The long May weekend is over, and looking towards the next three months finding motivation to be productive during those long sunny days is going to be an enormous task. Last summer, I was able to be relatively productive (there is always room for improvement!), by following these suggestions from The All-But-Dissertation Survival Guide, an [...]]]>

The long May weekend is over, and looking towards the next three months finding motivation to be productive during those long sunny days is going to be an enormous task. Last summer, I was able to be relatively productive (there is always room for improvement!), by following these suggestions from The All-But-Dissertation Survival Guide, an online newsletter available through www.abdsurvivalguide.com:

Don’t Waste Your Summer!
By Gina J. Hiatt, Ph.D.
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Ahhhhh. The summer break. So much more free time! I’ll really get a lot done on my dissertation. Sound familiar? It’s a universal belief. Free time = get more accomplished. Too bad it’s not always true. What are the reasons that free time doesn’t necessarily lead to productivity? Let’s look at it step by step. Here is a typical scenario – OK, maybe it’s slightly exaggerated.

Day 1.  You sit down in front of the computer. You think about how much writing you need to do. It’s almost overwhelming. So you check your email. A friend calls, and you meet him for lunch. Soon the day is shot. It doesn’t matter; there’s a whole summerahead.

Day 2-30.  Repeat versions of Day 1.

Day 31.  You have begun to be nervous. A month has passed and you’ve barely gotten anything done. You resolve to put in at least 4 solid hours of writing a day. Starting tomorrow.

Day 32.  Just thinking about those 4 hours of writing makes you ill. You end up playing solitaire on the computer, cleaning your closet, and hating yourself.

Day 33.  Someone asks you how the dissertation is going, and you realize you want to punch them. Why do people keep asking you that?  Are they trying to torture you? You no longer feel as carefree and optimistic about finishing. The burden of getting something done feels so pressing that it causes you to procrastinate further. Your procrastination lowers your self-esteem. “After all,” says your completely logical mind, “with all this time available, I really should have gotten substantial work done.”

Before you find yourself in this nightmarish scenario, here are some tips that will not only help you make better use of your time, but allow you to enjoy your free time without guilt.

1. Make a list of the big projects you want to accomplish during this summer, and then break them into smaller tasks.

2. Select what you will work on in the upcoming week. Don’t set unrealistically high goals for yourself – this only results in discouragement. Contrary to logic, taking the excessive internal pressure off tends to allow you to accomplish more.

3. The day before, write down what you will start with the next day.  It’s always easier to plan what you will work on before you sit down to do it.

4. Schedule your work periods in small blocks of time; as short as 15 minutes may be needed to get you started.

5. Write every day. Spend at least 10 minutes per day just writing.  If you are in the very initial stages of an idea, do some free writing. If you are at the editing stage, edit for at least 10 minutes every day. There is nothing more important than this writing habit in keeping you feeling fresh and on top of your work.

6. At the end of each work period, make a note as to what you will do when you start up the next time.

7. Use your favorite activities as rewards.  If looking at email relaxes you, promise yourself you can look at it for 20 minutes after you have worked for 40.

If you miss a day or two, don’t be hard on yourself, and don’t decide to do extra work. This negative message will lead to more procrastination. Just start where you left off.

Finally, schedule your fun time and fully enjoy it. Feeling guilty never helped anyone write a better dissertation!

[picture courtesy of gerard]

In your undergraduate years, the end of April / early May most likely represented the beginning of summer holidays and a break from your studies.  However, life as a graduate student rarely comes to an end just because the calendar indicates “April” or “May”.  This is especially true if you [...]]]>

[picture courtesy of gerard]

In your undergraduate years, the end of April / early May most likely represented the beginning of summer holidays and a break from your studies.  However, life as a graduate student rarely comes to an end just because the calendar indicates “April” or “May”.  This is especially true if you are working on your thesis or research project.

Now is a great time to take a look at your plans for the summer months.  A well-organized plan outlining your tasks, expectations, and goals will help to keep you moving forward with your research/writing.  Set aside some time each day to work on your thesis or dissertation (if possible), or develop a consistent weekly schedule that accommodates your needs.  Developing a routine is key to success!

Another great tip for the guys at GradUpdate from UWO. Although the articles refers to Reading Week, it is obvious that can be applied for any circumstance.

Hopefully, the relative calm of Reading Week is providing you with some time for relaxation. A break of some sort can help you get energized for the [...]]]>

Another great tip for the guys at GradUpdate from UWO. Although the articles refers to Reading Week, it is obvious that can be applied for any circumstance.

