Grad school is, as I’ve become fond of saying, twenty-six hours worth of work in a twenty-four hour day. With an intense Monday through Thursday 8 AM-to-midnight schedule, I’m finding that I’m having two problems.
The first problem is keeping up with the workload. I have seven or eight different syllabi to look at to see if I have anything due. That’s a process in and of itself. Then there’s the matter of doing all the work. Reading and processing hundreds of pages per week while responding concisely and trying to have a presence in the classroom and trying to “network” is exhausting… which leads to the second problem.
I’m having trouble relaxing. By Thursday night I’m just beat. I’m tense, tired, and worn down because I know it’s just going to get worse from here. I’m constantly trying to evolve my work strategies but I’m just not able to relax. I gave up pretty much all my hobbies (except blogging, of course) before coming to school. I don’t have much money so I can’t even go out to dinner or something of that nature. I can read… except I do so much of that for school that my “rate of absorption” is pretty low by the end of the week.
I guess I need to figure out not only how to work, but how to play. We’ll see.
Man that sounds tough Burton, have you tried exercise or taking night walks or any physical activity to relieve stress and take your mind off your workload? That helps me when I’m over stressed. Could help ease the tension and allow you to relax more as a result.
I know it doesn’t feel like you have the time but your health should be top priority especially when you’re highly stressed. You’ll probably find that it makes you more productive by increasing energy and improving sleep. Just some food for thought, heck maybe you’re already doing this I don’t know. In which case, just ignore me and hope I go away.