Before starting my PhD program in September, I read The Productivity Project by Chris Bailey. One of the takeaways from that book was the "Rule of 3." He recommends writing down a daily to-do list containing 3 items. It's a technique that is meant to keep you focused on your priorities for the day. I do it every day in my bullet journal, and I end up with something that looks like this:
(There are so many beautiful, artistic bullet journals. Mine is all business. Journalling artistically is something I admire, but it's not my strength.)
But most days, I end up with way more than 3 things to do:
Rule of 3
- History readings
- Exercise (run or yoga)
- Draft conference proposal
but also...
- Groceries
- American Studies readings
- Tidy apartment
- Pedagogical exercise
I've heard from so many graduate students and academics how hard it is to manage time and maintain a balance in their lives. Perhaps naively or optimistically, I thought that returning to graduate school after 8 years in the work force would play to my advantage: if I maintain my 9-to-5 foundation, doing school work during those hours, I could use my evenings and weekends to spend time doing my favourite life things, like reading, yoga, watching TV, healthy cooking and meal prepping, and time with family and friends.
Simple, right? Unsurprisingly, it didn't turn out to be quite that easy.
Another lesson from The Productivity Project was the role your brain plays in all this. From what I remember, there are basically two parts of your brain that control your motivation: prefrontal cortex and limbic system (something like that). The prefrontal cortex is where your brain processes complex and difficult tasks (e.g. reading academic texts and writing assignments) and your limbic system is the feeder for procrastination, where you passively absorb fun things (e.g. a Netflix binge or, in my case, an inexplicable new addiction to YouTube makeup channels that coincides with the first year of PhD studies).
The more you exercise your prefrontal cortex, the easier it is to get cracking on the productive things you know you should do and, in many cases, really want to do to keep your life together. Because it's so easy to feed your limbic system and you get a little buzz from doing so, it is often the stronger muscle.
Thankfully, the act of writing this post pulled me out of my Friday morning limbic activity. I've worked my prefrontal cortex by flexing my writing muscle and producing something.
So, as it turns out, I'm not some kind of Time-Balance Grad Student Superwoman. And that's okay. Like many before me, I am struggling with self-discipline and managing open expanses of time.
I am committed to winning this time/balance battle, starting by doing something many grad students would think is bananas: Reading a book for fun.
I am committed to winning this time/balance battle, starting by doing something many grad students would think is bananas: Reading a book for fun.
To be continued...
