Nobody tells you what to do during your first summer of graduate school.
Sure, I knew about the structured commitments – one class, two placements, weekly lab work, regular meetings. But beyond that? I had no idea how to fill the vast stretches of unscheduled time. My supervisor’s guidance was vague: “Start thinking about your dissertation” and “Try to get a publication.” Helpful in theory, completely overwhelming and unclear in practice.
So I winged it. Some of it worked. A lot of it didn’t. Here’s what I actually did, what I learned, and what I’d tell someone heading into their first grad school summer now.
How I Spent My First Grad School Summer
My structured commitments filled maybe 2-3 days per week, leaving me with huge blocks of open time. I had just survived the two busiest semesters of my life and was absolutely exhausted – but I also felt this intense pressure to “maintain momentum” and be productive all summer.
That’s not what happened.
Without structure or a clear plan, I was all over the place. I’d take days off, doing nothing but sitting in low-grade dread about everything I should be doing but couldn’t bring myself to start. I’d have random bursts of focused work, but nothing consistent or meaningful.
The pattern looked like this:
- Wake up with good intentions
- Open my laptop, stare at a blank document
- Feel paralyzed by the enormity of “start planning your dissertation”
- Close the laptop, tell myself I’d start tomorrow
- Repeat
It wasn’t until late August – when I could see the new semester approaching and had almost nothing to show for three months – that panic set in. I crammed, overworked myself trying to make any progress, and started the fall semester already burnt out.
Looking back, the problem wasn’t laziness or lack of motivation. It was the complete absence of structure in a life that had been rigidly structured by 18+ years of school.
What Surprised Me About That First Summer
The guilt was constant. Even on days I gave myself “off,” I couldn’t actually relax. I’d watch TV while mentally cataloging everything I wasn’t doing. It wasn’t rest – it was just unproductive work anxiety.
Vague goals are useless. “Think about your dissertation” isn’t a goal. It’s a concept. I needed concrete tasks, and I didn’t know how to create them.
Nobody checked in. In grad school everyone just assumes you’re handling things. If you’re drowning – you have to say something – and I didn’t even realize I was drowning to begin with.
Other students had wildly different summers. Some took real vacations. Some worked 60-hour weeks in the lab. Some took extra courses. There’s no “right” way, which somehow made it harder to figure out my way.
What I Would Do Differently
If I could go back and redo my first grad-school summer, here are the three things I’d change:
1. Set Concrete, Specific Goals
What I did: “Start thinking about my dissertation” and “submit a paper”
What I should have done: Break those massive, paralyzing goals into actual tasks. For example:
- “Identify papers relevant to X”
- “Read 10 papers specific to Y and take notes on methodology”
- “Draft 3 potential research questions and get feedback from supervisor”
- “Create an annotated bibliography of 20 key sources”
Why this matters: Your brain can’t start a task called “think about dissertation.” It can start a task called “read this specific paper and summarize the methods section.”
Make your goals small enough that you can finish one in a single work session. Then string those sessions together.
2. Create Your Own Structure (Because No One Else Will)
Going from a packed course schedule with clear deadlines to completely open time is jarring. I need structure, but I didn’t realize it until the absence of it broke me.
What I’d do now:
- Block out “work hours” on my calendar (e.g., Monday-Wednesday, 9am-1pm is deep work time)
- Create artificial deadlines for those small goals (not “finish lit review someday” but “read 3 papers and add them to lit search document by Friday”)
- Treat unscheduled time like scheduled time (if I’m working 9am-1pm, I’m working – no email, no phone, no “just checking” social media)
- Plan rest time with the same intentionality (Thursday afternoons are OFF, fully off, no guilt)
The key insight: In grad school, you’re not managing your time around external demands – you’re creating the demands yourself. If you don’t build the structure, you’ll float in anxious limbo all summer.
3. Take Breaks Intentionally
The summer should be a time for increased rest and doing things you enjoy. But there’s a massive difference between:
Unintentional break (what I did): Wake up, don’t feel like doing lit review, watch TV for 6 hours while beating myself up about wasting the day, go to bed feeling worse than when you work up.
Intentional break (what actually works): Decide in advance “I’m taking Thursday off,” plan something restorative (going outside, seeing a friend, having a chill self-care day), fully commit to it, and actually enjoy it without guilt.
Rest only works if you let yourself rest. Guilt-soaked downtime isn’t restorative – it’s just procrastination that makes you feel terrible.
How to make this real:
- Put your rest days on your calendar so they’re as official as work commitments
- Do something that genuinely refills your cup (not just scrolling while anxious)
- Give yourself full permission: “Today is my day off. I planned this. I’m allowed to enjoy it.”
Questions to Ask Yourself This Summer
If you’re heading into your first grad school summer, here are the questions I wish I’d asked myself:
- What does my supervisor/program actually expect? (Don’t just guess, ask directly. “What should I prioritize this summer?” is a fair question.)
- What would make me feel good about this summer when September rolls around? (One finished paper draft? A solid reading list? Time to recharge? Be specific.)
- What do I need right now – rest or momentum? (There’s no right answer, but you need to know which one you’re optimizing for.)
- How do I work best? (Are you someone who needs external deadlines? Do you work better with people around? Morning person or night owl? Use this summer to figure it out.)
What I’ve Heard From Others
Obviously, every grad program and student is different. Here’s what I’veobserved from talking to people in different fields.
STEM programs: Often expected in the lab, but intensity varies widely by supervisor.
Social sciences & humanities: Common to have reading lists, archival research prep, and busy research participant time slots.
Clinical/professional programs: Placements and practicums often continue, but coursework often slows down.
The takeaway: Don’t compare your summer to everyone else’s. Ask people in your program (or even better – in your lab) what their summers typically look like.
How I’m Approaching This Summer Differently
I’m heading into my second grad school summer with a completely different strategy:
- Three concrete goals (not vague concepts)
- Structured work blocks (M/W/F mornings = research time, non-negotiable)
- Planned rest days (Sundays are 100% off, on my calendar, guilt free)
- Monthly check-ins with my supervisor (so I’m not guessing about expectations)
- One fun thing per week (hiking, seeing friends, readings my book outside – something that has nothing to do with grad school)
I’ll report back in September and let you know how it goes.
Final Thoughts
If you’re going into your first grad school summer feeling uncertain, anxious, or like you have no idea what you’re doing—that’s completely normal. You’re not supposed to know yet. This is all part of the learning curve.
The goal isn’t to have a perfect, maximally productive summer. The goal is to figure out what works for you—and that takes trial and error.
Give yourself permission to experiment, mess up, and adjust as you go.
What did you do during your first grad school summer? What worked? What didn’t? Drop a comment—I’d love to hear how this looks across different programs and fields.
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