Grad School 101: My Sunday Ritual
via MoleskineUS.com
Spring Semester 2011 I took some good advice from Cal Newport and starting doing a Sunday ritual to help me get my brain ready for the week ahead. Between graduate school, teaching school and running a few extracurricular activities, I felt busier than James Franco. After a particularly awful week at the end of Fall 2010, I talked with my friend and fellow graduate student, Lauren about my troubles and she sent me to Cal Newport’s blog, Study Hacks.
Study Hacks has some really awesome ideas on how to get work finished, make excellent grades while still maintaining a life outside graduate school. The best idea that I have borrowed from there is the idea of maintaining a Sunday Ritual . Every Sunday, I wake up, get my calendars and begin planning out my week. It takes me about an hour to do, but it ensures that I know what is supposed to happen each day – including sending emails, backing up files and various engagements.
I also do this on a smaller scale each morning at my kitchen table, making sure that I am running on schedule for the week. I highly recommend watching Chalene Johnson’s 30 Day Push. For thirty days Chalene takes you through goal setting, list making and how to maintain a life/work balance. Knowing my goals and why they are meaningful to me, really helps me decide which projects will move me towards my goals. It works – trust me!
Useful Things
Epic Win iPhone App: To-Do List in a World of Warcraft/MMO setting
HomeRoutines by Wunderbear: Breaks up chores into manageable zones done on a daily basis
Moleskine Color a Month Planners: 12 different colored mini planners good for journaling or scribbling in places where smart phones aren’t quite welcome.