Consumed

Spring semester always begins with this great promise of being super-productive, especially when I am on a research assistantship and not teaching.

Then I come back to reality and remember that much of my spring semester is always consumed by:

1. applying for grants or helping undergraduates apply for grants to fund their independent projects,
2. preparing summer research conference abstracts and presentations, and
3. planning summer fieldwork. 

Don't get me wrong, these things are still productive, but it's never what I dream of RE: writing 5 manuscripts and skiing every weekend.  Guess I should be a little more realistic when I make my "to do this semester" lists!

And, in the end, the above list (+ writing articles and teaching) certainly reflects the reality of the rest of my life if I choose to stay in academia.  I am still figuring out the best way to juggle writing, lab work, teaching, mentoring and planning.  I think I am getting better, but there is still LOTS of room for improvement.

For now (based on how I feel this morning) I will leave you with this:

Check out the rest of the PhD comics series!
(It's amazing how well they mirror my life as a graduate student.)

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READING: Smith (2010). Is There an Ecological Unconscious? The New York Times.

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