update gaps

I feel like I mention this every time I make a new post, but I have pretty large gaps in between posts nowadays. For this specific instance, this was largely because I had a rather crazy week the week after I posted between wrapping up recruiting season, grad school application stuff, and of course, midterm season. It’s not like my weeks are no longer crazy (feelsbad), but I think with the end of recruiting, things should hopefully cool down a bit. Interviews tended to take up huge chunks of several days throughout the week not to mention just the mental space that they also demanded. It is a huge relief that all of that is over now, and I’m super excited about this upcoming summer (if it’s in-person).

productivity update

As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, I’ve been a lot less conscious about my productivity, to the point where I was not very productive during the summer/at the start of school. However, ironically, I’ve probably gotten more done in the past couple of months than I did during quarantine when I was on top of my productivity habits. This is simply due to the fact that I had way more “mandatory” stuff to work on—it was hard for my brain to procrastinate since it categorizes school stuff as well as interviews as mandatory. Furthermore, since the GRE and interviews are so long (many hours in a row of rather rigorous brain activity), I’ve noticed large improvements in my mental stamina since the start of the semester. All of this has made me feel really happy about how my semester has gone, even though it has been extremely busy. One of the metrics that I like to use to measure how much I’m getting done is my levels of busy-ness versus my levels of stress——I’ve managed to stay in a relative state of eustress throughout this semester.

yesterday morning

I did have a nice break yesterday from all the craziness where I just relaxed for a day. I am going to be returning to California on Thanksgiving for the rest of the semester (man this semester passed so quickly). In light of the 3 hour time difference, I’m probably going to have to start waking up at 6-7am, or else I’m not going to be able to attend my mandatory participation classes or finish assignments on time. I’m going to do something similar to Matt D’avella’s 30day challenge and try to implement the 2-day rule along with a lot of other productivity habits in order to accomplish this. I’m actually pretty excited for this challenge (and a challenge this will be)—if I manage to pull this off, this may be the first time I willingly become a morning person.

Yesterday morning, I had a mini productivity routine. Aside from the fact that my “morning” routine occurred at noon, I brought my set up into a well-lit space, drank some coffee, wrote down my todo list for the day, and worked on some hobbies that I’ve been meaning to set aside time for. I also consumed more productivity tips content and started reading “Atomic Habits.” All of this combined left me feeling really good, which pleasantly surprised me. I’ve previously read that solid morning routines are important because they allow you to feel a sense of accomplishment first thing in the morning, enables you to wake up properly, and sets a good tone for the rest of the day. However, this was the first time I directly felt the benefits of a solid morning routine, and hopefully I can implement a steady habit after I return to California. Exciting times!