A Day In The Life Of......

[Therapist4Chnge]

I know we have a diverse group of students and professionals here, so I wanted to hear about how everyone spends their day....you know, other than post on SDN.

So....how do you spend your day?

-t

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[Therapist4Chnge]

I guess I should answer this....

Up by 7:30-8:00am. On most days I see pts. from 9-4pm (on days I have class, I do research/work for the rest of the day). Typically during that time I do individual therapy, group therapy, supervision, notes, assessments, reports, and random other related tasks. After that, I go to my 2nd job (researcher)....and that's where the magic happens! My laptop and I bond over such fun resources as PsychINFO and other online journals, and then once that lovefest is over, I go to the textbooks, journals, raw data, etc. Once I put in my time, it is Hammock Time. HT is pretty much mandatory, and it consists of enjoying the weather (it is nighttime by now...so the sun is a figment of my imagination). I do odds and ends things the rest of the night, and then start over.

Oh, I realized I didn't talk about food. I <3 food, and it is in my day. Sushi and steak are on my good days, and who knows on my hectic days!!

-t

 

[Sorg1123]

This sounds fun... too bad life is pretty boring now that applications, interviews and decisions are over.

Get up at 6am. Take out dog. Go back to bed. Dog barking, again. Toss in bed for half our trying to block out whining and barking. Play with dog. Shower. Dress. Take out dog. Oh yeah, feed Fido. Distract dog while I slip out the back door. Traffic. Go to work. Login and think about all the stuff I want to get done. Waste time reading the onion. Waste time reading SDN. Ummmm... Segment MRI images for the next 6 hrs. Eat lunch at some point. Do some research, build figures with Photoshop (my favorite part of the workday). Other misc tasks that change day to day. Log out. Traffic. Take out dog. Train dog. Play fetch. Talk to wife about her more exciting day (works in pediatric psych). Cook dinner. Take out dog. Watch some tv, play guitar, read about brains and mississippi delta blues musicians (my two fav topics,). Go to bed and dream about San Diego.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

....build figures with Photoshop (my favorite part of the day).

If you like that, you should check out Poser 3D! It was probably my favorite application to use at my first start-up firm. I wasn't a programmer, but I knew enough to build some pretty cool characters. I could have sworn I have an old copy somewhere (I think v.3 or 4?) Time to go through my archives and old software!

-t

 

[irish80122]

I am still an undergrad, which is nice schedule wise. Here is my Monday.
10 AM wakeup (I will miss that)
10:30-1:00 Class
Lunch at 1
5:15-6:30 Class
7:00-10:00 Teaching BASIC programming.
2:00 AM bed.

 

[PhDshallsee]

I'm still in undergrad, but I have crazy days.

I wake up at 7 and shower, etc.
I have class from 8:30-9:30
I usually try to get some work done from 9:40-10:40
I have another class from 10:50-11:50
I eat lunch from 12-1
I have another class from 1:10-2:10
I have yet another class from 2:20-3:50
On Mondays I work (I tutor in the Writing Center) from 4-7
On Wednesdays I'm thankfully off after all that!

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have class from 8:30-12:00 and on Thursday I also have lab from 1-4. And again, on Thursdays, I work from 6-9.

I enjoy my Tuesdays, as I can finally breathe.

 

[psychwanabe]

Okay, this is a nice way to learn a little more about one another.

I'm also still finishing undergrad (June 9th - GRADUATION DAY), so I'm taking classes 5 days a week. I'm usually up by 8ish and I am NOT a morning person, so I spend an hour watching the news and drinking coffee with the dog in my lap. Then I get online, check SDN and chat with you fine people, check email, check my school site (Blackboard), get ready and leave the house at 10ish. I only have one class on MWF, at 11:00. Wednesdays I also have lab, but I'm only going for fun now as I'm not enrolled. Tuesday/Thursday I have a class at 11 and 2:00, and in between I'm working on my thesis. That's school in a nutshell.

I also volunteer as a child advocate (CASA - Court Appointed Special Advocate) for abused and neglected children. My case right now has two toddlers, so I spend time during the week visiting them, talking with caseworkers, doctors, grandparents, parents, foster parents, etc. I also attend court hearings when scheduled - like tomorrow at 8:30! Morning, yuck!

My evenings should be better this quarter, as I HOPE to no longer be putting in 14 hour days! My hubby gets home around 6:00, we go walking, come home, make dinner, chat about our days and then watch the tube if something good is on. Otherwise I'm reading novels for fun or textbooks for school. Or I do crosswords. LOVE crossword puzzles!

 

[sunkyst11]

psychwannabe, i love crossword puzzles too!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I use to do the NY Times one every day.....though I stopped getting my subscription when I moved, doh!

-t

 

[Aspire2Be]

A day in the life, huh? I'm an Art Therapist and I work about a zillion hours a week, so it depends on the day...

Usually....

