Pushy students

In three weeks I will start my new role, heading up a research group at a new institution. I am taking two weeks of leave prior, leaving only one actual working day for me to complete all the things I have left on my never-ending to do list.

I also have two PhD students trying to write up, one of whom wants to be done in a similar time frame. This week I have had repeated requests to look over small sections of the student's first draft of various chapters. Due to the fact that I've had a bit going on myself at work, I haven't responded as quickly as I might normally and so the student now wishes to meet me in person on my last day at the old place to go through things in detail.

Whilst I realise that the student is anxious to get things done, my sense is there's a degree of pushiness, and something of a lack of appreciation of anyone else's situation. My reaction to the repeated requests this week (albeit, silently whilst I read yet another pleading email) has been to say "Leave me ALONE!". Instead, I am avoiding a reply but this will be hard on Friday when said student waltzes into my office and waits for a response (yes, they really do just walk on in. I've even tried locking the door, but due to my old boss' policy of not spending money on anything much all the rooms have the same keys (except his, naturally) and so people just knock, wait, unlock the door and exclaim "oh, I thought you might be hiding in there".)

So it annoys me that I am worrying about this amongst everything else going on. As a PhD student myself I made sure that I made myself available at times that suited my supervisor. I think I had a bit of R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Perhaps I'll just hum that dandy little tune all day Friday. Or lock the door and push a filing cabinet against it from the inside....