A former middle school student of mine tweeted a link to this list how to write a paper in college/university. The list seems obviously old: who uses ICQ anymore? And Kazaa? Woah.
Thought I’d follow suit with a new list, because I’m in the middle of writing a presentation/talk for an awards ceremony on Friday afternoon. So this is a 2010 PhD student version:
1. Re-read last year’s talk to get a refreshed idea of tone/audience.
2. Open up NeoOffice. Write a new opening line.
3. Delete that line. Check Twitter on iPhone.
4. Check email.
5. Think about audience a bit more.
6. Check Google Reader.
7. Respond to a Facebook notification.
8. Smoke a cigarette.
9. Re-read the opening sentences of last year’s talk.
10. Start working on bibliographic entries for something else.
11. Check Google Reader again.
12. Tweet about an online comic you read.
13. Check the twitter stream on your laptop.
14. Go to the bathroom because you feel like you’ll need to go in the future anyway, so might as well do it now.
15. Text someone to confirm a time for a meeting tomorrow.
16. Start writing this blog post.
17. Text an inquiry to roommates.
18. Respond to a few emails because that can be done in less than five minutes.
19. Ponder reading something for Comps instead. Decide against.
20. Check Twitter on iPhone again.
21. Decide to move to Starbucks where there’s no free Wi-Fi.
22. Hit “Publish” before closing the laptop.
