Surviving an Academic Schedule

This is a guest blog post for PhDtalk as part of a series on academic schedules. I was asked for “a narrative about how a (normal) day/week in your life looks like, and how you combine research / writing / teaching (if any) and other activities on a regular basis, and how (or if) you manage to squeeze in some time for yourself as well.” Original post can be found here.

The President of the United States doesn't decide what to wear or eat every day. Humans have a limited capacity to make decisions. Once the quota is reached, there has to be a rest period before being able to make more decisions or it starts to feel physically draining. The POTUS spends his day making important, far-reaching decisions. There's no point in waste precious energy making small ones.

I keep this in mind when devising my daily and weekly schedules. Having a routine keeps my mind free for the things that matter, and still ensures that everything gets done. I optimized my morning routine by writing down everything I wanted to accomplish before leaving the house, then put those things in an order that made sense. A few key points: I don't look at my phone before getting out of bed. I'm a graduate student. No email is so important that it can't wait a few hours. Looking at my phone makes me laze about too long. Secondly, I do a small amount of physical activity as soon as I roll out of bed. This might be a few yoga poses or a set of pushups. Something short and fast to get blood flowing and let me body know I'm up.

Mornings are my golden time. I can get more quality work done before 9am than the rest of the day combined. I recently started harnessing this by going to school later. Once I'm ready for the day, I spend about an hour (7:30-8:30am) writing, or working on one of my side projects. If I go into the lab this early, there's almost always something to distract me. Staying home, I have a comfortable setup, with no one to interrupt me.

My morning hour of productivity is broken up by day. The night before when I'm setting my to-do list, I decide what will be the priority the next morning. It's usually one of the following:

• writing: blog post, homework, abstract, manuscript, whatever is in the pipeline
• policy work: I'm starting a student science policy group. This is when I research speakers, write emails, plan meetings, etc
• networking: send emails, research people I want to meet, career paths I'm considering, etc
• GSS: another student group I'm part of at school. During this time I plan events, write emails, read over meeting minutes
• reading/lit search: I have a never end list of papers I'm trying to read. I try to get through a few during this time.

These categories get attended to once a week, or less if nothing is needed. The default is always writing. Even if I have no deadlines, I always have a handful of blog posts or writing exercises I'm working on to improve my writing.

I live and die by my calendar and a master to-do list. I carry a notebook everywhere and continually jot down ideas, and things I need to do. I have 30 minutes blocked off at the end of each day where I go through that notebook and transfer things to my to-do list and calendar. I don't necessarily get to everything on my calendar, but if it's not on the calendar, then it definitely doesn't get done.

Let's start with the long-view and work backwards:

Five Year Plan
I have a five year plan. It's hilariously optimistic. I would like to graduate quickly. If there's any chance of that happening, there are many things needed to stay on track. These miles stones are set on this five year plan. They get reviewed and revised about once a month to make sure I'm not missing any big deadlines.

Monthly
Near the end of every month, I set goals for the upcoming month. I look at my five-year plan and my previous month's goals and think about what I need to accomplish to move forward. These might be academic (narrow topic for review article), social (host a dinner party), health-related (do 10 pushups every day) or something else entirely. I then set time aside in my calendar to accomplish these.

Weekly
Every Friday afternoon, I set my schedule for the following week. I look at my to-do list, and block time out for each item. To-do lists are great, but without setting aside actual time to finish things, I never seem to get around to them. This also gives me a chance to be aware of any upcoming meetings I need to prepare for, exams coming up, or similar obligations.

Daily
Before bed I review the next day's schedule. I change or prepare things as needed.

Everything I do goes on the calendar, including exercise, grocery shopping, cleaning, studying, and time with friends. I use one color for social activities, one for lab work, and one for school work. When I'm planning experiments in the lab, I block out time to prepare and set up, time to actually run the experiment, and time to analyze the data. I block out time for classwork, and time to review lectures. I even have a daily reminder to leave time for lunch every day.

I have a super-packed, color-coded, scheduled-to-the15-minute-increment calendar.

Here's an important note: My precise schedule doesn't always go as planned. I'm still horrible at estimating how much time something will take. However, I find it invaluable for making sure I get the important things done. It's hard to tell how much you've taken on until you start planning out the specifics. My calendar had been a valuable tool for letting me know when to say no to new obligations.

Sleep, nutrition, and exercise are all very high on my priority list. They might slip for a week before a deadline, but being healthy and happy are more important to me than anything else. My calendar helps me to not take on too much, and to lead a happy and productive life.

What a Difference a Day Makes

In September, I went on a whirlwind trip to Washington DC. I spent a day and a half in my nation's capitol, to visit Congressional offices and talk about the importance medical research. Almost 300 people were part of the Rally for Medical Research, all with the same message: Now is the time for Congress to come together and support the NIH with continued funding for medical research. We had training on how to deliver our message, and a reception with talks by Dr. Francis Collins and Senator Dick Durbin before being unleashed on Capitol Hill to attend our meetings. AAAS was kind enough to facilitate my involvement with this opportunity.

Thirty-six hours in DC, meetings in seven different offices, could that possibly make a difference? I've been asked many times since returning: Did you make a difference? As a graduate student, I have many, possibly naive ideas about making an impact and changing the world. I want help people live better, healthier lives, and leave the world in better shape than I found it. This might be through my own disease-curing research, or it might be by convincing one more member of Congress to sign a bill that supports NIH funding, thereby helping others with their own research.

As a researcher, I think about disease in a very specific way. I think about it mechanistically. I ponder why a mutation in one gene can throw off an entire system. I want to know how and why this happens. Patients with various medical problems also attended the Rally for Medical Research. They think about diseases differently. Patients and their families have to live with a disease. Interacting with someone who has survived a severe brain tumor pulls the science out of the Petri dish and puts it into a person. Interacting with patients and survivors is a stark reminder of the ultimate goal of medical research – to help people. These patients, along with patient advocates, and other researchers were part of our group that spent the day talking to members of Congress about how continued NIH funding is needed.

But can one day of conversations change anything? We spoke with the decision-makers who seem far away, but who directly impact our lives. Our government is made up of individuals, making individual decisions. As a voter, it is my right and my responsibility to let them know which decisions are important to me. One conversation may not change anyone's mind. However, each conversation is part of a larger movement. A small, steady voice can have as much impact as a single loud one. I view this trip as part of a continuing message, and not a single event.

This is why advocacy is important. Legislators have to take into account the views of many constituents. If one group don't speak up about an issue that matters to them, a different group will. The onus is on the voter to let their views be known. Washington DC is a fast-paced town, and issues can quickly be forgotten. We need to remind Congress which issues matter to us.

So did a day make a difference? It did for me, and I hope it does for the future of funding for medical research.