I kind of have a tendency to procrastinate (oh, you’ve noticed?), which leads me to get frustrated and angry with my inability to manage my time and prioritize work over relaxation. After all, don’t normal people spend 40 hours a week at their job? Being a grad student doesn’t give me any special privileges. After all, I’m still an adult, and I need to be putting in the same amount of hours at my job (that is, graduate-level research) that other adults do. In fact, I really ought to be working harder than most people if I want to stand out from my peers. Y’know?
So during a recent walk down Doom and Gloom Blvd, my girlfriend advised me to write down what my ideal day would look like, if I was really using my time at peak efficiency. This sounded like such a simple and useful exercise, I was astonished I hadn’t heard anyone suggest it before. So what would this ideal day look like?
- 7:30 – 8:30: Wake up. Work out.
- 8:30 – 9:30: Shower, breakfast, etc.
- 9:30 – 10:30: Check news and email.
- 10:30 – 12:30: Research, writing.
- 12:30 – 1:30: Lunch. Read something new.
- 1:30 – 3:30: Research, writing.
- 3:30 – 4:30: Get ready for night job.
- 4:30 – 10:30: Work at night job.
- 10:30 – 11:30: Decompress. Blog something.
- 11:30 – 7:30: Sleep.
Now, usually I wake up around 8:00 or 8:30, and I spend at least 90 minutes goofing off on the internet, which means I don’t get started with my research until almost 11:00 am, which is a good three hours later than a normal person starts their job. But by that time, I’m already thinking about lunch, which usually means I delay my work until after I’ve eaten, which could be as late as 1:00 in the afternoon. So half my day is already down the toilet before I’ve even done anything remotely productive.
I think waking up early (well, 7:30) and working out right away is key. If I can get one productive thing under my belt before I even have breakfast, it would be great for setting a precedent and getting the working momentum going.
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