When you are in a PhD program like mine, in which virtually no course work is involved and you are supposed to spend 40 hours a week in your little room with your stack of papers and a computer, you might really feel the need to be nourished with some fresh ideas.
Your supervisor could play an important role here. The Dutch PhD system is inspired by the medieval practice of the master and the apprentice. However, nowadays supervisors are really busy people that only every now and then can transfer knowledge to their student. I, for example, feel that most of the interaction I have with my supervisor is based on him approving my progress, adding some ideas and putting me back on track whenever I need.
But how can I be a better apprentice, how can I benefit more from the knowledge of my supervisors?
During my time as a PhD student I have found a few ways to learn from my advisors. My preliminary answers to this question are:
1. Coffee breaks
Some of the most interesting talks (not related to my research topic) I have had with my supervisors occurred at the coffee machine or during the coffee break. Hearing their random stories about conferences, other people's research and approach to research feel very valuable to me. I get the broader scope, I get some insider information from my advisors who have been in the academic world for decades. What I learn at those moments appears to be lessons for my -hopefully- future academic life.
2. Field trips
Last Friday, my advisor and I went to inspect a real case of my research. I learned more in those two hours on the site than I have learned in a few weeks in my office. Since my advisor had scheduled this time to go there, he also had enough time to give me and my fellows a little lecture there. It was absolutely great. Seeing this case and getting all this interesting information made me feel that bit by bit I am growing to an expert in my field and that I get the opportunity through my PhD to learn what is not being taught in courses.
3. Writing papers
When I give a draft paper to my supervisor, he can quickly see where I have not been clear enough, where I should add an extra figure and where I should expand a little more on the topic. This teaches me to be more critical and find the flaws in my writing.
Unfortunately, these occasions have been very scarce and I would like to benefit more from the knowledge and experience of my advisors. How do you learn from your advisors?
A few lessons from the lab
on Monday, November 22, 2010
The past year, I've been conducting an enormous amount of large-scale experiments (my funder is quite generous). Tomorrow I'll have finished large-scale test number 98, and I will have tested 14 slabs (half-scale slab bridges) and 9 wide beams/slab strips. In this past year, I've learned by trial and error how to get a good routine and manage the testing program.
1. Plan
There's much more to plan about doing an experiment than the experiment itself, obviously. You will need a planning to arrange the delivery of your material, the fabrication of your specimens, side testing and then the course of the experimental program itself. Even though your planning will change (mine is changing frequently because of unexpected delays: sickness of technicians, the carpenter being unavailable,... ), you still need a planning to make sure you won't forget anything and to estimate the time every step will take you.
2. Prepare
Don't walk into the lab with empty hands. When I go to the lab, I have my fixed set of documents along with me: a sheet with predicted values to immediately compare my test result to and a table that I fill out during testing in which I note down observations for every load step. I also take the camera along with me to photograph the failure patterns (and sometimes something to snack on).
3. Classify
Don't wait until months after testing to organize and classify your data and notes. Right after a test, I save the raw data and pictures into their respective folders. I add results into tables which I build up test by test. I write a short summary in my lab book. You get the picture: take action immediately to keep it all neatly organized.
4. Automatize
If you carry out a large test series, try to automatize your data processing as much as possible. Even though programming might take you a few days, the benefits will return to you in the long run. I for example wrote a Matlab code that reads my raw data and returns all plots and numerical values I need for the considered test. Programming is by far not my specialty, but I learned something while writing my code, and now I generate all plots in just a few seconds. That sure is a win.
5. Write
Don't wait until months after the experiment to write your report. With my large testing program, I sketched an outline of how I want to discuss every specimen and test and made it a good habit to complete the report after finishing a specimen. Initially, I could remember every detail of every test, but now I notice that every now and then I have to check in my report to verify what happened during a certain experiment. There's a limit to our memory, so you'd better not wait until you start confusing to write down your results and observations into a report.
6. Smile
You probably won't be working all by yourself if you carry out a series of tests. Respect the technicians you work with, don't treat them as "inferior" because they are not pursuing a doctoral degree. Arrive in time when you need to fabricate a specimen and technicians are volunteering to help you. (I'm writing this because I've seen bad examples, unfortunately). It might be hard work (my muscles used to hurt terribly after working in the lab for the first months), but make sure you enjoy. Joke around, have fun, and above all: smile.
1. Plan
There's much more to plan about doing an experiment than the experiment itself, obviously. You will need a planning to arrange the delivery of your material, the fabrication of your specimens, side testing and then the course of the experimental program itself. Even though your planning will change (mine is changing frequently because of unexpected delays: sickness of technicians, the carpenter being unavailable,... ), you still need a planning to make sure you won't forget anything and to estimate the time every step will take you.
