Eight months ago, I came to Germany with a dream of pursuing what I love the most, science research. So far, it’s been one of the most challenging years of my life. It broke me, tortured me, and made me feel homesick every minute, but I wouldn’t want it to be any other way. I wish I could comfort the readers by saying only their drive to excel would help them get through. It won’t. More than anything, it’s your ability to show up.
Without more ado, I would like you to dive into a typical day of a master’s student in Germany.
I start my day around 6 in the morning, which is also the best part of my day. Cause, coffee! I don’t usually have a lot of time for making breakfast, but a quick breakfast does go a long way. So I grab a bite, and head for a shower. I leave home to go to my lab around 7 in the morning and reach my lab around 8-8:30 am. As soon as I reach it, the first thing I do is write down the most important tasks of the day in the order of their priority. This includes documenting everything that I could possibly miss out on. It makes my day super productive, even on days, I am not well motivated.
After many bad days, I realized that having a good lunch can give you the right kind of energy to move forward with the day. And hence, around 1, I make sure I break for lunch, come back to the lab, and finish some errands. Meanwhile, I make sure that I use every minute in the lab to learn something new. It’s not always technical and science-related, but it helps you learn a bit more about how to survive academia.
Later in the evening, I have to walk to the odd job that I have to pursue to pay my bills (to be honest, I absolutely hate it, and would not recommend it at all. Instead, you could try applying for a hiwi job well in time). I work till late in the night, mostly at 11 pm, and come back home to crash immediately for the next day.
If you want to check out more of Chahat’s life as a Master’s student, follow her on Instagram at @canceronmymind.
Feature image by Julia Koblitz on Unsplash.