This document discusses strategies for achieving work-life balance as a graduate student. It begins by examining how cultural and personal contexts can influence expectations of success and balance. Research on human satisfaction and happiness is then summarized, finding that experiencing flow states, meaningful relationships and purpose, and small acts of self-care and altruism can promote well-being more than wealth or external measures of success alone. The document concludes by recommending incorporating these insights through small, incremental changes in mindset and habits to gradually improve life satisfaction and balance over time.

1. Exploiting Rapid
Change in Technology
Enhanced Learning
… for Post Graduate Education
Enhancing the Opportunities in Graduate Experience:
Work/Life Balance

2. Society’s usual “definition of success” – becoming rich –
doesn’t align with the notion of work-life balance. Thus,
many employees/students are stuck on the
corporate/university treadmill.
It’s up to individuals to find their perfect equilibrium.
Finding the right balance involves addressing all facets of
your life, including your physical side, your “intellectual
side,” your "emotional side” and your “spiritual side
Nigel Marsh
TED Conferences LLC, 2010

3. “It is small shifts in awareness and simple practices that
will guide you to a level of happiness and balance that
will dramatically change your life.”
“Altruism neutralizes negative emotions that affect
immune, endocrine and cardiovascular function. Altruism
creates physiological responses or a ’helpers’ high’.”
A Life in Balance
Nourishing the Four Roots of True Happiness
Kathleen A. Hall
AMACOM, 2006 more...

4. Agenda
1. Examine the contextual issues and face them down.
2. What great research tells us
3. Practical suggestions

5. Context

6. Context Counts
What are the rules you live by? Do you need to?
1. First generation to graduate school?
1. Rules about the role of family vs wk vs degree work?
2. Rules about amount of time spent with parents? Children?
2. What country culture do you exist within?
1. What are the rules about work life balance?
2. Early to bed and early to rise?
3. Do you “know what life is about?”
3. What is your spiritual context?
1. Right and proper???
2. Certain amount of time required for church or good works?
4. What are the beliefs of your age bracket?
1. How do these differ from your parents? /grandparents?

7. Mallinckrodt, B., & Leong, F. (1992). International graduate students, stress, and social
support. Journal of College Student Development, 33(January 1992).
International Student?
40K international students in US by 1990 / 186 nationalities / 25% of PhDs
106 non US student took survey - indicating what had happened and if it
was positive or not.
1. Difficulties included: adjusting to life in the US, difficulty with English,
insufficient finances, poor social integration, balance,.
2. Social supports and stress symptoms were measured by other scales.

8. Context Re-examined Can be
Negotiated
Those we are in relationship with
ALWAYS push back from any
change you want to make.
Do not expect the process to be easy

9. Research into human satisfaction

10. Maslow, A. H., Stephens, D. C., Heil, G., & Bennis, W. (1998). Maslow on Management.
New York, NY, USA: John Wiley.
Maslow
Self Actualization
This business of self-actualization via a commitment to an important job and to
worthwhile work could also be said, then, to be the path to human happiness.
Maslow identified self-actualizing people as individuals who are highly creative,
who have peak experiences, and who are able to resolve the paradoxes
inherent in opposite contraries such as: 1) having freedom yet giving it away
because you are determined.
Creativity, a hallmark of a self-actualizing person. Art may represent the
“synthesis” of the dichotomous relationship such as being disciplined and yet
freely creative.

11. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow : the psychology of optimal experience (1st ed.). New York:
Harper & Row.
Csikszentmihalyi
Look for his 2014 TED talk on the secret to happiness
flow occurs with: a) clear goals where the person knows the appropriate response,
b) when skills are fully involved in overcoming a challenge "just about
manageable“
20% some everyday - sometimes 40% - rarely 25% - 15% never - tested through
survey around the world and also through ESM - prompted randomly people report
- n = 2300 in chicago alone - rarely in leisure states - almost always in active
states
There are many ways to increase flow w/o making changes: is it dull? What parts
make it meaningful? Concentrate there. Pay attention to each step - are they
necessary? Can it be reworked? Can it be done better faster if I did more would it
be more meaningful? Try to accomplish MORE.

12. Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish : a visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being
(1st Free Press hardcover ed.). New York: Free Press.
Seligman (2011)
1. Positive emotion
2. Engagement / flow
3. Relationships
4. Meaning and Purpose
5. Accomplishment
Flourishing is beyond happiness – Say “yes” to…

13. What to these have to do with
work/life balance?
1. There is no issue if we are in flow with our
work/ feel fulfilled by it we will be much more
likely to creatively solve time/work issues.
2. Fulfillment makes it easier to find balance:
food/exercise/family/work/academics each in
their own time
3. When your academic life feeds part of your
fulfillment you can express this to the people
you love and they will understand/support it
more.

14. Conley, C. (2007). Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo. New York: Jossey-Bass.
Chip Conley Meets Maslow
An easy to use
hierarchy to help you
flourish… Transformation
Success
Survival

15. Small changes lead the way…

16. Hall, K. (2006).. A life in Balance. AMACOM Press
Only Change is Permanent in the Natural world…
• Spend a few minutes each day nourishing your "roots:" exercise, serenity, love
and mindful eating.
• Meditate
• Pausing to take a few deep breaths several times a day yields significant mental,
physical and spiritual benefits.
• Walking or taking the stairs will improve your health and attitude.
• Devise strategies to deal with fear and stress before they happen.
• In general, eat deeply colored foods, especially fruits, vegetables and whole
grains.
• Shut your phone off every once in a while.
• Rent a funny video. Laugh more often.
• Thank the people who are special to you regularly.
• Maintaining healthy relationships requires attention.
• Quiet down and listen to your feelings. Act from the inside out to increase your
energy and zest for life.
Growth is subtle and without stress

17. James, E, & Slater, T. (2014) Writing your doctoral dissertation or thesis faster.
Using the Tools @ through your university & DoctoralNet…
What you measure stays in your consciousness and expands
• Track your milestones. There is an opt-in to help you remember…
• Celebrate every small step – share those successes with family/friends
• Ask the people in your life to cheerlead your forward progress – share how hard
it is/when you feel confused or discouraged/ how much it means to you to
succeed.
• Read one small article on the site or elsewhere each day.
• Watch an uplifting video: 3 minute theses or Ted Talks or something shared on
the 365s or the top 10s.
• Give yourself 5 minutes to just sit before you start work – breath, listen to
music, say a mantra – relax
• Do you have an errand that will have waiting time such as a doctors office/
child’s class, etc? Plan for it – take headphones for a video or webinar, etc.
• Merge your mental academic life with everything else – its just thoughts – and
you can have them anywhere.

18. What are the BIG 3 Take Aways?
1. Your personal context has influence that
can be negotiated so that you
experience more balance.
2. Beyond balance shoot for life
satisfaction/flow/self actualization
3. Little steps – “keep your eyes on the
prize” steps and in 6 months you won’t
know yourself.
Do not expect the process to be easy

19. What’s Up at DoctoralNet?
So much goodness! Welcome Texas A&M Corpus Christi
1. Series on overcoming the 5 places graduate students breakdown
Fridays every two weeks throughFeb – with our final on support in April –
liked it? Tell your friends!
2. Webinars now in 2 parts with exercise in the middle to drive the
concepts home – each month for each phase – check out the full 1st
quarter schedule – sign in through your DN portal and click through to
community or go to
https://www.bigmarker.com/communities/doctoralnet/conferences
3. Work groups – academic writing and lingerers – every two weeks after
webinars. –
4. Tool of the month! Automations© - start /keep your research on track!