Ah, for the days when our to-do lists were so simple. From Carissa Rogers on Flickr.
I originally posted this on the course site for my Introduction to Graduate Studies in Mass Communication class, but thought I’d cross-post here as many who visit this site are likely interested in some of these resources as well. These are all books, software, and tools I discussed with my students on the first night of class. If you have other resources I should add, let me know in the comments!
Grad School and Academic Life
- Getting What You Came For (book) LB2371.4 .P48 1992 (currently missing from the library…?)
- What They Didn’t Teach You in Graduate School (book; haven’t read it, but highly reviewed on Amazon)
- McKeachie’s Teaching Tips (book; pricey, but an excellent resource)
- Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject (book; much cheaper used)
To-Do and Project Management
- Getting Things Done (book) BF637.T5 A45 2001
- Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks (book)
- Toodledo (also an app)
- Remember the Milk (also an app)
- Google Calendar and Google Documents, and really all of Google
- Dropbox and SugarSync (also apps)…think about purchasing an inexpensive portable hard drive as well.
- Assignment Calculator (suggested by @janniaragon) and Dissertation Calculator
- For collaboration: Basecamp (free 30-day trial; suggested by @KatieAJohnson); free, open-source ProjectPier (suggested by @nickgundry)
- Tips at 43 Folders, Lifehacker, and especially ProfHacker
- Old-school, durable, hard-copy thought collection with a Moleskine notebook, and also the Hipster PDA (index cards)
Time Management
- “Every Workday Needs a Game Plan”
- FocusBooster and the Pomodoro Technique
- Restrict your web surfing using an extension like LeechBlock for Firefox or other software
Reference Management
- EndNote (don’t buy it; our students can get it for free from Fresno State here!)
- Zotero for Firefox users
- Mendeley
Writing Tools
- Inspiration
- OmniOutliner for Mac users
- Scrivener for Mac users
- Write Room for Mac users
- Dark Room for PC (like Write Room)
- Write or Die
- Grammar practice at Exercise Central
Higher Education News and Job Listings
Academic Job Search Resources
- Optimal Resume and CV maker from Fresno State’s Career Services
- The Academic Job Search Handbook (book) LB2331.72 .H45 2001
- WordPress.com
- The Networking Survival Guide (book)
- Professional Development During Your Doctoral Education (PDF; lots of relevant stuff here for those seeking community college teaching positions after the M.A.)
Miscellaneous
- Readability bookmarklet
Tags: graduate school, productivity, students, time management
