i talk a lot about sustainability - but how do you know if you're working with a sustainable schedule? i give my top warning signs that your schedule will eventually bury you alive, and even better, ways to build in some flexibility and space in this week's episode! get into it!
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I talk a lot about sustainability, but if you've ever wondered what that means and how to know if your schedule is sustainable. This is the episode for. for. you. Welcome to Grad School is Hard, But... A Thrive PhD podcast. I'm Dr. Katy Peplin and this is a show for everyone who's doing the hard work of being a human and a scholar.
And in season three, I'm demystifying some of the most important, but often invisible parts of grad school that learning about might just make your life a little bit easier. And make sure you check out the link in the show notes for my working more intentionally tool kit. Which is available for you totally for free. Now let's get into it
It's basically thrive PhD legend at this point, but low, many moons ago as an anxious PhD student. I came into my therapist office with the schedule for the next two weeks. Uh, down to the 15 minute level of detailed. It was color-coded it was beautifully printed. I'm so happy about it. I wish I had a picture to show you, but then again, I'm also kind of clear that I don't. I was so proud because I had scheduled in at least six hours of sleep at night. One hour of working out a few days a week and was convinced that if I just stuck to the schedule, everything. Everything would be fine. At the time I was trying to get married in the same week that I was defending my comprehensive exams. And when I wasn't studying, I was planning and trying to mentally navigate all that comes along with being legally. And otherwise. Bound to another human. But I could just do it.
If I kept to the schedule, it would all work and I would feel no stress about any of these things. This was the plan anyway. My therapist at the time. Bless her. Looked at me and said, but what if they're sTraffic. And right there in her office, I burst into tears because my schedule was only workable.
If nothing unexpected happen. And even the suggestion of 10 minutes of traffic. I was enough to open up the flood gates of worry and fear and stress and anxiety. Full disclosure. I'm still working on a lot of the same lessons that I was on that day. And I still do make pretty detailed schedules for myself. But I have learned a lot. About sustainability in the meantime. And how to tell if you're working with a schedule that is, or isn't sustainable. Schedules are great. Their plans with a time associated and they can be such great tools and helping you see what you need to adjust to meet certain goals. But they can also crush you if they're built on premises, that just can't be maintained over time.
Here. Here are some of the telltale signs that you're working with, a schedule that isn't sustainable. Over the longterm. And please believe me, grad school is long-term and you need a schedule that addresses that. So here are. Those signs. Number one, it doesn't account for human functions. Your schedule like sleep. Or movement or eating or cleaning your space. Warning sign number two. It requires everyone else to adhere to it perfectly.
And the more people that includes the less sustainable, it probably is. If your entire schedule rests on your advisor being on time and prepared for your meetings. Are your students not having questions after the class, then it's probably not as sustainable as you think it is.
Warning sign number three. If you find yourself playing catch up on a frequent. Or even regular basis to stay somewhat close to the schedule. It's probably. Not as sustainable.
Warning sign number four. It doesn't have any flexibility without massive restructuring. That is how much would you really need, need to redo that schedule? If you got sick for two days? If you would have to trash the whole thing, it probably isn't. Is ironclad and sustainable as you want it to be.
Next morning sign.
It doesn't have rest days or even rest times.
Second to last. It only addresses the immediate concerns or projects on your plate. And doesn't have anything that helps support long-term projects or things that are important, but just not urgent or do right now. And last but not least. The warning sign that I find almost everybody's schedule is hitting.
It doesn't have any time or very, very limited time to connect with family, friends, loved ones, communities, other interests, or just time for fun. More generally. If any of those warning signs. Made you sit up. And think, wow. Maybe things aren't as sustainable as I thought. Well, I have some good news for you. But first a little caveat. There are, of course, certain times during your grad school journey, like the two weeks before you turn in your draft to your committee or the week of your exam, that sustainability is less of a concern. But if you can always find a reason why you need to push past your limits. Then it might be time to examine your schedule and those things that make you believe. That you're only truly working if you're going above and beyond the limits of your life.
And now because I'm not a monster. Here are my most potent ways to add in some space and flexibility to get a schedule that will keep you on track. Without necessarily endangering your health. Okay. Tip number one. Make sure that you have days off scheduled. I personally. Like a half day, weekday admin hard-stop at 8:00 PM. And at least one weekend day, fully off as my rhythm. Wednesday mornings.
I'm usually pretty tired. So it's a good time for me to clean run errands book, all my doctor's appointments or whatever else I need to do. That's outside of the house. And then I get a little bit of a break during the week. Maybe you do six days a week, but you're off at 2:00 PM. Or maybe you do two days on one day off in a cycle because weekends are just a construct. As long as there are off days or off periods already scheduled, it's really going to help your sustainability.
Tip number two. Consider adding in some buffer time before big deadlines. Is that chapter due to your adviser? January 1st. Right out all of your milestone days and your schedule so that you quote unquote finish. Say December 23rd, and then you have a little bit of time to play with, if things get off track. If your project has collaborators like co-authors or outside sources of data or specialized software. Or anything that makes it more complicated. Please, please definitely put in some of that flex time. Even if you don't need it, you'll be glad you had it.
Tip number three.
Think about buffer blocks during the week. I have a few hours on Tuesdays and Friday afternoons. That I don't schedule anything. And I use those hours to catch up on all of the things that invariably need to be caught up on having unscheduled time means that I don't have to take that time out of my regular schedule. It's a game changer.
If you've never tried it. I find it so helpful for dealing with those last minute email requests, because now I can say, Hey, this wasn't on my plate for this week, but I will have some time on Friday afternoon. And I'll try and look at it,
it helps so much. And last but not least. Ask for help. As a person from work who works from home. I assume that it was part of the deal that I would do most of the chores, all the grocery shopping errands and other household stuff. And of course, all of that adds up. It turns out that when I made that assumption, I was unwittingly depriving my husband of going to the grocery store, which weirdly he loves.
And I hate. So when I asked for some help, keeping up with things, he gladly took that on. Help comes in many places, but if we start, always start from the premise of, if I think about it, then I must be in charge of doing it. Well, a lot ends up on your list that maybe doesn't need to be there.
All of this is a way of saying I work hard.
You work hard. But there's a difference between showing up to put in the work and then taking the rest of the time to take care of yourself. And do all of the other human things. And working so hard that you crash and need to recover in a cycle that repeats. If not endlessly, pretty close to it. Work hard. Rest hard. Work hard. Work smart and do the rest too, but try not to fall into, or at least try not to stay in the trap of thinking that only an inhuman schedule. Of perfect productivity.
We'll get you to the finish line. Well, rested well cared for humans. Get a surprising amount of work done in a much smaller amount of time. Let yourself experiment with some of these sustainability practices and see for yourself.
And last but not least a tiny little announcement. There is the once a year thrive PhD sale going on now through December 11th. If you're listening to this episode of close to one, it releases. Check out the store. Everything is 15% off. No code needed. It's my way of saying thank you for everything you do for thrive PhD. See you next week.
📍 Thank you for listening to Grad School is Hard, but... You can find more information and resources in the show notes and at thrive-phd.com. Every month, I'll select one reviewer for a free 45 minute session with me. So please subscribe, rate, and review to help spread the word about the show. Thanks so much and I'll see you again soon!