How to Annihilate Homework in Five Steps

If you are like most grad students, the concept of free time is almost, if not completely, foreign. Working/interning, going to class, doing homework and trying to have a social life all at the same time can be tough. When you have so many things to accomplish in what seems like an impossible time frame, it's important to have a plan of attack before attempting to kick that homework's butt and still manage other responsibilities.

1. Breathe. This will stop your mind from panicking and going into one of those "Ohmygodhowcanipossiblygetthisalldone" tailspins that will only waste the precious time you have to accomplish your work. I learned one of the best ways to draw in deep, relaxing breaths from a yoga class: Close one of your nostrils with your thumb while breathing slowly in the other nostril and out through your mouth. Alternate breathing through each nostril while shutting your eyes and focusing completely on each breath. Repeat until you feel calmer and ready to get down to business.

2. Prioritize tasks in order of importance. If you have multiple assignments due on the same day, decide whether you want to tackle the hardest, most time-consuming work or the simplest, quickest tasks first. Once you know where to get started, it's much easier to buckle down and plow through your homework. Also make sure you look over each class' syllabus so you don't miss any upcoming deadlines.

3. Put off things that can wait. Sacrifice is a large part of being a successful graduate student. Maybe this means that you can't watch the new episode of your favorite tv show when it airs or hang out with your friends. Maybe this means that you won't always keep on top of the growing pile of dirty laundry or maintain a spotlessly clean apartment. Don't worry, all those non-school related tasks and fun activities will still be there when you are finished with your homework.

4. Set aside enough time to get it all done. Do not procrastinate. I repeat, DO NOT procrastinate!!!

5. Plan breaks and reward yourself at the end! The sense of accomplishment and pride you will feel after you have completed your homework is one of the best parts of being a grad student.

Related Links:

http://www.holisticonline.com/yoga/hol_yoga_breathing-ex-nadisodh.htm

http://zenhabits.net/end-of-busy/

http://www.educationindex.net/educationarticles/graduateschoolstips/survivinggradschool/managingtimemanagementgradtips.html

Three Quick Tips for Living in the Moment When You're Short on Free Moments

As grad students, we tend to measure time in terms of deadlines and assignments on syllabi rather than by how many metaphorical roses we’ve stopped to smell. It may seem nearly impossible to steal some time for yourself when you’re trekking to work, rushing to class, and schlepping to the library day after day. But that’s exactly why finding a healthy balance is so important to staying energized throughout the trials of grad school.

Here are three simple ways to sneak a little calm into your hectic schedule.

• Escape through your ears: Many people stick in their earphones and listen to their favorite music while they’re rushing from one destination to the next, but we tend to tune music out after we’ve heard it a few times. To really shift your focus and go on a mental retreat, try one of the many free storytelling podcasts available. My favorites are The Moth, RISK!, and of course, This American Life.

• Make a study date with yourself: In grad school, you really can’t avoid grueling study sessions, but you can make them more enjoyable. If you know you’re gong to be glued to your books or laptop for hours on end, get some of your favorite snacks and head to a café, park, or other peaceful study spot. The trick is to make it a conscious choice: instead of being trapped at home under piles of work, you’re sipping your favorite latte in the park while you just happen to be getting some work done.

• Put it in a postcard: Okay, I know this one is going to sound a bit hokey, but just try it. Stick a few stamped postcards in your bag and the next time you’re ten or fifteen minutes early for something, take one out and write down what’s going on around you. What do you hear, smell, feel, see, and taste? Be as descriptive as you can and by simply concentrating on that one moment, you’ll be much more aware of what’s going on around you and less concerned with all the deadlines and assignments swirling around in your head. As an added bonus, you can then mail off the postcard to your grandma or aunt Betty so they can get a glimpse of what your new life is like and let everyone back home know how great you’re doing in grad school!

If you're still feeling too frenzied, check out Susan's How to Annihilate Homework in Five Steps to get your work done more efficiently and to reclaim some of your time.

Relocating. Warning: Hazards Ahead

One of the most stressful aspects of relocating for graduate school is finding an apartment you are willing to call home for at least a year. The easiest way to find an apartment that meets both your criteria and budget is to use a realtor.

Unfortunately, realtors make money when you rent an apartment through them, so they may stretch some truths about the apartment, the neighborhood, or even your landlord, in order to get you to go through with the transaction.

For example, I asked my realtor the ages of the people who lived in the building I was looking at. Her response: graduate students and young professionals. That statement was false. I ended up sharing a building with loud, rowdy undergraduates. And loud, squeaky mice. You’re a graduate student, you’ve dealt with undergrad housing for at least four years – you now deserve to live in a decent place. This also means a place with relative quiet since you’ll be doing epic amounts of school work.

