As the summer draws to a close, planning and preparation begins for a new academic year. In some respects it feels similar to coming into January and a new calendar year, and in a sense that’s exactly what this time of year is like for those of us involved in education, students and teachers alike. In my case I can look forward to a new course of study on the worthwhile topic of assessment, learning and digital education online at the University of Edinburgh; a new cohort of (hopefully eager) students to take my module on the topics of managing global virtual project teams and sustainability in project management online at the University of Limerick; a group of research students keen to wrap up their papers that they’ve been busily working on over the summer and finally, some advance preparations for my doctoral studies due to start in January online at Lancaster University.
Over the summer break I’ve probably paid more attention than usual to Twitter posts and I can certainly say that there have been many references to wellbeing and mental health when undertaking doctoral studies. In the past I have always enjoyed in participating in a variety of volunteering activities and found that it did wonders for my mental health. After moving to a smaller community I found it more challenging to find something I enjoy and can commit to, but this summer I think I’ve found my niche volunteering with the local Tidy Towns group. Participating in the weekly work evenings I find myself completely removed from work and studies and after a few short months I already feel a positive impact on my mental health. In addition, I found myself able to fill a gap for the committee by relaunching their twitter account and setting up a blog to share monthly newsletters. So, when sitting at my desk trying to make sense of a paper or figuring out what I should be writing about, instead of looking out the window and fretting about not being able to concentrate, I can take a little time out to draft a tweet or note an idea in my bullet journal for a future newsletter. It is important that this doesn’t become a distraction, and I find RescueTime to be a useful tool to help keep track of productive, neutral and non-productive time (yep, there is such a thing as neutral time!).
No doubt there are many valuable resources available to help us manage our own wellbeing and a quick google search brought me to the website of Mental Health Ireland and a page outlining 5 ways to take action on our mental wellbeing:
1. Connect
2. Be active
3. Take notice (mindfulness)
4. Keep learning
5. Give
All of these resonate with me and are guidelines I plan to make use of as I navigate my PhD journey.
Until next time,
Sandra
Featured image courtesy of Pixabay
Sandra Flynn 