[Notes] How to Be a Good Graduate Student

 

How to Be a Good Graduate Student

1. Introduction
2. Before You Start
3. Doing Research
   1. The Daily Grind
   2. Staying Motivated
   3. Getting to the Thesis
      1. Finding an Advisor
      2. Finding a Thesis Topic
      3. Writing the Thesis
   4. Getting Feedback
   5. Getting Financial Support
4. Advice for Advisors
   1. Interacting With Students
5. Becoming Part of the Research Community
   1. Attending Conferences
   2. Publishing Papers
   3. Networking
6. All Work and No Play...
7. Issues for Women
8. Conclusions
9. Bibliography

Telling yourself that you *should* have a great topic, that you *should* finish in $n$ years, that you *should* work 4, or 8, or 12 hours a day isn't helpful for most people. Be realistic about what you can accomplish, and try to concentrate on giving yourself positive feedback for tasks you do complete, instead of negative feedback for those you don't.

Setting daily, weekly, and monthly goals is a good idea...Breaking down any project into smaller pieces is always a good tactic when things seem unmanageable.

The divide-and-conquer strategy works on a day-to-day level as well. Instead of writing an entire thesis, focus on the goal of writing a chapter, section, or outline. Instead of implementing a large system, break off pieces and implement one module at a time. Identify tasks that you can do in an hour or less; then you can come up with a realistic daily schedule. If you have doubts, don't let them stop you from accomplishing something -- take it one day at a time. Remember, every task you complete gets you closer to finishing.