11.4.21 (photo from a hike in the Catskill Region Sunday, 10.24)
So, as promised, I was feeling motivated to write down what I do during the day. In part because I feel highly unproductive and I need to remind myself that I’m not, and also just to share my story and educate future academics! I know that this was something that would have helped me just a couple months ago.
7:00 – My alarm goes off. Usually I snooze at least twice, but today I was feeling particularly motivated. I laid in bed scrolling on my phone until about 7:10, then dragged myself out of bed. Sometimes I am indecisive about what I’m going to wear, but today I already had picked out a pair of pants. I was still undecided about a shirt, so I threw on an undershirt to layer with some sort of collared shirt later.
7:25 – I don’t really need the caffeine, but I’ve gotten into a routine of making myself a cup of coffee and eating breakfast. I sat on the couch watching the sun attempt to rise through the grey clouds.
7:55 – Now it’s time to catch the bus. I live about 3 miles from campus and I have a car, but Albany drivers are not the best, and I prefer to take the bus most days when I don’t have to run any errands or get home quickly.
8:25 – I arrive to campus, and get to my building. I normally would head to the library, but it’s not open until 9am, so I make myself comfortable on a couch. I’m working on a research proposal due next week, so I put my headphones in to tune out the world. But before I do that, I check my email and finish up some grading for one of my professors.
9:00 – After procrastinating (and writing an earlier blog post here), I start my research proposal. I have written a solid draft, I just need to find more sources, so I spend the next hour pouring through some sources I had already collected but not yet read through.
10:00 – My AppleWatch reminds me that it’s time to move, and so it is. I think about going to the library, but instead I head to the third floor, where I have a joint office space with other first-years in my department. Unsurprisingly, I am alone; rarely is anyone ever there before noon. I keep plugging along at my proposal and research.
11:00ish – I have class at 11:40 on Mondays, so it’s time for me to eat an early lunch. I get out my lunchbox and heat up a homemade burrito. I was worried about having to pack my lunch everyday, but it’s formed part of my nightly routine where I do lunch prep at the same time that I am cooking dinner.
11:30 – I head off to my first class, Gender & Sexuality. It’s a graduate seminar filled with sociology students as well as women’s and gender studies students.
1:00 – Break time! We get a break halfway through the seminar course, as it’s almost three hours long. I am not hungry but instead decide to take a walk around campus, as I am feeling ancy.
2:30 – Class dismissed. I head back to the department office to grab my lunchbox and drop off some books at my desk, and then I walk to the bus stop. I have a class that I TA for at 4:30, so there’s a bit of an awkward break. I usually decide to go home because it is on Zoom.
3:00 – I get home and my mother calls me. We don’t talk often, but today we FaceTime for almost an hour.
4:00 – Some down time before the meeting at 4:30. I use this time to get a snack, check emails, and get dressed for a workout after class.
4:30 – Discussion hour for the class that I TA for. It usually doesn’t last for a full hour, and today it ends a little after 5.
5:15 – I decide to stretch my legs and go for a run. I’ve been dealing with some knee pain recently, and I went on a gentle 6-mile hike yesterday in my new running shoes. Today I pushed the limits even more and went on a tempo run, doing a 3 miler in about 25 minutes. I end my workout sesh with some pullups and bodyweight exercises on the local outdoor playground.
6:00 – I hop in the shower and begin prepping dinner. Tonight I am feeling lazy, so I make a pot of Annie’s mac & cheese, adding in some fresh broccoli for some green, heat up some leftover chicken, and pair it with a side Caesar salad. I swear I have a hole in my leg, so it’s no wonder I like to make my food to skimp on food bills from eating out!
7:00 – I chow down on dinner and watch an episode of Good Mythical Morning 🙂
7:45 – Time to get back to work. I finish reading for my one class, Research Methods, tomorrow afternoon, so that I can spend the day tomorrow working on my proposal and doing other readings.
9:00 – I finish reading and taking notes, and decide to start writing this 🙂
10:00 – It’s time for a bedtime snack. Usually I munch aimlessly when I am bored (a bad habit, but it gives me endorphins – enough said)
10:30 – At this point, I’m usually feeling tired and head to my bedroom. I scroll through my phone aimlessly again, before falling asleep sometime before midnight.
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