======= Date Modified 05 Oct 2011 12:00:07 =======
======= Date Modified 05 Oct 2011 11:57:44 =======
So, the new academic starts soon (or has started for most of us), as a now 2nd year PhD student i'm in the process of completing my literature review (should had been submitted by end of June, but that's not a massive issue i'm told) and preparing my first experiments. The first of which is being run in October, with a fixed, immovable date.

For me, the Autumn term is always a bit crazy as it's the only opportunity for me to teach in the entire year (all the modules that i am competent in are taught in term 1) so i'll be doing 9 hours of demonstrating each week as i have quite a big credit card debt that needs clearing. But then, on top of that, i am taking on some lecturing (of a subject i don't really fully understand) as the staff member who used to teach that module quit unexpectedly. Thankfully i'm not teaching the whole course, but i will be doing about 8 hours of lectures to MSc students and leading the practical classes (another 8 hours worth). Eeeeek. Plus, i'm on the organising committee of a conference that is going ahead in October.

So, i'm predicting a stressful 3 months. Not helped by the fact that i don't have a weekend free now until the middle of November, so i'll have to get all my research done during the week, and the timetable is such that i will basically be teaching all day thursday and friday.

I fear i may die.

Anyone got any advice? I keep telling myself that it's good experience and if i'm going to become an academic i'll have to get used to juggling a crazy workload like this. I wouldn't be so stressed about it if i was entirely confident of the material i'm going to be lecturing on - but i suspect it's going to require quite a bit of preparation work from me (though thankfully the lecture notes have already been prepared).

It's also not helped that one of the classes i demonstrate on is changing so that it involves R rather than SPSS. So i've got to learn how to use a whole new stats package as well. Brilliant!

I'm going through phases of thinking "oh it'll be fine, you'll just wing it, it's good for you" to being in blind panic at what i have taken on.

(Oh and of course this is ignoring the fact that my lit review and proposal dissertation needs to be submitted asap and i have a book chapter that is currently being reviewed, and if accepted will need to be revised before November).

And also, i've taken on a course at the uni that assesses my teaching so i'll end up with a qualification by the end of the year - which has a couple of compulsory afternoon courses to be completed as well.

Yabahadadbarbjb akjhakvnfknaavk.

So, who else is preparing for a crazy, mad term like me? Let's join together and keep each other relatively sane.