THREAD: On the importance of developing writing, studying and researching routines, particularly in graduate school.
Yesterday, I gave a talk on academic writing to a group of Masters' students in Global Politics and Governance at Universidad de Guadalajara.
This program ...
Yesterday, I gave a talk on academic writing to a group of Masters' students in Global Politics and Governance at Universidad de Guadalajara.
This program ...
... is very unique because even though it's based in Mexico (Guadalajara, to be more precise), it's taught entirely in English. This fact made it very easy to adapt one of my talks for this audience.
The question that ALWAYS comes up in these workshops is the issue of ROUTINE.
The question that ALWAYS comes up in these workshops is the issue of ROUTINE.
I've written about the importance of developing routines before (see:
1) raulpacheco.org
2) raulpacheco.org
and
3) raulpacheco.org
The one thing I seem to need to repeat All The Time is the importance of integrating EVERYTHING ELSE into your plan.
1) raulpacheco.org
2) raulpacheco.org
and
3) raulpacheco.org
The one thing I seem to need to repeat All The Time is the importance of integrating EVERYTHING ELSE into your plan.
If you are doing a thesis-based program, you NEED to be thinking about researching and writing the thesis from the very beginning of your program. This applies mostly to graduate school, but increasingly, I tell undergraduates to start thinking about the thesis around year 3.
Therefore, any plan that you make, any routine you develop, needs to ALWAYS account for thesis work. Researching, reading, finding sources, organizing, doing reviews of the literature, refining your questions, writing up your research design.
Everything PLUS coursework.
Everything PLUS coursework.
I understand that there are programs (like in the UK) where you do NOT take courses and go directly into the research. However, most programs will require coursework AND thesis work. So your plans need to account for this fact.
I tell my students that there is a simple equation
I tell my students that there is a simple equation
Total Workload = Schoolwork Workload + Thesis Workload + Personal/Life Workload.
You need to account for personal/life items: self care, making food, cleaning your house, dealing with parenting/child/elder/illness care. These items MUST be integrated into your planning.
You need to account for personal/life items: self care, making food, cleaning your house, dealing with parenting/child/elder/illness care. These items MUST be integrated into your planning.
Summary: developing a structured yet flexible routine for daily thinking, researching, writing, reflecting, is key to getting through graduate school. This routine needs to include the work of keeping our sanity and deal with life as it comes our way.
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