Wake up at 7:00... shower, get dressed, breakfast, off to work... Commute takes about 45-50 minutes.

Spend most of the morning doing process notes, returning phone calls. etc.

I work in a Creative Arts Therapy program for child survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. So, depending on the day, I'll see usually 4 or 5 individual clients. On wednesdays, I also run 2 groups.

Then I'm off to my evening job, where I run groups per diem, which has me facilitating Art Therapy groups at youth shelters, detention centers, cancer support groups, etc. This changes every six weeks or so. On Saturdays, I see a few private practice clients.

I usually don't get home until around 9, when I spend whatever time possible with my fiance, eating dinner entirely too late, planning our wedding, watching something recorded on tivo, and lately checking on SDN in hopes that I'll gain some insight into whether or not I'll be back in school in the fall!

I'm tired just thinking about it all.

 

[psychwanabe]

psychwannabe, i love crossword puzzles too!

I think the GRE made be a better crossword puzzl-er! At least they were good for something!

 

[RayneeDeigh]

Oh I LOVE this thread!

My average bedtime is 4am. I sleep until about 9, go to class, sometimes meet with my advisor, come home, work on my thesis or any other papers I need to do, and then I spend my evenings on here or playing Wii Sports with my brother. My late-nights are almost always spent catching up on reading for my courses or editing the papers I wrote. Some weeks I barely have time to sleep and others I feel lazy 'cause I just sit around watching TV. Oh the life of an undergrad!

And when I get a free evening (though this hasn't happened in a while thanks to my thesis), I like to bribe my friends so that they'll go out for dinner with me. I'm a little addicted to Ethiopian and Indian food.

 

[RayneeDeigh]

I'm also still finishing undergrad (June 9th - GRADUATION DAY)...

Wow that's a late end date. I'm done on April 11th (my classes anyway), then I give my dissertation on the 20th.

 

[psychwanabe]

Wow that's a late end date. I'm done on April 11th (my classes anyway), then I give my dissertation on the 20th.

Yep, it is. We're on the quarter system and school doesn't start until the 3rd week of September. What's nice is that we don't start until a full month after a lot of schools, but what sucks is that we're out a month later than everyone else!

 

[Teacher07]

Up at 6:15, drive 40 minutes to teach 12 small third graders, check SDN and other sites while students are in art, music or PE, home by 4, work out, make dinner, obsessively check SDN, watch a movie (we do netflix, not TV), go to bed... ahhhh

 

[Duckygirl]

I work technically as an "educational consultant" at a children's mental health clinic, because I have a teaching degree, but not a MA in psychology. Most weeks are the same, although every once in a while, my day/schedule fluctuates, it depends on the season, school holidays, supervisor's vacations, etc.
6 AM- Get up and run, shower, make breakfast/lunch
9 AM- Noon- Cognitive & educational testing time, yay!
Noon-1PM- Lunch with my dad (he owns a business down the street from the clinic)
1-3 PM- Chart notes, phone calls, scoring tests, entering data, copying materials, reading SDN, checking email
3-6 PM- Tutor mulitple children
6-9- Clean up at home, make dinner, watch TV, do laundry
10 PM (Lately)- To bed! Everyone at our clinic is really into current research on children's sleep, and after listening to them talk about all the frightening things that happen to kids who don't get enough sleep (i.e., me when I was younger)- I've been scared enough try to get up/go to bed at the same time every day & get at least 8 hours of sleep.

This schedule is slighty different on Thursdays, I do less tutoring, but group therapy from 5-8PM. This is a hilarious part of my job, and I LOVE it.
Because I stay late on Thursday nights, I get to leave work at about 3PM on Fridays! Yay!
My nights are like this:
Mondays- brewpub night with my girlfriends
Tuesdays- My one night at home by myself to get things done
Wednesdays- Family Dinner- my brother and I and our significant others and friends go to my parents' house for dinner
Thursdays- Group therapy night, so I mostly watch TV & go to bed
Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays are anybody's guess, but usually involve a farmer's market, eating out, shopping, reading, drinking .

It's a beautiful life right now! Now that I no longer teach, I don't have to worry about grading papers or making Indian geography worksheets or be cutting out dinosaurs til 1 in the morning. I enjoy my time at work and them I enjoy my time at home! Woohoo!

 

[Salsybabe]

I am a graduate student in a master's program. My schedule varies some, but is pretty consistant.

Mondays: Up at 6am, at the nursing home by 8:45am for clients I see through my internship site. By 11am, off to my internship site at a community agency where I do individual therapy, group therapy, diagnostic evaluations, treatment plans, progress notes, etc. Done by 7pm. After that, check email, surf the net (SDN of course), and reading for class if I feel like it. Bed by 11pm.

Tuesdays: Up at 6am: Second internship at a middle school from 9am to 3pm. Basically, I'm working with the school counselor. I did have clients, but I'm dropping that site soon. 5pm-7:30pm: Class. After that, home, eat, internet, classwork, in bed by midnight.