2. Prepare
Don't walk into the lab with empty hands. When I go to the lab, I have my fixed set of documents along with me: a sheet with predicted values to immediately compare my test result to and a table that I fill out during testing in which I note down observations for every load step. I also take the camera along with me to photograph the failure patterns (and sometimes something to snack on).
3. Classify
Don't wait until months after testing to organize and classify your data and notes. Right after a test, I save the raw data and pictures into their respective folders. I add results into tables which I build up test by test. I write a short summary in my lab book. You get the picture: take action immediately to keep it all neatly organized.
4. Automatize
If you carry out a large test series, try to automatize your data processing as much as possible. Even though programming might take you a few days, the benefits will return to you in the long run. I for example wrote a Matlab code that reads my raw data and returns all plots and numerical values I need for the considered test. Programming is by far not my specialty, but I learned something while writing my code, and now I generate all plots in just a few seconds. That sure is a win.
5. Write
Don't wait until months after the experiment to write your report. With my large testing program, I sketched an outline of how I want to discuss every specimen and test and made it a good habit to complete the report after finishing a specimen. Initially, I could remember every detail of every test, but now I notice that every now and then I have to check in my report to verify what happened during a certain experiment. There's a limit to our memory, so you'd better not wait until you start confusing to write down your results and observations into a report.
6. Smile
You probably won't be working all by yourself if you carry out a series of tests. Respect the technicians you work with, don't treat them as "inferior" because they are not pursuing a doctoral degree. Arrive in time when you need to fabricate a specimen and technicians are volunteering to help you. (I'm writing this because I've seen bad examples, unfortunately). It might be hard work (my muscles used to hurt terribly after working in the lab for the first months), but make sure you enjoy. Joke around, have fun, and above all: smile.
Social Media and Academics
on Thursday, November 18, 2010
Today, I attended a workshop on Online Networking and Social Media by Floor Drees at the PhD Event 2010. One of the most striking observations was the reluctance of young academics to social media. I was surprised to see that only about half of the audience has a LinkedIn profile, and very few hands were raised when Floor asked about Twitter.
I understand the criticism. In the end, for an academic career, your publications are very important, and to get something out of social media, you need to spend some time on it. You might be wasting your time, you should be researching and publishing.
It took me time to convince myself to explore Twitter, too, and to start writing this blog. I was afraid of writing something unintelligent and losing some academic credit for that. But then I realized that social media is very much me and what I like and stand for. I'm the kind of nerdy kid that was building websites as a teenager. I'm the kind of kid that as a child, rejoiced over having Windows 3.1 installed on our home computer. I love new stuff, and I love all that is hot and happening.
But that's just me. What might be in there for a young academic?
Organizations which give you updates on their next conferences, and you can tweet about the conference using the appropriate hashtag.
Personal leadership advice : Doing a PhD is all about managing a giant project, and you need a good set of soft skills to reach your goals. On Twitter, a lot of young entrepreneurs with a small business like to share their ideas and advice with you. Even though my university stimulates me to attend trainings and workshops, a few encouraging words per day are always welcome.
Be visible If you're on the internet, participating in discussions on your topic (for example in the LinkedIn groups), you can show to peers further away where your expertise lies. And since you do a PhD in a specific topic, you will be one of the experts in that topic.
It doesn't take that much time. Some people have the idea that social media, and especially Twitter, are a waste of your time since you might end up tweeting your every move from your office and not getting work done. I love social media, but my priority is obviously my research. Therefore, I don't touch any social media website during my workday. When I come home, I check what is going on. In total, I spend about 20 minutes per day, which seems to be enough for me to get the benefits out of it.
I understand the criticism. In the end, for an academic career, your publications are very important, and to get something out of social media, you need to spend some time on it. You might be wasting your time, you should be researching and publishing.
It took me time to convince myself to explore Twitter, too, and to start writing this blog. I was afraid of writing something unintelligent and losing some academic credit for that. But then I realized that social media is very much me and what I like and stand for. I'm the kind of nerdy kid that was building websites as a teenager. I'm the kind of kid that as a child, rejoiced over having Windows 3.1 installed on our home computer. I love new stuff, and I love all that is hot and happening.
But that's just me. What might be in there for a young academic?
Organizations which give you updates on their next conferences, and you can tweet about the conference using the appropriate hashtag.
