Hmm, there's not much to say really, other than my summer classes have started. One week down, seven more weeks to go. That's going to be very fast. I have assignments piled high. Plus I have to write my career development plan and research plan for the HESP award. PhD school is not so much being highly intelligent, but being HIGHLY ORGANIZED and DISCIPLINED. You should know how to triage your priorities (i.e. assignments, research work, personal time, household chores). There's little room to be scatter-brained and unfocused. It's like every day is a competition with yourself; you mustn't let yourself get the better of you. Staying focused, disciplined, and consistent are key attributes to push forward with your PhD journey.
No wonder they say that PhDs (or PhD students) are high-functioning achievers. Not because we're intelligent, but because we're constantly bombarded with a barrage of tasks and research work. You are expected to ALWAYS churn out high-quality, often times novel research work. Anything less makes you a wishy-washy scientist. It's difficult, it's arduous, it's energy-draining, it's exhausting.
But then you'll think again of the reason why you decided to pursue the PhD path: for the love of science and using science to make the world a better place. To serve the people using science. I guess I just need to always repeat this to myself.
No comments:
Post a Comment