Mason Grad Insider

Procrastinating can also be looked at as a habitual stress relief that can be done inadvertently, hindering one’s success. It is no surprise that having the habit of procrastination affects productivity and the ability to plan ahead to achieve short-term and long-term goals.

I was held accountable, got to have mental moments of well-being with friends, at times explained what I was working on and teaching it to the architects and being taught in turn. Their questions taught me to dive deeper and find how to explain what I was reading to an audience outside my discipline, which in turn made me a better teacher of Gender Studies and History.

Meal prep is essential for us working adults (as many of us graduate students are), both to bring to our jobs and to those evening classes. Meal prep is great for many reasons–when you meal prep, you’ll be eating more nutritious food, healthier portions, and saving a lot more money than if you were eating out for these meals.

While it is enticing to stay warm under the covers and binge watch your favorite season of the Walking Dead or Scandal, consider how to use this time that would yield the greatest benefit to you academically. If you are not sure of what to do during this timeframe, consider the following ideas that can keep you engaged with your academic goals and will help you remain mentally thawed.

In a 2016 Internship & Co-op Survey that collected responses from almost 300 organizations and across 20 industries, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that “employers begin recruiting interns eight months before their start date; for co-ops [cooperative education programs], this window is six months.” It is never too early to start thinking about applying for these opportunities for next summer.

Here in the DMV, we are lucky because we do get to see the leaves change and for someone who grew up down in the low country of Georgia’s coast line, this has been an amazing sight to behold. My favorite time to hike through the many national and state parks we have in the region is the fall, and I bet you can guess why: the fall foliage!

It is now fall and I still enjoy getting outdoors and the perk of the DMV is that you get to enjoy the fall leaves, a thing I never got in GA. Don’t get me wrong, on the plus side, it is forcing me to write my dissertation, which I guess is a good thing. However, I can’t shake the feeling that I need to be outside and in fresh air.

Whether you have things under control or not, we all should find time to reflect on our resilience. At Mason, we define resilience as: Enhancing the capacity for successful adaptation in the face of stress, challenge, and adversity.

Although as grad students, we have all had to navigate class planning and organization for quite some time, acclimating to what this means for graduate school can be a challenge. As many of us are balancing coursework with other responsibilities, such as graduate assistantships, full-time jobs, and personal lives, it can be easy to get lost in the weeds of timelines and deadlines. Outlined are some of the easiest and most straightforward tips for staying organized throughout the semester.

Oftentimes, as graduate students, we feel the need to continue as if everything is fine, or that taking time to destress will take away from time that we could spend completing another assignment. In actuality, not being aware and recognizing that you need and deserve a break could negatively influence both your health and academic studies.