Jordan Smith's Day

6:30am: I like to start the day with a little “me time,” and take my doggo, Nora, for a walk! Graduate school is a marathon, and I find I do my best work when I make time to take care of myself, and my family.

8:30am: My normal lab day is a mix of in vitro and in vivo work, and I typically split my day up by my experiments. Morning in vitro work, and in vivo work in the afternoon. I work in a collaborative lab environment, so a good proportion of my day is spent working with other MD/PhDs, graduate students, and post-docs on experimental procedures.

12:00pm: We almost always eat as a lab together, and this break in the day is a great moment for a breather, and a few laughs. Sometimes, I will also go home for a quick lunch, and to walk the doggo!

2:00pm: Several times a week we have afternoon seminars, lab meeting or journal club (it’s a great time to load a PCR or gel and head to a meeting!)

5:30pm: I like to end the day with reviewing and recording all the data generated from that day. I then use this to make my short-term plan for the next day, and to make any needed adjustments to my weekly/monthly plan! I then move to do a quick daily lit review for new papers to add to my reading list for the week.

7:00pm: I make it my goal to make it home to have dinner with my family, watch our favorite show of the moment, or catch drinks with friends.

I really try to protect my evenings, but alas sometimes there is reading of a paper or two, maybe an email answered, or presentation worked on 😊

10:30pm: I try to stick to the same bedtime every night (Sleep hygiene is SUPER important for a happy grad student!).