Hopefully, the relative calm of Reading Week is providing you with some time for relaxation. A break of some sort can help you get energized for the remaining weeks in the term. This is especially true if you’re feeling intellectually exhausted, a feeling that isn’t uncommon in a place full of intelligent, dedicated students with high expectations of themselves. Academic fatigue – or burnout – can occur when you’ve been pushing yourself too hard for too long without a break. According to a website for graduate students at the University of British Columbia ( www.grad.ubc.ca/gradpd/gameplan.html ) the warning signs of burnout are:

• Loss of interest in or questioning the meaning of your studies and research
• Chronic fatigue – exhaustion, a sense of being physically run down and emotionally flat
• Anger at those making demands
• Cynicism, negativity, and irritability
• A sense of being besieged
• Feelings of helplessness

The best solution? According to the website, “take time away from work to allow your emotional interest to regenerate, get perspective, and re-establish the balance in your life.”  Significantly, “time away” need not mean days or weeks; Reading Week offers an opportunity to have a change of routine and do something that constitutes a break, such as reading outside your field, visiting a friend, cooking a special meal, or watching a movie.

For advice on developing effective coping skills in graduate school, see the “Solutions” section of “Emotional Fatigue: Coping with Academic Pressure” at www.gradresources.org/articles/emotional_fatigue.shtml ).

On March 8th Jorge Cham, the author and illustrator of PhD comics, came to inform a lecture hall full of grad students (well, and the odd undergrad) that procrastination is a good thing. Overall, his talk was funny, but I found that it could have been more motivational to those struggling [...]]]> (by Jordan Jarvis)

On March 8^th Jorge Cham, the author and illustrator of PhD comics, came to inform a lecture hall full of grad students (well, and the odd undergrad) that procrastination is a good thing. Overall, his talk was funny, but I found that it could have been more motivational to those struggling through grad school.

To launch his talk, he shared a brief wikipedia-researched history of our fine institution and pointed out that the University of Toronto coat of arms, in a true Canadian fashion, consists largely of a beaver reading books. Throughout his presentation, he seemed to be absorbing the joyful responses to his jokes and nodding his head in a way that said “Yeah! Finally, I’m a comedian.” Those pauses made the pace of his speech resemble a car that repeatedly speeds up to 100 km/h and then suddenly hits the brakes, which I found relatively annoying. However, that was the only real downside to his talk.

He went on to point out all the different fields that one can do a PhD in, paused at actuarial science and jokingly said “What is that?” The undergraduate at the front of the room then proceeded to explain to a few hundred PhD students what actuarial science, in fact, meant. Jorge blatantly laughed in her face and reminded her that she was an undergrad. Besides ripping on undergrads, Jorge also took a serious note, showing results from a graduate student survey where 67% of students claimed to feel hopeless and depressed at some point during their studies. Additionally, 95% of students felt overwhelmed at some point. That begs the question, who are those 5% that have never felt overwhelmed? Super-humans?

Jorge’s ability to expose graduate student life situations that anyone can relate to is impressive and entertaining. When talking about procrastination, he brought up the guilt. The guilt when you are out having drinks with friends, or taking it easy on the weekend, and feel like you should be reading papers or working in the lab.

So, why do we procrastinate? Well, that’s because we just don’t want to do it… now. As for the power of procrastination, he went on to say that it is necessary for us to procrastinate in order to clear our heads and go on to make great discoveries (or simply figure out how to get an experiment to work, for that matter). If Newton hadn’t put off his work to enjoy the nice weather under an apple tree and that apple hadn’t hit his head, would he have thought of the universal law of gravitation? Probably not.

(by Michelle Ladouceur-Wodzak)

Last Friday students and staff from the departments of MBP, Immunology, and Biochemistry hit the slopes Skiing and Snowboarding at Blue Mountain.  Our bus ride was filled with Starbucks coffee, Timbits and a Back to the Future movie marathon. The runs and weather were perfect. Many attempted snowboarding for the first [...]]]>

(by Michelle Ladouceur-Wodzak)

Last Friday students and staff from the departments of MBP, Immunology, and Biochemistry hit the slopes Skiing and Snowboarding at Blue Mountain.  Our bus ride was filled with Starbucks coffee, Timbits and a Back to the Future movie marathon. The runs and weather were perfect. Many attempted snowboarding for the first time while others showed off their skills. What made the day even better was finishing it off with a good old beaver tail and hot chocolate at the top of the mountain. (Immunology had free beer, but perhaps that could change for MBP next year. J ) Overall, it was an exciting day and by the end we were all exhausted. The bus was filled with sleeping students and life was good and stress-free for a little while.

[Show as slideshow]

Jorge Cham, the author of Piled higher and Deeper (PhD) comics, is coming to speak!

His comics are hilarious and continually reflect grad school life – if you haven’t read them, then you’ve been missing out: phdcomics.com.

And I’ve heard he gives a great talk as well, so get your ticket to check it out!

He’ll [...]]]>

Jorge Cham, the author of Piled higher and Deeper (PhD) comics, is coming to speak!

His comics are hilarious and continually reflect grad school life – if you haven’t read them, then you’ve been missing out: phdcomics.com.

And I’ve heard he gives a great talk as well, so get your ticket to check it out!

He’ll be here on Monday March 8 at 3pm  (at MacLeod auditorium, Med Science Building)

Tickets are limited so get them in advance – bring your $10 to either Megan in mars (4-601H) or Vanessa in PMH (10-126), or bring it to seminar and get your ticket there.

