Ask the SAIS Guy & Gal
Each month, the SAIS Guy and Gal sit down and answer your questions about life, love, and change. Yes, they can!
Dear SAIS Guy:
I’m stressed. I’m not sure why. I know it’s not my responsibilities as an editor for the SAIS Observer, I got Andre doing all the work for me now, lol. Loser. I also know it’s not because of my job as a T.A for macro. I’m so good at that I can do it with my eyes closed. I know. I’ve tried. Do you think it might be another case of Canadian identity crisis, my fellow Canuck?
What’s the solution? American accession?
-Graham Bocking, SAIS Observer editor, Teaching Assistant for Macroeconomics, and b-ball baller/shot caller.
Mr. Baller:
Stress is to SAIS as global-warming is to carbon emissions (unless you read the Climate-gate emails, but that’s another story). This reputation for a stressed-out student body preceded my arrival at the school; a fellow student at a conference mentioned that she attended a few events at SAIS and thought that everyone was “really smart, but kind of manic.” My roommate lat year noted that the most common expression among students was, “man, I’m so far behind.”
I guess graduate school is supposed to be an intense period, but do we really think that life after graduation will be simple? I would argue that searching for a job, adjusting to new colleagues, and navigating your way through the career ladder is a struggle too.
Stress is going to be with us forever. So we better get used to it and take it seriously. Learning to cope with stress could be one of the best life-skills to take away from SAIS.
The effects of stress are striking. Health ailments caused by being over-stressed cost the economy $300 billion per year, about three-fourths of the entire Defense Department budget in a single year! (Maybe someone should tell Congress?).
More than money though, stress causes real harm to our bodies. It causes the vascular system to restrict circulation to non-vital organs and causes the brain to release chemicals that can damage the heart itself. The brain releases other hormones that diminish short-term memory – making you less effective on your upcoming exams. All these natural responses by the body wear down the immune system, which explains the rash of sickness across the school (and Obama’s gray hair).
OK, enough with the science lesson Dealing with this stuff is not rocket science. Our bodies need to get out of the library and get exercise. We need to quit drinking five to twelve cups of coffee a day. Eat a balanced diet. It sounds silly to say these things, but they’re still true even though they are simple. Not only does your success at SAIS depend on it, you success over the long-term surely does as well.
Check out Erin’s suggestions below for more advice, she has a lot of good suggestions. Just remember Graham, accession is never the answer – no matter how poorly the Oilers and Maple Leafs may be doing. Even when they’re second and third-to-last in the NHL. But hey, who’s counting?
Jamie Huckabay is a second year M.A. candidate in Canadian Studies.
Dear SAIS Gal:
Dear SAIS Gal,
While I’ve been holed up in the library cranking out papers in the laptop room, I’ve find myself wishing that I had planned out my time during the semester better. Then this time would not be quite so harrowing. What can I do to manage time so I can balance my workload and leave a little time for fun?
-Carrel Hermit
Dear CH:
I know the feeling. My favorite studybreak habit, after practicing the monster dance from the Lady Gaga Bad Romance video, is making a to-do list of my tasks broken down in to many mini-tasks so I have more items to cross off. Sweet, sweet satisfaction. I’m not going to say that I have a completely comprehensive and successful strategy mapped out, but here are some tips that have been helpful to me.
First, create a master plan of attack for the semester. Once all my classes were settled, I sat down with a calendar and all of my syllabi to create a master reading and assignment list. This way I was able to have a handy weekly list of everything I needed to get done. I also could get a general sense of flow for the semester, and I could work ahead in slow weeks to compensate for midterms, etc. I also kept a calendar or list for my networking efforts, making it easier to follow up when I hadn’t heard from an alum for a week or so.
Second, figure out your distraction triggers. Through trial and error, I figured out that the laptop room is better than what I now call the 8th Floor Carrels of Death. I know coffee shops work for a lot of people, but I found that the ambient noise prevents me from focusing. Set up your workspace to encourage focus. My most productive work recently occurred during the Nitze Internet Blackout of December 2009. Now I just turn off my wireless and crank work out.
Third, use the power of the internet. Despite the enormity of fun things that I could look at (have you seen the Surprised Kitty video? That’s a quality 17 seconds right there.), I’ve found that putting a little bit of time into automating my email and calendar is extremely helpful. I make use Gmail’s label and filter systems to manage my emails. Each class and activity gets plugged into my elaborate filter system so the information I need is easy to find or file away. My inbox is only for email that still needs a response of some kind. You can set up events in Google Calendar to email you at a set time prior; receiving reminder emails about upcoming assignments helped me stay on track.
Finally, and I’m still working on this one, just start. A daunting task is so much less overwhelming if you break off a little piece and promise yourself that you will just work on it for half an hour, and then see where you’re at. Thirty minutes of raging productivity can get a lot done.
Good luck with your time management and your final exams!
Erin Kelley is a second year M.A. candidate in Middle East Studies specializing in Development Economics.
Filed Under: December 2009
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