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I finished the next step of my project and sent it along to my advisor last Friday. In my email I said "When would be the best time to meet to discuss these results?". I do have access to her calendar so I know when she is free, but I wanted to ask her when would work for her as I want to give her enough time to review what I sent her. My field is quite busy at the moment since there's some major occurrences in the world right now, and she is dealing quite a bit with it so is quite busy. Also, there has been an instance in the past where her work calendar was not up to date. Plus, I didn't want to seem too forward by just sending her the project and then immediately sending out a meeting invite.

Anyways, I haven't heard back from her at all. Should I send her a follow-up email? Or should I just go ahead and send out a meeting invite?

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  • Assuming that your advisor is free when there are no meetings in her calender is probably wrong: That is the most precious time when you can work on so many, very important things that piled up.
    – Snijderfrey
    Mar 4, 2020 at 20:12
  • So what should I do? Wait until she gets back to me?
    – aspire94
    Mar 4, 2020 at 20:19
  • One might consider proposing a time that seems good for both of you, rather than waiting for her to do that task. Then the ball is in their court.
    – Jon Custer
    Mar 4, 2020 at 20:21
  • Sorry, it is difficult to answer your question. What is best depends very much on the established ways how you communicate with your advisor. Ideally I would recommend to ask in person or by phone. E-mails can easily be ignored/forgotten/overlooked infinitely.
    – Snijderfrey
    Mar 4, 2020 at 20:25

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If you have an "action item" that requires her okay then send an email (or other accepted communication). If you are just anxious and can proceed for now on your own then it might be better to show patience.

As comments to your question suggest, and even the question itself, the calendar may be inaccurate. Things might have come up. Perhaps she just trusts you to carry on while she is busy. While you are dealing with only one professor, she may be dealing with several students and other obligations.

But don't panic until it becomes necessary and don't be a pest. Half a week isn't a long time unless deadlines loom.

But don't get yourself blocked up for the lack of a meeting. There are plenty to things you can do speculatively to keep momentum.

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