There are many blog posts out there about how people have been coping with the social changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. And of those blog posts a good portion of them are likely from PhD students talking about how to continue making progress on a PhD during these times. In fact, I've participated in a few focus groups and interviews researching how people are adjusting their work habits and staying productive during these times. In some ways, my participation in these events has worried me, because I have not been coping with this pandemic in a healthy way. I have maintained my unhealthy relationship with work and productivity in part because of my background as someone from the so-called United States of America. So while I have been able to maintain most of my productivity (with some small sacrifices still being made), it is not exactly healthy that I have done so.
This puts me as a researcher in a difficult situation. At what point do I let my productivity ebb, and will I even be able to recognize when I have reached that point? I've worked for the 7 years before my PhD in a state of "it doesn't matter how I feel, I still have to get the stuff done". In no way is that healthy. In no way do I want to continue that viewpoint until I collapse. However, it is a very hard thing to break the conditioning of 24 years of life, and the additional 2 years of PhD level expectations. And so we come to the purpose of this blog post: what's most important. As my supervisor said, "Our goal is to not die, not let our families die, and keep up with our work. In that order". The important stuff right now, and all the time, is making sure that we are safe. Our work may be important, but no form of production is worth more than our lives and health. We may not be taught this, but it is true. So I am attempting to find that balance for myself. I took time off this winter. It ended up being not as much as I originally planned, but it was a step in the right direction. I'm making plans to take a break this summer as well. This does not mean I'm a "bad PhD student", and in fact, it may make me a better one. Life is about balance, and that may be one of the most important lessons my PhD has taught me. We all have choices about how much we take on, and we all have to decide what our priorities are, but without a balance of rest, the work won't actually get done. My goal for this next stage of my PhD is to get a little better at the balance and to carry that through to my life after the PhD as well.
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A Second Blog Page?This is the part of the blog specifically about my PhD. It will include updates, musings, and advice. Archives
August 2022
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