How to Grad & Beyond with Betul

Grad school is not for the weak. It needs resilience, mental strength and … a lot of caffeine. I know this firsthand because I went from consuming a few cups of coffee a year before grad school to one large cup of black coffee everyday during grad school. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The primary solution to avoid overwhelming ourselves during grad school is to strive for work-life balance at all times. I know it sounds impossible, but it is. I was able to achieve it in the last two years of 7-year long PhD studies. I want to help you achieve it earlier.

The trick to achieving it is taking small steps instead of striving for perfection. Let’s say you want to regulate your email response style, not constantly stress out every email you get and get rid of the urge to respond to them ASAP. Your first step could be not responding to emails after 10 pm (ideally, regardless of the sender, even if it is your advisor). Then, after 9 pm. Then, after 6 pm. Then, maybe you allocate a specified time during the day to respond to emails. For example, you respond to all your emails between 10 am and 11 am everyday, and no other time during the day. When I tried this, I was able to achieve the state where I didn’t check my emails after 5 pm and that’s where I stayed. It brought balance into my life.

Balance is not easy during grad school. But it certainly is not impossible.