Day 69: 6/8/2018
I need to rethink my work schedule!
I somehow have a belief that I should work every day. That thought has been with me since the beginning of my PhD journey and thus I have tried so hard to fill my daily schedule with work, work, and work. Today, I realized this might not be the strategy for me.
I came back home from the university in the evening exhausted and still had a thought that I did not do as much as I should. I then planned to study for a few more hours.
Like every morning, I got up, did some stretching, made myself some coffee and went straight to work mode. It was quite an okay morning. I got some reading done before breakfast. Later, I went to school to attend the weekly Educational Research Group meeting as usual. Today’s topic, How much Data do You Need for Your PhD Study, was very useful and enabled me to see what are missing in my revised research proposal. Also, it prepared me for the meetings with the readers including the TAP, Progression, and Thesis Committee members.
I went to the office at ReCSS in the afternoon and was eager to work. I spent about one and a half to two good hours working on my research proposal revision. Then I got into a flavorful online chat with my close friends. This has been something I have tried to avoid while working. But it was an exception today. I allowed myself to do it for the rest of the afternoon meaning I minimized my work screen and opened the chat window to talk with friends. On a side note, one of my friends is going through a life challenge at the moment and I want to support her as much as I can even from afar.
Still I arrived back home with a thought that I should work a bit more. Then, I let time pass me by and watched videos freely for a few hours. I told myself, “I should get to work. Just one more video and I’ll get back to work.” My disciplined self did not win. I finally gave up my work plans. in fact, I did not even look at the schedule I had planned last night. For some reason, I felt OK and free of worries, realizing that I still have time and I needed the break.
A quick recap of my PhD journey from the beginning up until now tells me that I have been working every day — more or less — but the key here is every day. P’Gluay also confirmed it. I have come to a conclusion that
I deserve a break, a good worry-free one once in a while.
Once that conclusion was reached I felt much better and less guilty. I believe it is a right thing to do at least for this very moment.
I have a fun-filled weekend ahead of me, work tomorrow and a trip to Newcastle the next day. I truly hope that after a good worry-free Friday break, it will be a productive day tomorrow so that I can enjoy the much-needed out-of-town one-day trip on Sunday.
Just so you know, today I carried the reading-newspaper while brunching habit I started yesterday. I am lovin’ it! ❤
6/9/2018 12.18 am.
