Dear Reader,
This month, I feel like I officially became a grad student. I kept hearing whispers about how busy things were going to get, about how I was not going to be able to keep my head above water. I have to say, this has been the busiest month of my academic career, but I am still standing. It turns out there was a much-needed lesson I needed to learn this month.
I had multiple massive projects due, including grant applications, proposals, a seminar presentation, and feedback on student assignments. Reading Break was not so much a “break” as it was a time to come to terms with how much I still had left to do for the semester. I had time to plan out my month, and I realized quite quickly that there wasn’t exactly enough time to get everything done. Enter stage left: Panic, with a capital P. The stress started to come in waves. I knew I couldn’t dedicate the same amount of time to these projects as I could have in undergrad, and I wasn’t really sure how to go about it. It turns out, quitting was a viable solution.
Now I’m not saying to just give up and walk away from everything. Bunch of stuff to do? “Just give up!” No, that’s not what I’m getting at. What I’m saying is that it is important to recognize that sometimes, throwing in the towel on a particular idea is a lifesaver.
Three weeks before my seminar presentation, I went to my professor regarding my topic. She listened, agreed on the idea, provided me with feedback, and I went on my way. Now that I had an approved idea, I decided to focus on the other projects I had to do. Fast forward two weeks, and my seminar was exactly seven days away. I returned to the drawing board and realized that this idea was not going to work out. I desperately tried to make it work. I spent days pouring over this idea. I was deeply passionate about it, and I wanted to share it with the class. With just days until the assignment was due, I reluctantly reached out to the professor again. The panicked feelings set in again. She’s going to think I’m not trying. She’s going to think I’m incapable of developing a presentation. She’s going to think I left the production of this seminar until the last minute. Instead of saying anything like that, she told me after our next chat, “I can tell that you know when to give up on an idea. And that’s a really good skill to have.” Whoa! What? Quitting isn’t a dirty word? It’s okay to get an idea approved and then change my mind? I’m not wasting my professor’s time? I was blown away. I assumed that because a professor thought it was a good idea in the first place, that it was pretty much set in stone. That was the idea that I needed to follow through until the end, right? But this interaction completely changed my perspective on “quitting.” I changed my topic with the professor’s help and I did a good job on the presentation. Yes, there were areas for improvement, especially since I developed the entire speech in only a few days, but it was a great seminar.
Reflecting on the experience now, I needed to quit on that idea sooner. I think we need to change the stigma about quitting. “Real winners don’t quit.” We hear it all the time. Well, what if the real winners just know when to quit? No, I didn’t quit on the entire presentation, but I did quit on the idea that was getting me nowhere. Giving up on an idea doesn’t mean someone didn’t try. Trust me, I tried so hard to make that topic work in my favour. Giving up on an idea means seeing its end and not trying to force it to do another lap of the track. Let it go. Use it as a jumping off point for another topic. It’s not a waste of time in the end, because there was learning that came from it. If you find yourself working tirelessly on an idea that is going nowhere, meet with your TA. Talk to your professor. Chat with a Peer Writing Assistant or a Writing Consultant at Student Academic Success Services. Don’t get stuck in the mindset that your one idea is your only idea. If you were able to generate one topic, you can generate more. It’s worth knowing when to quit.
Until next time,
April