A Semester to "Get Stuff Done"

Sometimes I've just got stuff in my head I need to get out on (virtual) paper.  As a mature student and TA, I spend time with a bunch of students and there are things I wish I could teach them.  In my head I've been imagining some kind of course or book or web-series that I could share with them.  I was traveling with another young student the other day and we were discussing mature students - I pointed out that we're not any smarter, we just have better time management skills.  Through experience, things like cooking and laundry come more naturally.  They nodded wisely and said "You know how to adult".  I realized they were right... I have as much trouble with imposter syndrome as the next person, so it's hard to see, but I really do know how!  It hasn't come easily to me, so I could share what and how I've learned.  Here's a manifesto, if you will... the first in what might be a series of dispatches on how to to have a semester to "get stuff done", especially if you're a math student at university.



If you're like me, you come back to school in January at the last possible minute before classes start, so you can wring every last minute of enjoyment out of time with your family at home.  You probably had good intentions of finishing writing a paper (like I did), or perhaps for you it was catching up on reading or something related to your honours project that you just can't find time for during term time.  Now it's January 19th, classes and tutorials have started, assignments will be coming soon, you still haven't unpacked from the holidays, the kitchen is a mess, you've got no clean underwear and there's nothing to eat.  It's Saturday and you've turned down every invitation for tonight so you can stay in and get a handle on things... but where do you even start?

I know you will get there, because you've gotten this far, you're smart and you have energy.  But I hate to see you struggle and I've learned the same things.  I'd like to help, if you'll let me.  I don't want to be a surrogate parent, but perhaps I can be your Auntie...someone who cares about you and wants you to reach your goals, but isn't going to take it as a personal failure if you decide to switch programs or even drop out.  Or maybe it's more like when I used to Coach badminton... I set up practices and drills and taught the players everything I knew about the game, but when the tournaments came they were alone on the court putting together the best of what they'd learned from me with the skills, talent, and energy they brought to it.  Or to bring in one last idea, maybe I'm like a Tutor, but for all areas of life, not just math. I've always been the kind of tutor who wanted to teach my way out of a job - I don't want to tell students the answer to any particular question, I want to teach them how to use their notes, textbook, and other resources to figure out how to solve any question they might get.

You only need two things for us to start this journey together - something to write with, and something to write on.  You can go fancy with an expensive journal and archival ink pen (on the left), or stay simple by rustling up whatever paper you have around and a free pen you picked up along the way (on the right - all grad students use conferences as their main source of writing implements, right?)

Let me reassure you that this is not meant to motivate you to "try harder!" or convince you to jump tall challenges with a single bound.  It's about forming habits that support you in what you're trying to do. Most to the things we do together will be small improvements that become a seamless part of your life.  There is a quote usually attributed to Aristotle that says "We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit".  At least one source says that the quote is actually attributable to Will Durant [1].  Either way, I find it reassuring, and I hope you will too.  Most of what we do day to day is done automatically, so let's harness that ability of the human brain to form habits.

So, with that, let's get started, shall we?  And where will we start, you ask?  The answer, to me, is obvious. Having a productive, enjoyable day begins with a good, restful night of SLEEP.

[1] “Excellence Is a Habit (Thoughts on the Popular Aristotle Quote).” Develop Good Habits, 2 Jan. 2019, www.developgoodhabits.com/excellence-habit/.