With the start date for my surprise field job rapidly approaching, I've realized just how many things I have to take care of before leaving. In addition to the obvious tasks (collecting the appropriate gear, making travel plans, packing, etc.) I also have eight graduate school applications and two fellowship applications to complete. And I'm running out of days!
Not only was the field job I accepted unexpected, it was last-minute fill for the project. The work starts the beginning of November. Understandably, just over a week ago I thought I had more than five weeks left to revise and refine my application for the NSF GRFP, and almost seven weeks before the earliest grad school application deadlines. Now I'm going to be in the field-- and away from computer and internet access-- for the critical weeks leading up to application deadlines, and the deadlines themselves.
Luckily, I made a lot of progress on my proposed research for the NSF GRF after my trip to visit graduate schools at the end of September. But I hadn't written my personal statement or research background for the NSF. Additionally, after critically evaluating my essays from last year's applications, I decided to completely rework my statement of purpose. That, added to the fact that my statement of purpose must be specifically tailored to each school to which I'm applying, means a ridiculous amount of work in a very short amount of time.
I've been trying to schedule tasks out in advance, to try and keep myself on track and ensure that I get everything completed on time, but I'm already starting to get worn down, and I've lost motivation. I'm taking a few hours off this evening to relax and try to re-set my mindset. I'm the type of person who needs to be ahead of the game-- I don't like feeling rushed, and I'm starting to worry that the lack of preparation time might leave my essays a little less polished than I need them to be.
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