I blame the heat, but this summer I’ve been finding it hard to stay motivated. I have been making progress on my research, but it tends to come in fits and starts – a couple productive days, followed by a couple more days lazing in the sun. And I’ve gotten even worse at keeping up with the ‘requirements of adult life’, like laundry and grocery shopping, than I was during term-time.
Partly, I just feel exhausted from an intense year of courses. I waived out of some of the typical first year ones and ended up with a kind of rough combination of both difficult and heavy-workload classes which I found pretty draining. But I also think it’s that I could do with being better organized about my main project and about the housework. I feel a bit adrift on exactly what I’m supposed to be doing short-term, research-wise, although I’m pretty clear on the overall and long-term goals. Plus, with computer-based science and the ability to work from, literally, anywhere dry enough to pop open my laptop, it’s hard to convince myself to spend all day in an air-conditioned office.
So, what should I do to get organized, on track, and motivated for the rest of the summer, without over-doing it and starting the next semester exhausted?