He’s also going to be available during the day, so if you’re interested in showing him around the lab/hospital, and maybe getting to be IN one of his comics, then email the organizers: phdcomics.toronto@gmail.com.

Thanks all!

Megan

Pretty much everyone in our society gets some time off work or school throughout the year. Graduate students though fall into an interesting category for whom vacation time is not well defined. Some of us regularly work on the weekends, some come in at 6 am, some leave after 12 am and some [...]]]>

Pretty much everyone in our society gets some time off work or school throughout the year. Graduate students though fall into an interesting category for whom vacation time is not well defined. Some of us regularly work on the weekends, some come in at 6 am, some leave after 12 am and some work for years without taking time off. So, the point of my first blog is to remind you guys to take vacation and to enjoy your life!

Even though, I really believe in the necessity of going on vacation, my plan for 2009 was not to take any time off. Did it work? Well, I did great in the sprig and most of the summer, but by the end of the summer my research stopped progressing, experiments stopped working and I was exhausted. So, using the excuse that my birthday present (a wet suit for diving) was collecting dust in the closet and that I really needed to test it out, I decided to go on vacation.

Despite the hurricane season (it was already a middle of September) I had a blast in Cuba. The scuba diving was excellent, the weather was great and no thinking about my research for the entire week (that’s a mandatory rule for a real vacation). The vacation brought the end to my misfortune and the first experiment that I did when I was back in the lab worked beautifully!

Now I know that once in a while I really need to take a week off and do something fun to help me keep going with my research. I realize that for some ous it may be hard and nearly impossible to leave the lab for the entire week, but everyone can probably find a day or two that they can spent having fun. Our MBP executive team organizes great events that may help you escape from the lab: Ski trip is coming up soon, MBP Olympics and BBQ is taking place in the summer, and Geneva park retreat is happening every fall.

Although I am not sure what the attendance expectations were, Saturday’s Medical Biophysics Open House must be considered an all around success.  Hundreds of undergraduate students descended onto Princess Margaret Hospital, on a cold winter morning (-15C, FYI!), to attend the annual Medical Biophysics Open House and learn more about our program.

Students from [...]]]>

Although I am not sure what the attendance expectations were, Saturday’s Medical Biophysics Open House must be considered an all around success.  Hundreds of undergraduate students descended onto Princess Margaret Hospital, on a cold winter morning (-15C, FYI!), to attend the annual Medical Biophysics Open House and learn more about our program.

Students from all the major universities in Ontario attended the event, all eager to meet faculty, talk to students and tour the laboratory facilities. In attendance, there were students with a variety of backgrounds:  from molecular and cell biology, physiology, biochemistry, chemistry to physics, engineering, mathematics and beyond. The morning started with the majority of the undergrads sifting through the different posters and talking to the many graduate students and supervisors available at hand.

While 80% of the posters were located in the main hall, there were a few posters relegated in a moderately conspicuous room representing the physics stream, specifically Sunnybrook hospital projects . And that’s where I was. Honestly, I would have preferred to be in the middle of the action and high student traffic area, but I made the most of it. But despite the less than perfect strategic position, I was able to talk with many students that courageously ventured in the dungeon room.

There you would have seen me gesturing and waving my hands, while explaining the wonders of cardiac MRI, the amazing things we are doing in the Wright group and in the MBP program in general. I was able to interact with undergrad students looking for summer positions, recent grads looking for Masters or PhD positions, and everyone seemed extremely receptive and impressed (by the way it’s extremely easy to wow a second year student!)

But the most endearing aspect of this whole experience, was looking into those inquiring eyes and seeing myself from a few years ago. I remember being at a crossroad of my life trying to decide whether to stick with my ‘right-out-of-school’ engineering job or apply to grad school. Not really knowing which school to select or what lab to apply to.  Just like that younger Samuel, many students today were driven by an inner passion for more learning and consciously steered towards grad school.  But like an explorer faced with the decision of taking the right or the left trail, personal passion sometimes leads you to the unknown, which is filled with anxiety.  Hopefully, today I was able to decrease some of that anxiety and paint a brighter picture of graduate school, a little less daunting and present to those students the great aspects of our interdisciplinary program.

Overall, it was an extremely great experience. I could go on and talk about the socially-awkward-feet-staring-probably-disconnected-from-the-real-life students, or about the food, or the keynote address by Peter Burns, but I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the yapping….(and no, the above-mentioned students are not included in these pictures….)

(By the way I took the pictures with iPhone using the pretty cool panoramic app “Pano”, some of the stitching is not perfect but whatever… enjoy)

main hall

"the Sunnybrook room"

Dr. Burns

more pictures below…..

MBP OPEN HOUSE!

Title: MBP New Year Pub Night Location: Molly Bloom’s @ 191 College Street Description: Title: MBP New Year Pub Night Where: Molly Bloom’s @ 191 College Street When: Wednesday January 13, 2010, 5:30 to 9:30pm Tickets: $5 – includes drink and appetizers. Purchase from Vanessa DiPalma (PMH) – vdipalma@gmail.com

Start Time: 17:30 Date: 2010-01-13 End Time: 21:30