Landmarks

There are two types of landmarks in Academics real and arbitrary.

There is only one real landmark and that is the final acceptance of your thesis into the library archives where it will never see the light of day again.

Meaningless landmarks are things other acadmics make you do because they had to do them. If you apply for a job as a professor, no one will ever even ask if you did comprehensive exams, what graduate courses you took or even if you got slaughtered in your defence. In reality, these are all hazing procedures to see if you are tough enough for the cuthroat world of academics.

On the plus side, arbitrary landmarks result in unprecedented spurts in productivity. Would we ever really do work if we didn't know that there was a giant deadline hanging over our sorry little heads? I sure wouldn't. While the productivity does seem to cluster around these deadlines, they are nonetheless examples of the endurances to which we can push the human body and still produce something moderately intelligent.

The trick is to not convince yourself of the meaninglessness of all the other landmarks. If you recognise these for what they really are, things that make sure you actually get a little work done each year so the dean doesn't have to kick you out, then you will likely become cynical with the system and get nothing done, instead of your usual almost nothing.

I prefer to take the time honoured route of denial. My next arbitrary deadline is at the beginning of April, I will promise not to procrastinate this time or put things off and do a little work every day. And as that resolve dies a slow death by distraction, boredom and youtube, I will just accept that I am a creature of habit and prepare myself for another test of extreme endurance in March.