One way to avoid the particular predicament of mice is to ask the current residents about the insect/rodent situation when you visit the apartment. They aren’t getting paid to rent out the apartment, so they’ll tell you the truth. Unless they’re undergraduates – then I make no promises.

Another issue to keep in mind when looking for an apartment: floor level. As in, you do not want a ground-level apartment. Ground level means more bugs, more rodents, and more noise. It also increases your chance for a break-in. I don’t mean to scare you with all the negative aspects of relocating, I just want you to be prepared for what you are about to encounter. If only I had read a blog like this a year ago. Sigh.

At some point you’ll have to trust your realtor, but go with your gut. If the realtor is rushing you through the various apartments you are visiting, ask to slow down. You want to get a feel for each place and taking some time in each one is the only way to do it. This should be about finding your perfect apartment, not about your realtor making a commission.

Grad Student Gourmet: Real Cooking on a Budget

Instant no more!

Yes, it’s possible to survive life as a penniless, overworked grad student without resorting to a life of Ramen Noodles and EasyMac. The instant stuff may seem cheap and easy, but it isn’t satisfying and the nutritional value is negligible. Hardly the way to fuel your brain. But in my first year as a grad student I’ve learned how to cook meals that are cheap, healthy, delicious, and fast.

First of all, you’ll need to figure out where you can buy your cooking ingredients cheaply.

Investigate ethnic markets. Some items will be significantly cheaper there. At C-Mart, for instance, fish sauce, soy sauce, miso, udon and rice noodles were also much cheaper than their Shaw’s or Stop-and-Shop counterparts. An added plus here is that if you can figure out how to make authentic pad thai or tandoori chicken or beef noodle pho yourself, you’ll start to spend a lot less on takeout.

For the Boston-based grad student, doing your produce shopping at Haymarket is also a godsend. Haymarket is held by the Haymarket T stop (on the Orange and Green Lines) all day on Fridays and Saturdays, every week of the year. I go every week, and I might score 9 kiwis for a dollar, a whole pineapple for a dollar, grapes for a dollar per pound, 3 pounds of potatoes for a dollar, 3 acorn squash for a dollar, and 8 apples for two dollars. I’m up to my neck in healthy, varied produce. And I have the opportunity to try so many new foods. I’d never had a fresh fig before I started going to Haymarket, or a chestnut, or yucca. Gourmet cheese, huge rounds of pita, bagels, baguettes and delicious soft Armenian bread are also available for very cheap at Haymarket.

I also recommend trying out Market Basket if you live in the Cambridge/Somerville/Union Square area. Market Basket may be crowded, but it’s way cheaper than any other grocery store. I find their regular prices are comparable with the sale prices of most other stores, and their sale prices are just unbelievable.

And of course there’s Trader Joe’s, if you can find your way to one. Whole Foods-style products at very affordable prices-- and like Whole Foods, they also offer free samples. Always a plus.

Finding inexpensive things to make can still be tricky, especially if you’re also short on time, but fear not. If I can do it, so can you.

• Make your dinner ahead. Reheat it when you get home. It'll still taste good, I promise. And it's a much better option than stocking up on Stouffer's: it won't leave you hungry like so many frozen meals, it won't be chock-full of sodium, and it won't cost you 4 or 5 bucks a pop.
• Use your freezer. Freeze anything you can't use or eat before it goes bad, rather than throwing it away. Don't worry about competing with your roommates for freezer real estate; I have four of them, and I manage. Besides, did you know freezers actually work more efficiently if they're filled to the brim with food?
• Cook on the weekends, in large batches. You'll be able to feed yourself all week.
• Rotate between different types of leftovers so you don’t get bored. (And don’t fear the leftovers-- some things taste better when the flavors have melded a day or two in the fridge, like this Autumn Sausage Casserole.)
• Invest in a slow cooker. This is probably the single best cooking tool a grad student can have. Prep the ingredients and leave them cooking on low while you’re at work or in class, and follow your nose back home to find your dinner warm and waiting for you.

Here are my top 3 tried-and-true sources for cheap and/or make-ahead recipes.:

• Cheap Healthy Good - This site is an incredible resource. Recipes as well as informative and insightful articles on how to make food that is cheap, healthy, and good. All recipes include approximate price per serving. Most come out to less than a dollar. Compare that to the $7 you might pay for a sandwich at a cafe. The chicken with shallot-apricot sauce comes highly recommended. As does the chocolate souffle (did you know you could make souffle for $0.46 per serving?!). Hell, even the DIY Microwave Popcorn.
• $5 Dinner Mom - A collection of recipes that cost $5 or less, total, to make. I wouldn’t swear by all of these, but there are some gems in here.
• A Year of Slow Cooking - One woman’s quest to prepare food in her slow cooker-- from enchiladas to creme brulee-- every day for a full year. It’s not quite Julie and Julia, but this is probably the single best slow-cooker resource out there.

