Billable Hours - Brady

I've been struggling for awhile with how to manage my time in graduate school. As nice as the flexibility of a student's schedule is, it can be hard to make yourself sit down and work on something that won't be due for months. And I think that time management is a big reason some people stay in PhD programs forever. (Which I do not want to do.)

Last quarter I started experimenting, trying out ways of organizing my time. I first tried working 9-5 every weekday. That was okay, except I ended up doing what a LOT of 9-5 workers do - which is procrastinating (making a snack, surfing the internet, etc.) instead of completing actual important projects. Plus, I was missing out on one of the cool benefits of being a grad student - freedom to decide where and when I want to work.

After that I tried setting goals for each week. I had to work until I met them. That meant that if I dilly-dallied I'd end up putting in hours over the weekend, but if I was super productive and finished all my goals by Thursday, Friday was all mine! No school! The problem with that strategy was that I'm not a good judge yet of how long research or writing an academic paper is going to take. And many of my goals are really long-term, so in order to make this system work I would have had to spend a bunch of time breaking down big goals into little ones. And I just didn't want to.

But now I've got it. I borrowed the idea of "billable hours" from lawyers. In the legal world, a billable hour is an hour in which an attorney is working on something for a client - something they can charge for. Many law firms have billable hour requirements for their staff. I appropriated this model and made myself my own boss. Every month, I have to "bill" 160 hours (40 hours a week for 4 weeks). "Billing" an hour means actually working on something - being in class, reading for school, running statistics for a project, etc. If I take a break to check my email or read a blog or make a snack, I have to stop counting time. This forces me to be productive but allows me the grad student flexibility I really enjoy. If one day I have to do a long run, for example, and don't want to get started with work until 10 a.m., I can just bill that 9-10 hour another time.

(Oh, and I have a detailed spreadsheet where I keep track of this. Nerd alert.)

This also gives me a chance to read interesting books or articles in my field that I'm not formally assigned for a class. For example, two weeks ago I had a light school week (called Spring Break) and didn't have 40 hours of "billable" work to do. So I made some - I read a book by the founder of Teach for America. I think exposing yourself to lots of different intellectual ideas, even if they're not part of the official curriculum of your program, is important in grad school.

So that's my brilliant solution. I'm loving it so far, and I think it will serve me well when I'm completely done with classes and have to depend on self-motivation to complete a dissertation.

Another post about my busy schedule - Kelly

Ay yi yi... here are my next few months:

• April 15- 17: I have a conference in Chicago


• April 18- 22: friend Jasmine is coming to visit


• April 29- May 5: Tucson (for fun) and Phoenix (for work)


• May 6- May 8: Indy for mini-marathon


• May 13-15: another conference in Chicago


• May 20-22: headed to Texas/Mexico to see a good friend


• May 27-30: another conference in Chicago


• June 12: move in to institute


• June 17-19: Minnesota for the marathon


• June 20: Institute starts

In other news, I got a small promotion at work for next year, marathon training is going well, and pretty much all I do these days is go to work and go running!

No complaints- it's still a pretty sweet life. :)

Happy Birthday, Dad! -Amy

Yesterday (April 3rd) was our fabulous father's birthday! He loves his birthday more than any adult that I know so he definitely deserves a little blog shout-out. We frequently get updates throughout the year about how many shopping days are left until his birthday and he's never shy about making plans or offering suggestions of what he might like. I LOVE this about my dad. He really takes the guess work out of birthday shopping and I love anyone that loves a good reason to celebrate!

He hung out at home with our Mom and his best canine pal, Buckner, for most of the day. Then he and my mom headed out to dinner at Brewster's in New Buffalo with Brady and Kevin. I made a surprise trip up from Chicago to join in the birthday dinner fun. After good wine, good italian food, and two great desserts, everyone was feeling the birthday love!



Happy Birthday, Dad! We love you!

Seattle! - Brady

You've probably guessed this, but I love traveling. I'll scrap together a way to go just about anywhere. And I was lucky enough last year to be awarded a fellowship that pays a travel stipend so I can attend conferences. This past weekend I went to Seattle for the American Education Finance and Policy annual meeting. Lucky for you, I have no pictures of the actual conference sessions I attended, but I DO have a bunch from the rest of the weekend.

Click here if you'd like to see them!

It was a pretty fantastic trip. The flight is long, but I really love getting out to the Pacific Northwest.

Awesome Brunch -Amy

Kelly hosted an amazing Brunch/Clothes Swap at her house on Sunday afternoon. It was great to meet the girls that are in her book club. It definitely made me want to become a member after hearing all of the funny stories that they told. I thought the idea of having a clothes swap along with a brunch was a great idea on Kelly's part, and she is definitely the hostess with the mostess!

Here are some pictures of the excellent Sunday afternoon activity. Brady, we wish you were there... but I'm sure you had a blast in Seattle!

Some of the clothes from the Swap:



The delicious oatmeal bar:


Some of the food:



My BeautiControl Station



It was an excellent end to the weekend, although I always hate to see it go!

Nashville - Amy

I had an awesome weekend in Nashville, TN with my best friends. We definitely had a rootin' tootin' good time! The weekend was filled with a lot of country music, food, and fun!
Here are some of the highlights of my trip:

- Karaoke with friends (4 times!)
- Lunch at a fantastic Mexican restaurant
- Cooking dinner each night in the condo
- The fact that we rented a CONDO instead of a hotel room (I highly suggest www.homeaway.com)
- Walking around and checking out the shops
- Running along the riverfront
- Staying in historic "Printer's Alley"
- Dancing the night away with friends!

I have amazing friends and we had a great time. Can't wait to go back sometime soon!

Sunny Saturday, Rainy Sunday - Brady

Yesterday I:

- Went on a 10 mile run down to the end of Navy Pier and back (and kicked butt at it, I might add)
- Had brunch #1 with Kevin's parents at Stella's - a diner down the street
- Shopped in my cute little neighborhood
- Shopped on Michigan Avenue, bought a Frank Lloyd Wright mousepad for my office at the Chicago Architecture Foundation store (GREAT store, by the way)
- Had brunch #2 with Kevin's parents, Lesley, and Paul at The Gage (so so good!)
- Took a nap to shake off some of my post long-run fatigue
- Did some work
- Had wine and fancy blue cheese with Kelly and Kevin
- Ate absolutely delicious vegetarian food at The Chicago Diner (yes, I ate all 3 meals out yesterday. Ay ay ay.)


Today I:

- Attended a loooooong yoga class with Kevin
- Tried out the Saugatuck Coffee Company on Halsted
- Drank my "tricked out" coffee (lots of half and half with cinnamon sprinkled on top) while reading the Chicago Tribune and watching the rain through the coffee shop window
- Speed-walked home in the drizzle
- Looked at pictures of all of the trips Kevin and I took this year

Still to come:

- More work
- Dinner and Jane Eyre with Kelly and a new Chicago friend


Life is good in Chicago this weekend - rain or shine.