As the title suggests, this article will be incredibly light on actual mathematics (which is probably music to many an ear) since, also as the title suggests, it has been an incredibly busy start to the semester for me. As of publication, my jam-packed schedule will significantly free up, but I wanted to provide a log of the past few weeks as well as an outlook to the short- and long-term future.
When I wrote this, I had just returned from a weeklong conference on applied and computational mathematics in San Diego, California. It was a wonderful conference where I got to present some progress on my ongoing research project, listen to many other fascinating presentations, and discuss several interesting avenues of future research. What’s more, San Diego is a beautiful place, with the conference venue right on the Pacific and a chance for me to relax on the beach in my free time.
While the above was all well and good, it was also a fairly exhausting week. The conference had a schedule of 15-20 research talks per day from Monday to Friday, which is a lot to take in, and while I enjoy socializing with fellow mathematicians immensely, large social interactions drain my introverted battery more quickly than more solitary or small-group pursuits.
What’s more, I had to find time during the week to study for my qualifying exams, which (as of publication) I’ll be almost finished. For those unfamiliar, the quals are a set of tests to ensure that PhD students are “qualified” to do original research. They are common in U.S. PhD departments (with each department crafting their own specific exams), and all PhD students must pass them in order to start work on a thesis. I’ve been preparing a great deal for these exams, so I am confident that I will do well, but there’s nevertheless a huge worry that comes with finally taking a few tests that truly make or break the opportunity to officially pursue a doctoral degree.
So that has all been weighing on me ever since I found out about the stellar combo of big research conference followed by big set of exams earlier this year. I think I did a nice job at the conference managing all of it, and we’ll see how the exams go (I will find out the results in about a month). At first, my mindset was to work harder to prepare for these important events, by dedicating lots of time to research and studying over the summer.
This didn’t really go as planned, though. I got sick at the beginning of the summer, and the symptoms lingered for a few weeks. Fortunately, I was able to get back on track, but this helped me realize that the best way to tackle these big events is to block out sufficient time for them, while also ensuring there’s enough time for relaxation and other more idle pursuits.
As a result, more recently, I’ve been consistent about having one day each week solely dedicated to recuperation and fun outside of work. This has provided huge boosts in energy and motivation, which allowed me to feel pretty decent overall, both physically and mentally, at the conference, despite the long days and time zone difference. I feel relatively well-rested and excited to finally take the big exams, then shift focus back to research and other upcoming deadlines, as well as other upcoming free-time activities to celebrate.
The mathematical version of busy beavers (and rest assured, there is one!) will come out in the next column, but until then, I hope you are able to schedule in some rest as you get into the thick of what always turns out to be a busy semester, especially at places like Stevens and for the motivated students that make up its classes.
