I\u2019m bad at a lot of things. Parallel parking? Can\u2019t be bothered. Keeping on top of my emails? Unlikely. Poster making? I shudder every time I see the Canva logo. Unfortunately, as a graduate student, I am confronted by my weaknesses every day. And even more unfortunately, they are tasks that need to be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another thing I\u2019m really bad at is sticking to my to-do list. There are tasks that I chronically avoid because they feel too difficult or overwhelming. And yet, they stubbornly won\u2019t check themselves off my to-do list. If one could believe, writing \u201corganize Zotero folder\u201d every day for three weeks does not actually organize my files. The constant clutter of my avoided tasks becomes a weight on my shoulders. There will always be easier, more engaging tasks to complete, fuelling my procrastination. However, I\u2019m trying to overcome my procrastination paralysis, especially as I seek out new professional development opportunities. Grad school can be an enormous learning opportunity, and I am trying to grow as much as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Previously, I\u2019ve experimented with organizational strategies to keep my schedule organized. Using to-do list apps, triaging tasks based on importance, implementing a reward system, you name it. Most of these strategies do not stick long-term for me. This was especially frustrating since I would spend hours researching and implementing a new method, only for it to fail. Not to be defeated, at a lab meeting this month, my colleagues and I did a planning exercise, mapping out everything we needed to do in the short- and long-term. While the exercise of listing tasks seemed helpful for others, I had this gut feeling that it was futile for me. That was until a colleague showed me their most magnificent to-do list: a chart with straight lines crisply dividing four separate to-do lists, labelled simply with the letters \u201cA, B, C, D\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I must admit, I was skeptical at first. If this was another way to prioritize tasks in order of performance, then I knew that this wouldn\u2019t work well for me. But what is unique about this A, B, C, D list is that it divides tasks based on effort, not importance or difficulty. The A column includes things that are easy to start and one enjoys doing. The B column lists tasks that may be a little harder but are still generally enjoyable enough that they require little effort to start. Column C lists things that one is not very good at and that require more motivation. Column D is reserved for tasks one dreads doing. Put simply, the D-list is reserved for the things I\u2019m bad at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What I learned from this exercise is that the items related to my thesis typically fall into columns A and B. Because I take joy and satisfaction in the work I do, it doesn\u2019t take much effort to complete the work, and I feel very accomplished when I can cross these items off my list. Likewise, my D column is usually filled with tasks like emailing and scheduling appointments. Personally, these are tasks that are objectively simpler but still take a lot of effort for me to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By separating my tasks based on the initial effort they require, I\u2019m constantly confronted with my procrastination. I used to feel discouraged by seeing the same tasks repeatedly unfinished. But now, I feel more empowered to try them. If I can grind through the challenging and time-consuming tasks related to my thesis, I know I am more than capable of following up on a work email. Since trying this strategy, I feel like I accomplish more in a day and that my stress levels are generally lower, even though my days haven\u2019t necessarily been easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of being discouraged by my apparent shortcomings, I can reframe my obstacles as \u201chigh effort\u201d tasks. By recognizing the emotional and mental strain of a task rather than its material demands, it becomes easier to understand how I work best and to recognize the effort I put into all aspects of my work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It can be very easy as a graduate student to compare yourself to others; peers are on vastly different paths with different research goals and interests, yet many still measure their work against others. This impostor syndrome can be exacerbated when one is struggling with tasks others perceive as \u201ceasy\u201d. However, if we reframe what we do in terms of individual levels of effort, we can not only easily identify our strengths and areas for improvement, but also develop the confidence to try everything, even the things we are bad at.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019m bad at a lot of things. Parallel parking? Can\u2019t be bothered. Keeping on top of my emails? Unlikely. Poster making? I shudder every time I see the Canva logo. Unfortunately, as a graduate student, I am confronted by my weaknesses every day. And even more unfortunately, they are tasks that need to be done. … [Read more…]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":2311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[119,21,79,30,118],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-emilf","4":"post-2402","6":"format-standard","7":"has-post-thumbnail","8":"category-student-blog","9":"post_tag-gender-studies","10":"post_tag-grad-life","11":"post_tag-grad-school","12":"post_tag-masters","13":"post_tag-prioritize-tasks"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2402"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2407,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402\/revisions\/2407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.mun.ca\/studentblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}