Now that the Texas heat is directly upon us, and the campus is starting to get filled with new people, it is time to get geared up for the fall semester. Throughout summer in my past blogs I have tried to make the blogs more about self-growth and rejuvenation. But now that we are only weeks away from the start of a new term, I would like to share some tips or things you can do in order to make your semester a more productive one.
 
The most important which I find very useful is being organized and keeping myself ahead from others in the game by being prepared for the new things ahead of time. Having a good plan and sticking to it with utmost dedication makes things easy and productive. But again your plan shouldn’t be hard as a rock. A little bit of flexibility in the plan or your schedule will give you time to breathe and you won't end up burning yourself up unnecessarily. Even though it might seem that you have a lot of time to get things done over the semester, trust me once the course load hits hard, there won’t be time for anything and it might end up stressing you more. So instead, putting a fair amount of hard work and dedication continuously over the semester would help you to keep your head above the water.
 
Now, while you are getting busy with the semester and burning the midnight oil to get the work done, it is very important that you take care of yourself and especially your mental health. 5 minutes of meditation every morning or hitting the rec center every once in a while can be helpful to maintain a healthy body which becomes the temple for a healthy mind.  Moreover after having a stressful day at work you can always de-stress yourself by running or working out in the rec. For me completing a mile run after a day of work gives me a feeling of accomplishing something and kind of inspires me to get ready for the next day at work. Also, being in a university like A&M provides with immense opportunities of networking with the best of people and becoming part of some great student organizations. Becoming a part of various student organizations often turns out to be a great idea because then you end up developing numerous soft skills, and also nurture your inherent capabilities by working for the organization and these are definitely great places to meet new people and network with great minds.
 
Last but not least, you should keep in mind that getting into grad school is tough but you did it, you are at Texas A&M University determined to make a beautiful future. So that makes you a champion already. All you have to do is keep your calm and handle things as they come. Self-reliance and having complete faith on your capabilities will go a long way in making your semester a very rewarding experience. I am no guru in giving tips about graduate school but over the past 3 years I have learnt all these things that I have shared with you in the blog. I hope all of you have a great fall semester.
 
Gig’em

Sreyashree Bose | Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics
 
Sreyashree is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the department of Biophysics and Biochemistry.