I remember saying a few posts ago that I wouldn't write any more posts about how busy I am, but what's the purpose of rules if you can't break them once in a while? When I started my PhD I used to often be miffed with my supervisor because it was so hard to catch her. She would constantly be telling me that she couldn't see me because she was so busy. Surely, she didn't spend all her time doing ground-breaking research or illuminating young minds? I follow her active twitter feed. Surely, if she could find so much time for twitter, she could make some time for me?
Things have changed for the better. She has begun to give me more time. And, being busy myself, I am beginning to see things from her perspective. Sometimes, when people say they don't have time for you, they mean they value your claim on their time, so they won't commit time to you unless they can do justice to your claim. They want to give you their undivided unencumbered attention. Even now, when I am super-busy, I spend hours mucking about on the internet. I don't feel particularly guilty for it because writing is hard work and you can't spend 10 hours a day doing it. Wasting time is a part of the writing process, not to mention how mucking around can lead to interesting discoveries that contribute to your writing. I have also become more autonomous and have a better sense of what to expect from my supervisor. I don't expect her to read every conference proposal I write, at least not in the stipulated time-frame, so I don't send them to her.
Things have changed for the better. She has begun to give me more time. And, being busy myself, I am beginning to see things from her perspective. Sometimes, when people say they don't have time for you, they mean they value your claim on their time, so they won't commit time to you unless they can do justice to your claim. They want to give you their undivided unencumbered attention. Even now, when I am super-busy, I spend hours mucking about on the internet. I don't feel particularly guilty for it because writing is hard work and you can't spend 10 hours a day doing it. Wasting time is a part of the writing process, not to mention how mucking around can lead to interesting discoveries that contribute to your writing. I have also become more autonomous and have a better sense of what to expect from my supervisor. I don't expect her to read every conference proposal I write, at least not in the stipulated time-frame, so I don't send them to her.
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