On Mondays, I work at 9:00 AM, at the admissions office until noon. I then have a filled day of study and meetings well into the evening, as we near our final exams. However, for a busy Heller student, I have found the importance of a mellow, calm, and gentle morning routine to help begin a busy day.I wake up usually at 6:30 AM, and typically immediately dress and get ready for the day. I like to give myself as much time as possible before I catch the Brandeis shuttle to campus at 7:54 AM, fortunately just outside of my apartment. While waiting, I always listen to the news. Starting with a world report from the BBC, then switching to NPR for a domestic, U.S., news report as I step onto the shuttle. I will spend some time as well on the bus reading a couple of articles from the news app on my phone. I enjoy being up-to-date or at least as best as I can be.
I arrive on campus usually around 8:14 AM, and head to our graduate student lounge, located at Kutz Hall. I’m the first in, and the room is quiet and peaceful. I always make a pot of coffee, very strong coffee at that.
This is my favorite part of Monday. Sitting in that quiet room, alone, sipping hot coffee, and doing nothing but enjoying my thoughts to myself. Time feels like it slows down, and this 40-minute period is my time to just let my mind wander.
We all need little moments like this. Especially in our busy lives. Moments to just think, and process. I learned this from my first cognitive science course in undergrad. I remember the professor assigned us the seemingly impossible task for our midterm assignment of spending a day doing nothing, not looking at our phone or laptop, but just letting our thoughts come and go. It was the most difficult thing, but I learned a lot and even came up with some creative solutions to other challenges I was facing.
As graduate students at Heller, we are always learning. The professors and students alike are extraordinarily curious, making us all exposed to new information constantly. But having nice, quiet, and calm moments where we do nothing, no learning, no working, but just letting ourselves slow down and process, I’ve found, helps process all of this new material. Helps us discover new connections and ideas. So, having a calm Monday morning always makes my week feel a little less stressful, and I am most thankful for it.