The author sounds extremely stressed. To some extent, this is the big learning of the PhD program that I learned a touch too late : be self directed and manage

The author sounds extremely stressed. To some extent, this is the big learning of the PhD program that I learned a touch too late : be self directed and manage your time. This line jumped out at me "I could not concentrate. There was too much noise and interruption in my head." I think that there are a variety of meditation techniques that could help you. There is a feedback loop in the brain and I recently saw a talk from a stanford prof detailing how certain kinds of meditation can actually reinforce the executive control process in the brain. The basic types were concentrating on something (e.g. breath) or concentrating on nothing... Here is the substance of the talk by the same fellow : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf6Q0G1iHBI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf6Q0G1iHBI Good luck, keep cool and find a good task management program!