A friend recently commented (tongue in cheek) that the quietness of the faculty building on a Sunday morning indicates that other grads are lazy. She was joking (at least in part) but the remark is indicative of a wider trend that measures a PhD by the hours put in in a certain and visible place. This seems to me to be slightly bizarre: is there any proof that reading a particular article is more effective in the library or a graduate study room than reading it on one's sofa?
As someone who works better with a constant supply of hot tea and diet coke, I'm not one of the people who spends 8 hours in a single place each day. This means that I have to validate my productivity in other ways: do I believe that I've made some progress with my project? have I read some interesting articles? or primary texts?
And I have to be happy about that inside, rather than relying on the affirmation of being seen putting in enough hours in a public place.
1 comment:
How indeed do we measure our progress? In printer cartridges? In Cafe Nero customer punches?
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