Bobbleheads and Bunnies: How to survive a marathon day of apartment hunting

My initial apartment-hunting trip for an out-of-state grad school was… an interesting experience.

The first apartment broker we visited resembled a bobblehead doll and quickly earned the nickname “Babbling Bobby.” He talked nonstop about everything except the apartments: his love of Snapple and the great deals you can get when you buy it in bulk, the conspiracy with the French advertising company that just landed a contract with the city, and how no comedian will ever be as funny as Bob Hope.

We left him with his pleather couch and case of Snapple and moved on to a potential landlady who gave us the wrong directions, reeked of beer, and showed us an apartment that had a live rabbit in the bathtub—the bunny was not included in the rent.

Our third and final stop also had evidence of rodents, but not the cute and fuzzy kind. The landlord tried to maneuver an empty pizza box to cover the…leavings, but we were already on our way out the door.

Eventually, I managed to find a studio apartment that I’m happy with, but like many things in grad school all you can do with such a stupefying situation is to take your lumps, learn what you can, and pass along any warnings or advice to others.

My six hard-learned tips on surviving apartment hunting:

1. Plan ahead, but be flexible. Organize several appointments for the day, but allow time to get lost, sidetracked, or simply to take a break. Make sure you have all the necessary phone numbers and addresses easily at hand, so you can let your appointments know if your plans have changed or if you need more specific directions.

2. Endurance is key. Take some water and snacks with you and wear comfortable shoes. If your stomach is growling and your feet are aching, you’re less likely to give an apartment a thorough examination.

3. Take pictures. If you have to decide between two or more different places, having photos of the apartment, building, and neighborhood can definitely come in handy. You may even notice things in the pictures that you overlooked in person.

4. Use public transportation. Even if you have a car for your apartment-hunting trip, park it and use the same public transportation you would if you lived in the city. This will give you a better idea of how long your commute will take, and what kinds of sacrifices you’re willing to make in terms of location. (Alternatively, if you plan on using a car in the city, use it for apartment hunting as well; this will let you know what kind of traffic and parking issues you may encounter in the future.)

5. Bring a buddy. Having a trusted companion for this trying day is very helpful. It can give you another perspective on each apartment, make you more comfortable when dealing with landlords and brokers, or provide you with a little more safety when traveling to new places. Just make sure your buddy can keep up and has a positive, supportive attitude.

6. Keep your sense of humor! You’re guaranteed to run into some interesting people and situations, but that’s part of experiencing a large city. If you can’t handle one day of craziness without being able to laugh about it, you may have bigger problems relocating than finding the perfect apartment.

For more information on finding the right neighborhood for you, check out Mimi’s Reloca-Phobia: A 6-Step Cure-All Guide for Finding Your New Neighborhood.

Cooking without air conditioning? “That’s hot.”

In addition to the typical challenges of grad school, cooking in warm weather (sans air conditioning) became another obstacle that I had to face. I doubt that I am alone; I am sure there are fellow students who are trying to save on bills (or go green) by opting to not use air conditioners. With this sacrifice comes a new issue: how to cook appetizing summer food in the sweltering heat of an apartment or house.

While chatting with my mother a few weeks ago and expressing frustration over how to cook in the summer heat, she suggested making a pasta salad. She really sold me on the idea when she added that I could make a big pot’s worth to have leftovers for the week. Though that day was looking to be a scorcher, I lucked out since it was still early in the morning when we spoke, so I had time to cook while it was relatively cool. My advice for the optimal cooking experience is to plan ahead by looking at the forecast to see when it would be most comfortable to cook.

Cool days sometimes do not come as often as we would like, as has been the case lately on the East Coast. When such a day graces you with its presence, I recommend milking it for all it’s worth; if you have the time and ingredients, try cooking in bulk within the same day. You might try making two different pasta salads, or perhaps a pasta salad and some other type of salad (i.e. potato, bean, egg).

While I love lettuce-based salads in the summer, there are two significant benefits to choosing an alternative like pasta as the basis for your salad:

1. Cost: During a recent trip to Shaw’s, the cheapest lettuce I could find was a package of three hearts for $3.69; I was able to snag a box of pasta for $1.29.

2. Flexibility: Pasta allows more cooking flexibility for the busy student; half a package yields several servings, while the rest can be stored for another cool day without danger of spoiling. Lettuce-based salads may not heat up the kitchen, but you have a smaller window of opportunity for preparation.

Once you find a day to cook, half the battle is won since the cooking process (for pasta salad) is fairly simple:

After cooking the pasta uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, draining it, rinsing with cold water, and then draining again, you are free to customize it as you wish. That’s all there is to it!

I recommend using salad dressings with a little vegetable oil to season, since the combination coats everything so well. The salad pictured above was made with chipotle ranch dressing (with added cayenne powder). Tub and chill them for refreshing meals that will make even the hottest places bearable.