Flourishing in grad school

Graduate school must be the most unique experience of academic life. At least it is the first time I am stepping out of the protective shell and chasing problems without an idea of where they will lead me. No more finding answers in the textbooks or even online, no more comparing course notes with friends - because what I as a PhD student have to do, is seek answers to yet unsolved problems. Probably I will be the only one in my department, my university studying that problem, working alone for the duration of four or more years untiI I make a significant contribution to the field.

I ask myself - Is this scary? Can I get through these years? What should I do when I am feeling low? Is there a mantra for success?

Well, I guess perhaps the most important thing to always remember is that every Ph.D student is just about in the same situation. Me and my friends totally agree on this point - so we now have a pact. No matter what happens, we all will get together every friday evening and leave worries of the week behind. We cannot work more than 8 hours a day so we have to make sure that we finish all tasks with peak efficiency without spilling over the alloted time. If we have to finish some writing assignments, we will coordinate the timings so that we sit together and get those assignments cracking. This way we can easily prevent each other from loafing around or wasting time on checking e-mails. We will also share our progress, be it in terms of research or paper publication or thesis writing.

I am sure these small things will make a big difference in sailing through the PhD years. It is not only about getting work done efficiently, but it is also about creating a support group, a group of  friends one can depend on and I truly believe that, that is the mantra for flourishing in graduate school.