My Trick For Getting Through Grad School Is Learning To Navigate The Quadrants With All Their Nuances

my trick for getting through grad school is learning to navigate the quadrants with all their nuances

How to Handle Having TOO MUCH To Do

So let’s say you’re in the same boat I am (this is a running theme, have you noticed?) and you’ve just got, like, SO MUCH STUFF that HAS to get done YESTERDAY or you will DIE (or fail/get fired/mope). Everything needs to be done yesterday, you’re sick, and for whatever reason you are focusing on the least important stuff first. What to do!

Take a deep breath, because this is a boot camp in prioritization.

Make a 3 by 4 grid. Make it pretty big. The line above your top row goes like this: Due YESTERDAY - due TOMORROW - due LATER. Along the side, write: Takes 5 min - Takes 30 min - Takes hours - Takes DAYS.

Divide ALL your tasks into one of these squares, based on how much work you still have to do. A thank you note for a present you received two weeks ago? That takes 5 minutes and was due YESTERDAY. Put it in that square. A five page paper that’s due tomorrow? That takes an hour/hours, place it appropriately. Tomorrow’s speech you just need to rehearse? Half an hour, due TOMORROW. Do the same for ALL of your tasks

Your priority goes like this:

5 minutes due YESTERDAY

5 minutes due TOMORROW

Half-hour due YESTERDAY

Half-hour due TOMORROW

Hours due YESTERDAY

Hours due TOMORROW

5 minutes due LATER

Half-hour due LATER

Hours due LATER

DAYS due YESTERDAY

DAYS due TOMORROW

DAYS due LATER

At this point you just go down the list in each section. If something feels especially urgent, for whatever reason - a certain professor is hounding you, you’re especially worried about that speech, whatever - you can bump that up to the top of the entire list. However, going through the list like this is what I find most efficient.

Some people do like to save the 5 minute tasks for kind of a break between longer-running tasks. If that’s what you want to try, go for it! You’re the one studying here.

So that’s how to prioritize. Now, how to actually do shit? That’s where the 20/10 method comes in. It’s simple: do stuff like a stuff-doing FIEND for 20 minutes, then take a ten minute break and do whatever you want. Repeat ad infinitum. It’s how I’ve gotten through my to do list, concussed and everything.

You’ve got this. Get a drink and start - we can do our stuff together!

24.09.2024

Sooo updates?

I haven't posted in a while I know. I forgot about my goals for a bit and then I was terribly behind schedule and didn't have time to post.

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Last months:

🎨 I have managed to finish 4 artfight attacks and start another one before the end of July. My goal was five but it was my first time joining this event so I'm proud of myself. It was a fun experience and everyone on the site is very nice.

📚 About homework... I'm pretty disappointed on myself. I procrastinated until the beginning of school and ended up with a lot of overdue work during the first days. Thankfully I got my sh-t together and finished all my homework so I can focus on lessons. There's plenty of time to get better I guess...

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Now:

📚 Studying for a presentation I have tomorrow, in English (second language). I hope I'll do well... I'm very nervous about talking in front of the class. After this I'll focus on science and math since the tests are coming soon, I have a lot of notes to copy and study but I think it's manageable.

🎨 Art practice is currently paused to focus on school work. When I'll have enough time again I would like to learn about character design because I have an oc concept I would like to improve.

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[Photo: my desk at school with my little companion Dragonite!]

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choco-n-study

8 months ago