Live Well With Me

I’ve been inching toward the idea of doing a YouTube series with a similar theme, but for now, blogging it is the best medium for me. Currently, where I am at in my doctoral journey is almost like limbo. I am – essentially – finished with coursework that pertains to any specific knowledge. I have learned as much as I need to move on to the real test of my expertise – my Applied Doctoral project (or ADP), which is the practitioner-based version of a dissertation. The one class I am taking right now is called Research Conceptualization and Design – and for a minute there, the instructor/class was testing my patience and my imposter “syndrome” (phenomenon). However, now that I am nearing the middle of this class, I want to be a little transparent at how my days of the week look. None of my weeks are the same since my husband’s schedule changes every week, but I tend to keep with the same themes. My life will obviously differ from everyone else’s as I am a person of many hats.

Monday

I work my schedules around my husband, to prioritize our marriage but to also ensure I give myself time to breathe and relax. Understanding how to ground oneself is crucial to maintaining one’s sanity in a doctoral program (mostly, to be honest). So, today my schedule of actual work began around 12:45pm as my husband left for work around 12:30pm. When I turned on my computer, I got straight into compiling and codifying applications from individuals who are interested in joining my school’s student government committees to assist the leadership in executing certain tasks. In the same motion, I was also sending responses to each application to let them know that their application was received and that they should know something by the end of the month. Immediately after that, I jumped into creating a graphic to use for marketing for the next Student Government Town Hall in November. It was at that point that I realized I did not have the email blurb to re-write for that event, so I had to reach out to a faculty member for it. Instead of waiting for a response, I jumped into my next task, which was to start this blog (meta – I know). After I laid out the general themes and idea for this blog, I was going to start on my course work for this week, but thanks to the AWS outage, Canvas was offline and no work was started. After that, I zoned in on my emails, ensuring all time-sensitive responses were completed. I completed my internship work – which at this time, entails my skimming through the Representative’s emails and outlining important information on a separate document (like meetings, constituent requests, invitations, and other vital time-sensitive information). Lastly, to end my day in my office, I created a Doodle Poll to find the next best date for a pre-Town Hall meeting.

Tuesday

My Tuesday started earlier than planned for several reasons: I couldn’t sleep, I had a meeting that I was (good) nervous about in the middle of the day, and my husband was off work (which was not as I planned – his work schedule changed from last week to this week). So, I started my day around 10:30am-11:00am today. I immediately started focusing on what I didn’t get to do yesterday, which was to start my Week 4 discussion and reply to any responses from Week 3. An hour later, I was finished with my discussion. From there, I decided to get my Week 4 Quiz out of the way as it was easy points – open book from the APA Style Guide Chapter 4. That was an easy 10/10. Then, I started on my assignment for the week, which consists of building a synthesis matrix based on my potential ADP topic. In the middle of narrowing down some keywords, it was time for the earlier referenced meeting, which went well. I received some very validating feedback on my topic and how it is shaping up – which helped my nerves much more than anyone could understand. After finding a good stopping point on my synthesis matrix, I decided to finish up codifying the SGA committee applications and send out the response confirmations. All I have left for the day is an information session on a new resource my school is bringing to the student body.

Wednesday

Today, I worked from bed as I did not sleep well at all last night, so I am up early (like 9am). I fully intend on finishing early and taking a nap. So, after getting my laptop and books, I jumped into my homework with a ginger ale handy. I checked for any discussion replies and responded to at least one other peer (as no one else had posted as of around 10am). After dealing with the discussion stuff, I took a moment to catch up on codifying SGA committee applications and sending their responses. Once that was finished, I decided to do some research for my assignment this week. I was pleased to find that my school library was able to get access to specific article from 1981 that I wanted to use as a conceptual foundation in my ADP. I also found supportive literature for the social ecological model and intersectionality, so it looking like I will be using SEM, intersectionality, and the access framework to suggest systemic access to rural communities. Anyway, after committing an hour or two to that, I prepared some notes for the book club meeting tomorrow evening. Then, I committed to working on this blog entry. The rest of my day is nearly done as far as responsibilities go. After I save this draft, I will be starting on a slide to represent the student government at a mentoring event coming up in two weeks.

Thursday

Another early day today, but not for the same reason as the previous day. My husband left for work at 9:30am this morning, which means I got straight to work. I checked out my discussion forum to see if anyone replied to me – spoiler, there were no responses. I wrote my last required response for the week. I checked out the Online Initiative Leadership book club discussion and posted my first post for the October questions. After that, I focused on homework (my assignment), which is a synthesis. I got the first five sources synthesized in my spreadsheet, so tomorrow I plan to finish them (hopefully) and turn it in so I have more free time this weekend – we will see how future Sharissa feels. I updated and codified the SGA committee applicants and sent them responses. I, then, created mock-ups for SGA T-shirts on Canva to sent to vendors so they have an easier time visualizing what I am needing for upcoming SGA events. All that is left is to start creating the addendums to the SGA Constitution and Bylaws for the committee members. Later today, I do have a Psych Club book club meeting as well.

Friday

Today was a later day; I didn’t start my tasks until 1:00pm. When I got into my office, I jumped into editing and posting two of most recent Psych Club meetings (a book club and a monthly meeting) to the Connect page for anyone who wants to watch the recordings. I overlapped this task with codifying the SGA applications from overnight. Tomorrow, I will codify any last minute applications and send the spreadsheet to my team. Once that was done, I checked for discussion replies in my course. Then, I was able to finish my assignment for the week (as I had already been collecting resources for my literature review of my ADP), and turned it in. Now, I am finishing this blog for you to read! For the rest of the day, I have three tasks left after publishing this blog entry: a mentoring meeting with my mentee, finishing the SGA slide for a CHAMPS event coming up, and then my intern work.

I hope this overview of an average week for me gives you some insight into just how busy I stay – which is why my blogs are not regular. I tend to prioritize my tasks based on importance and urgency, so I know I’m not falling behind. I utilize my time well so I can ensure I give myself time to rest. Let me know what you think. How do you prioritize your weeks?