifteen minutes outdoors can often dramatically reduce any stress I’m feeling, supposing it’s only to stretch my legs with a walk around Burton’s Pond. I like to say hi to the campus ducks that live there. Of course, you might prefer a different relaxing activity. Some folks like to pick up a copy of local papers like The Muse or The Overcast and have a read. Other people might enjoy playing a game on their phone, calling a friend or family member, or checking out one of the fitness classes at The Works that are free with our student memberships. Taking a bit of time to clear my head does wonders for my productivity, so it’s absolutely worth it for me, even on my busiest days.
3) Being properly nourished is SO important to being able to think clearly and have enough energy to get through the day, and it is often one of the first things to go to the wayside when I am in a rush. While I would love to say that I prepare and pack delicious, filling, and healthy meals and snacks for myself each day that would be a total lie. At the same time, being a graduate student without a whole lot of money, it is hard to justify eating out on campus when I don’t bring a lunch from home. What to do? When I cook meals for myself at home, I try to make extra so I have leftovers to take. I also like to make giant pots of soup to freeze in individual-sized portions, and big grain or pasta-based salads that can be eaten throughout the week. It is still hard to make sure I always have something prepared. That being said, I enjoy cooking and have the skills, tools, and space to do so, and I know that isn’t true for every graduate student. For any student who finds themselves without enough to eat, know that Memorial has a Campus Food Bank that you can make use of, and that there are other community organizations in St. John’s that offer grocery items to any person who needs it.
4) Remember that you are in graduate school because you are capable of good work, and have something interesting and important to contribute. A quick search on Google reveals pages and pages of commentaries on graduate students feeling the effects of imposter syndrome. Essentially, imposter syndrome is feeling like you’re undeserving of your successes and have somehow tricked other people into thinking you’re more capable than you really are. Let me tell you: this is a very real phenomenon. It has come up several times in my classes and in conversation with other students in my cohort, and while I may have felt hints of being an imposter at other points in my life, graduate study has definitely amplified that feeling. I’ve interpreted my small mistakes as proof of my true incompetence. I’ve felt unqualified to contribute my thoughts to projects, even when asked to do so. I’ve walked away from conversations thinking that my choice of words made me sound either unintelligent, or like I’m somehow trying too hard to sound smart. These examples might sound silly, but they are hard to get past and require reassuring yourself that you deserve to be in grad school. If you’re feeling the same way, it might help to talk to another student or a supervisor about it, or at least read about someone else experiencing the same thing. I try to tell myself that if so many grad students feel like imposters, I must not be more of an imposter than anyone else.
So, those are four things that are helping me deal with the stresses of graduate study. However, I do not want to suggest that what works for me will work for you, or that making salads for lunch is a fix for serious issues with depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues. I understand that these may be amplified by an intensive university program. One resource on campus that can be extremely helpful for students is the Student Wellness and Counselling Centre. It offers individual counselling by appointment or during their walk-in services, as well as a variety of group counselling sessions and academic support programming. Additionally, students can call the 24-hour Provincial Mental Health Crisis Line for professional advice and support at the following numbers: 737-4668 (local) or 1-888-737-4668 (toll-free).
Here’s to us graduate students feeling organized, relaxed, well-fed, and confident during the Winter term!
Take care,
~Megan http://www.tb-credit.ru/zaimy-online.html zp-pdl.com https://zp-pdl.com/get-quick-online-payday-loan-now.php