There is a really good book called "never eat alone". I don't have it but a friend raves about it. It's gives you a bunch of tips and tricks to start networking without changing your life. You might want to give it a look.

But yeah, I'm in a similar boat. I can't do it. Mainly because I'm so busy, I can't fathom talking to people. Speaking of which, I'm procrastinating from a project proposal by posting here, so I should get back to it. Good luck.

A friend of mine is actually conducting sleep research and says that 8+ hours is oversleeping and is not good. The optimal is 7-8. The only way way 9-10 is ok is if that what you naturally sleep. But on average, 7-8 is optimal and 9-10 is oversleeping which is unhealthy. If you listen to your body, it'll tell you what is good. So if he is forcing the 9-10, that is probably too much. It is also very important to get the same amount every day. Getting 6 one day, 10 another, and then 5, followed by 8 is not good. It's far better to get 6 hours every consistently than to shake it up.

Hope this helps.

Courses are required for my ph d. And a passing grade is a B. So I've been putting in enough work to get a B but not much more than that. Spending the rest of the my time on my research. My professor likes what i've been doing with my research work though. I've been continually getting all Bs in my classes, but I feel like I could be working harder than I currently am. It's just hard to find the perfect balance between research and classes.

Hello all. First of all, let me thank you guys for all the help you've been so far. I came close to a panic attack some time ago and it was this forum that helped me through it. So thanks.

My question here has to do with classes. I have been doing "ehh" in classes pulling mostly Bs because I didn't deem them that important. I had too much work on my plate to worry about them. But my advisor is concerned about the classes a little bit because one of them is an undergrad course. Now I don't think it is a big deal that if I get a B in this course but It's been tearing me apart that my mentor thinks I'm doing poorly in it.

So my question to you. How important really are classes?

Hello all. This is my first time posting as well as my first day here and I am quite happy to have found this place. I am a first year phd student in Experimental Psychology and have been having an alright time doing so. I've loved the office. Loved the research. Though massive case of impostor syndrome. I've been doing the old "fake it til you make it" ever since August.

But the past few months have been rather poor. First, I wasn't producing as much work as I should have been producing. So I fixed that and my supervisor was happy with me. Then I started doing poorly in my classes because I was spending so much time on my research. So now for the second time in as many months, my supervisor is not happy with me. I can't find the right kind of balance between research and classes.

Then about 3 days ago, I accidentally sent a friendly email about the online flash drive "dropbox" to all of my work/school contacts instead of my friends. So i received a flash flood of emails from my supervisors, professors, other work associates about it. While a simple misunderstanding, it was the straw that broke the camel's back and I spent the next 36 hours on the verge of tears. And I haven't cried since I was 12 (and that was when I was nearly physically beaten by my sister (17 at the time) and my mother came home in the nick of time). My girlfriend recommended I find a support group of sorts online and here I am.

I love my supervisor. I love this department. I love the educators. I feel very fortunate in many ways. But I feel like I can't find a balance. My girlfriend has been incredibly supportive of these 70 hour weeks and I don't know what I'd do if she wasn't. But I don't know if I can keep going. I love the work, but I feel as if I can't keep up, like the "Red Queen Race" where it takes all the running you can do just to stay in the same place. But everyone else seems to be moving forward and I'm stuck at the same point. Even when I fix one problem, another problem surfaces. Does anyone ever have everything under control. Or is the panic always under the surface, ready to strike when X+1 problem happens.

Thanks for whoever created this forum. Reading all the previous posts has been very uplifting, knowing that I'm not the only one who feels like their breaking point is only 5 minutes away at any given moment.