New Schedule
Sept. 13, 2005
I realized recently that unless I change my daily routine, I'm never going to get a PHD. I spent too much time doing non-research-oriented activities and was not making much progress. This is sort of a dangerous cycle, since nothing is more discouraging to research than the lack of progress. It is rather unlikely that I can make progress without more effort. Therefore, I have devised the following schedule for myself which should increase the amount of time I spend on task.
The schedule is meant to provide a guide to myself as to what I should be doing during the week. For example, unless I have a good reason to do something else, I should be working on my research pretty much every morning. Exceptions are fine, but they need to be purposeful and productive. 
As you might have guessed, I've been dissatisfied with my progress in research. I submitted a paper at the end of the summer, but I should have gotten more done. Since then, I haven't made much progress at all, partly because of the start of school, but also because I just haven't made it enough of a priority. I decided that I really needed to give grad school more of an effort. If, at the end of this semester, I still haven't worked as hard as I can, I'll consider leaving. If I can't motivate myself to really do this, why am I here? I could make a lot more money (and live in a nicer town) somewhere else.