Wednesdays: Up at 7am, Class from 10am-11:30am, 2 hour break where I eat and run errands. Class from 1:30pm-3:50pm, and Class from 4pm-6pm. Then home to eat, surf the net and do classwork.

Thursdays: Repeat of Tuesday, except no classes, and that's the day where I do my heaviest courseload work

Fridays: Repeat of Monday, except I don't go to the nursing home, so I start at 10am.

Saturdays: Up at 6:45am. Internship at the community agency from 10am-2pm, home to eat, do class stuff

 

[psychwanabe]

Oh I LOVE this thread!

My average bedtime is 4am. I sleep until about 9

Wow, you get by on very little sleep! If I did that I would look like this during classes or this from being strung out on Starbucks! I am an 8 a night girl! I could get so much more done if I could live like you do!

 

[RayneeDeigh]

Wow, you get by on very little sleep! If I did that I would look like this during classes or this from being strung out on Starbucks! I am an 8 a night girl! I could get so much more done if I could live like you do!

Heh. Oddly enough, I feel like an absolute zombie if I get more than 7 hours of sleep. I am superhuman.

But, my lack of sleep may explain my very frequent "blonde moments". So perhaps your method is better!

 

[dubbs07]

Wow, reading the students' 'day in the life's made me a little nostaligic for school! Walking to class.. meeting friends for coffee.. Ahhh....

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I need AT LEAST 7 hours of sleep, or I am irritable and unpleasant. I am an old man now.....but I need my sleep!!!

-t

 

[RayneeDeigh]

I need AT LEAST 7 hours of sleep, or I am irritable and unpleasant. I am an only man now.....but I need my sleep!!!

-t

I'm always irritable and unpleasant so at least this way I have more hours to do work.

 

[saurus]

Mondays and Wednesdays-
645am: wake up, get dressed, breakfast
800am: drive to work
830am: America Reads tutoring
1200pm: drive to campus, eat lunch while driving, steal someone's parking spot
1245pm until 9pm: classes
915pm: dinner
930pm until I pass out: homework

Tuesdays and Thursdays-
700am: wake up, get dressed, breakfast
8am until 5pm: classes
6pm until 8pm: run studies
815pm: dinner
930pm until I pass out: homework

Fridays-
645am: wake up, get dressed, breakfast
800am: drive to work
830am: America Reads tutoring
1200pm: drive to campus, eat lunch while driving, steal someone's parking spot
1245pm until 2pm: classes
2pm until 5pm: boring campus job

Pretty much after that I go limp with exhaustion until Sunday, when I peel myself out of bed to do homework and get ready for the week. Sigh.

 

[psychwanabe]

I'm always irritable and unpleasant so at least this way I have more hours to do work.

Wait - I'm always irritable and unpleasant too, but I GET 8 hours a night! What does this say about me??!

Oh yeah, I'm a grad school applicant...

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Wait - I'm always irritable and unpleasant too, but I GET 8 hours a night! What does this say about me??!

Oh yeah, I'm a grad school applicant...

That you will not get enough sleep in grad school?



Though.....I did just take a 2.5 hour nap (I met with my supervisor at lunch, and then left work early....a nap seemed more important), so there is still hope!!

-t

 

[psychwanabe]

I guess I should answer this....

Up by 7:30-8:00am. On most days I see pts. from 9-4pm (on days I have class, I do research/work for the rest of the day). Typically during that time I do individual therapy, group therapy, supervision, notes, assessments, reports, and random other related tasks. After that, I go to my 2nd job (researcher)....and that's where the magic happens! My laptop and I bond over such fun resources as PsychINFO and other online journals, and then once that lovefest is over, I go to the textbooks, journals, raw data, etc. Once I put in my time, it is Hammock Time. HT is pretty much mandatory, and it consists of enjoying the weather (it is nighttime by now...so the sun is a figment of my imagination). I do odds and ends things the rest of the night, and then start over.
-t

Okay so you sound pretty busy. Then I read...

That you will not get enough sleep in grad school?



Though.....I did just take a 2.5 hour nap (I met with my supervisor at lunch, and then left work early....a nap seemed more important), so there is still hope!!

-t

So where did you get lucky enough to find time for a 2.5 hour nap?!? Is this a part of HT?

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Okay so you sound pretty busy. Then I read...


So where did you get lucky enough to find time for a 2.5 hour nap?!? Is this a part of HT?

I've been sleeping poorly lately, so I made myself take a nap. Of course, the literature says that you SHOULDN'T take a nap because it will further screw up your sleep cycle, but I did so anyway because it felt GOOOOOOOOD.

One big reason I had extra time is that my patient load got really light this week (people transitioning out, and I'm not getting anyone new until next week), might as well take advantage of it!

-t