When I grew up, my parents always told me the importance of keeping myself and everything organized. For a while, I didn’t understand, because it took so much time to keep track of daily things. It was already hard to prepare and actually work on things in our lives, and when things are done, I couldn’t wait to throw them away, just to ease my emotional burden. However, as I got into college and then graduate school, I started to understand my parents’ words. The importance of organization and keeping track of our work and study, can never be overstated.
 
Do you have these odd moments when you can’t remember the details of a past class project when you desperately need the content to explain your skills? The name of a person you met at a professional conference that you want to contact now for some reason? The volunteer activity you took part in several years ago that can be used now for applying for new grants or jobs? Or just the design of a flyer or poster you got from an event that you really would like to take a second look at to inspire your own work, but couldn’t find it whatsoever?
 
I’ve had all these moments. There have been so many occasions that I told myself, “if only you kept track of those details then….”
 
So here, I want to share some tips of keeping records of our graduate school career. I started doing these in my office and at home several years ago. It took a lot of time at the begin, because I had so many years to look back upon and catch up, but right now, everything seems to work out fine.
 
1. At your office, reserve some physical space (box, folder, drawer) to save all handouts, flyers, meeting agendas, or just info sheets that you believe you might need in the future (if you’re not sure, keep them and decide later at the end of each academic year). You better organize them into categories as well (coursework, professional development, extracurricular activities, etc.). At the end of every semester, pull those papers out and write brief reflections on sticky notes: what knowledge you gained from the events; what skills you learned; whom you met; how could these events contribute to your study, research, or work. These physical evidence-keeping and self-reflection writings make things so much easier when you try to sell to a potential employer about “what you have done” and “what you have learned”.
 
2. Whenever possible, digitalize your records. If you move a lot and are concerned about losing physical materials, try scan or take photos of them regularly, and organize them into categories on your hard drive. This helps you to realize how much you have done! It also makes it quick and handy when you try to put together a CV or portfolio. We all know that it was a pain to collect everything….
 
3. Build you own online publicity channel. Showcase your professional experience and accomplishment online is a great way to attract attention, especially when you need another person from long-distance to get to know you in a short period of time. Consider putting together your little archive on a site of your choice. There are many resources out there, and a lot of them are easy to use and don’t require coding skills (consult our IT, if you are not sure which site to use). It is also your call to decide whether you want to give your site a more personal touch, or just keep it completely professional.
 
My little archive of my life has been growing steady for several years, and I benefit enormously from this effort. If you have the same kind of concerns with record-keeping and organizing, try these few things I just mentioned, and see how much time you can actually save for doing a little bit everyday!

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Mingqian Liu | Architecture
Mingqian Liu is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Department of Architecture