It may be an artifact of growing up Catholic, but I’ve always appreciated rituals. I’m attracted to the comfort and predictability they can provide. The start of a new calendar year and academic quarter means re-establishing my personal rituals.
As the first week has come to an end, I have my new courses and lab meeting times worked out. I’m figuring out with my core grad school friends what times do and don’t work for us to have lunch together. I’m getting back into the practice of things like my sleep hygiene routine.
While I’ve learned over the years that I find comfort in predictability, I also know to listen to when one of those routines isn’t serving me. I went to bed expecting to get up and work out with my gym buddy Evan today. But then I slept through my alarm and realized how sore I was from yesterday’s workout. Despite my planned ritual of working out today, I knew to listen to my body and postpone. Thankfully, Evan is someone who strikes the balance of motivating me but also knowing when not to push me.
So I’ve reminded myself that I do much better when I have a rest day between my workouts. And I’m going to replan my workout schedule rather than rigidly sticking to something that isn’t working.
The Anxious Ph.D. Student Blog 