Time Management / Success StrategiesSourcesOutlineThe First Two Years (or So)What Matters?Peters: Things to Do Right AwayBalancing Classes and ResearchThe Third (or So) Year and BeyondSlide 9Graduate School CharacteristicsTime ManagementMaking Steady ProgressGeneral TipsPrioritizeOrganization SystemsThings to TrackFilingSeptember1999October 1999October 1999Time Management /Success StrategiesMarie desJardins ([email protected])CMSC 691BMarch 30, 2004Revised a little by Charles NicholasMarch 28, 2005September1999October 1999October 19993/30/04 2SourcesRobert L. Peters, Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student’s Guide to Earning a Master’s or Ph.D. (Revised Edition). NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1997.Richard M. Reis, Tomorrow’s Professor: Preparing for Academic Careers in Science and Engineering, IEEE Press.Janice Cuny, “Time management and family issues,” CRA-W Workshops.H. T. Kung, “Useful things to know about Ph.D. thesis research,” prepared for CMU’s Immigration Course, 1987.September1999October 1999October 19993/30/04 3OutlineEarlyLateGeneralSeptember1999October 1999October 1999The First Two Years (or So)September1999October 1999October 19993/30/04 5What Matters?Taking comp classes is important......but not as important as finding an advisor......and a topic......which means that classes in your area matter mostGrades are important......but not as important as researchSeptember1999October 1999October 19993/30/04 6Peters: Things to Do Right AwayBuy a good computerSet up a calendar systemSet up a filing systemKeep a log of daily progressApply for fellowshipsSet up regular meetings with your advisorCreate or join a grad student support groupStart looking for a thesis topicSeptember1999October 1999October 19993/30/04 7Balancing Classes and ResearchProbably the biggest challenge of the first one to two yearsSeptember1999October 1999October 1999The Third (or So) Year and BeyondSeptember1999October 1999October 19993/30/04 9What Matters?Finishing the dissertation.That’s it!?Not quiteFinish the dissertationEstablish a pattern of research productivityTake your place in a scholarly communityFigure out what you want to do next, and prepareSeptember1999October 1999October 19993/30/04 10Graduate School CharacteristicsUnstructured environmentFew landmarks or milestonesHave to balance:ReadingThinkingSketching out ideasTalking to colleagues, advisorImplementing/building systemsEmpirical evaluationTheoretical analysisWritingSeptember1999October 1999October 19993/30/04 11Time ManagementDivide and conquerMake a list of tasks and refine them until they’re doableDo something every dayHave easy tasks and hard tasks on your To-Do listSet weekly goalsReview these with your advisor and/or “research buddy”Set deadlinesEven if artificial, they help to create structureMake time for other important activitiesProfessional service, extracurricular activities, exercise, socializingKeep a journalJot down stray thoughts; review to assess your progressSeptember1999October 1999October 19993/30/04 12Making Steady ProgressProbably the biggest challenge of the third year and beyondSeptember1999October 1999October 1999General TipsSeptember1999October 1999October 19993/30/04 14PrioritizeWhat is most important?What is most urgent?Long-term vs. short-term prioritiesUse your long-term goals to prioritize short-term tasksPlan for the year/month/week, not for the dayAvoid extreme reactivitySeptember1999October 1999October 19993/30/04 15Organization SystemsTimeline for graduate schoolClasses, comps, prelims, deadlinesMonthly calendarWeekly scheduleDaily logPrioritized and organized task listBring this up to date periodicallyPeters suggests monthly progress reportsWeekly progress reports, e-mailed to your advisor, can be very helpful for both of youSeptember1999October 1999October 19993/30/04 16Things to TrackDeadlines for filing paperwork, forms, etc.Conference deadlinesKnow what the important conferences are, when they are held, and when the paper deadlines areCourse assignments and examsMeetingsSeptember1999October 1999October 19993/30/04 17FilingPapers you readorganized by topic or author’s last namecross-indexed in a BibTeX or other databasePapers you writeorganized by topic or venueResearch
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