Fall Semester Update Professional Conduct Memo

Subject: Fall Semester Update Professional Conduct Memo (09/13/2017)

The following memo is to provide an update on my progress to improve my professional conduct as a second-year doctoral student. I have made improvements in my time management and communication; however, there remain specific areas for improvement, particularly in responsive and pro-active communication.

Setting Priorities, Goals, and a Time Management

Balancing my priorities by using an organized system has significantly helped me to manage my course work and assistantship goals and be able to include time for my training goals. The most impactful activity has been setting up a monthly, weekly, and daily calendar that covered the entire term with an outline of all major course assignments and assistantship projects with a clear timeline to complete all requirements. Unlike previous semesters, I felt more at ease during the final couple weeks of the semester compared to my peers. This semester, I will continue to commit Thursdays and Fridays to research assistantship work only. Structuring my time this way has really helped me to focus on specific assignments: I feel more effective when I can dedicate an entire day to one project, paper, or task. Though simple, writing everything down and keeping track of my time has facilitated effective prioritization of my time to achieving my goals.

During the final two to three weeks of the semester, I struggled with balancing my time between course assignments and research assistantship work. I was unable to complete 20 hours per week of research support with Dr. Benenson but I was able to complete an extra 10 hours or more per week after all my course work was submitted to make up this