Personal leadership advice : Doing a PhD is all about managing a giant project, and you need a good set of soft skills to reach your goals. On Twitter, a lot of young entrepreneurs with a small business like to share their ideas and advice with you. Even though my university stimulates me to attend trainings and workshops, a few encouraging words per day are always welcome.
Be visible If you're on the internet, participating in discussions on your topic (for example in the LinkedIn groups), you can show to peers further away where your expertise lies. And since you do a PhD in a specific topic, you will be one of the experts in that topic.
It doesn't take that much time. Some people have the idea that social media, and especially Twitter, are a waste of your time since you might end up tweeting your every move from your office and not getting work done. I love social media, but my priority is obviously my research. Therefore, I don't touch any social media website during my workday. When I come home, I check what is going on. In total, I spend about 20 minutes per day, which seems to be enough for me to get the benefits out of it.
Branding Fail
on Monday, November 15, 2010
Today, I was reading an article on an online newssite. The article was about a company that offers training courses to demotivated and burnt out employees. I thought that sounded interesting (I enjoy reading about personal leadership and development), and so I clicked on to the website of the company, where I discovered they hadn't updated their website since 2005. Like, 5 years ago!
They only advertise a personal branding workshop which they were offering on a certain date in 2005. Really, I found this such a difference between the statement the company makes (we don't care to give you up-to-date information) and what their actualy goal is (training on personal branding, and getting more fulfillment from your job).
They only advertise a personal branding workshop which they were offering on a certain date in 2005. Really, I found this such a difference between the statement the company makes (we don't care to give you up-to-date information) and what their actualy goal is (training on personal branding, and getting more fulfillment from your job).
The work-life balance thing
My first blog post here was all about writing down my new academic year's resolutions and making them public and thus pushing myself to actually do something about it.
One of the "problems" I wanted to tackle is that my work-life balance was pretty much gone. I would get absorbed in my material and only go home at the point I'd be close to starving (or shove another granola bar into my mouth and go on). To avoid my brain from getting overloaded and blurred, I knew I had to go away from the books and get some exercise. One evening of choir repetition per week is not exactly enough of relaxing activity for me.
Last year I had a subscription to the university's gym, but I didn't like it. Since I prefer group fitness, I need a place with certified and enthusiastic instructors, which is not quite what I can say about the gym of my university.
And so I decided to go to another place this year. Since I have to pay a fair amount of money per month(for a grad student, that is), I am motivated to squeeze everything out of my euros.
Since last week, I can say I'm officially addicted. I enjoy it a lot, enjoy pushing my own limits. Other than that, I just feel so much better: I have more energy, sleep better, and can concentrate better during the day.
Another advantage is that, since I know I have to leave my office in time to get to the class I want to take, I try much harder to get my work for the day done in time. I haven't found myself browsing around the internet and wasting time anymore recently. I feel focused on my project, step by step and day by day.
So, all good news from this side, and a smile to go with it!
One of the "problems" I wanted to tackle is that my work-life balance was pretty much gone. I would get absorbed in my material and only go home at the point I'd be close to starving (or shove another granola bar into my mouth and go on). To avoid my brain from getting overloaded and blurred, I knew I had to go away from the books and get some exercise. One evening of choir repetition per week is not exactly enough of relaxing activity for me.
Last year I had a subscription to the university's gym, but I didn't like it. Since I prefer group fitness, I need a place with certified and enthusiastic instructors, which is not quite what I can say about the gym of my university.
And so I decided to go to another place this year. Since I have to pay a fair amount of money per month(for a grad student, that is), I am motivated to squeeze everything out of my euros.
Since last week, I can say I'm officially addicted. I enjoy it a lot, enjoy pushing my own limits. Other than that, I just feel so much better: I have more energy, sleep better, and can concentrate better during the day.
Another advantage is that, since I know I have to leave my office in time to get to the class I want to take, I try much harder to get my work for the day done in time. I haven't found myself browsing around the internet and wasting time anymore recently. I feel focused on my project, step by step and day by day.
So, all good news from this side, and a smile to go with it!
How a few software tools created several hours per week...
on Monday, November 8, 2010
One day, about half a year ago, I was browsing around on the internet during my workhours, and reading the news of the day. One of the articles of the day was about time management software. I read the description and I thought it would be a way too confronting. In the end, I can only concentrate about 20 minutes, and I need a break every now and then, so I thought.
But I kept thinking about the idea and a few days later I downloaded my first tool Rescuetime. Initially I was enjoying the free trial period of the extended version in which the software asks you after an idle period what you have been doing (meeting - phone call - other).
After two weeks of using this software, I realized how much time I actually need for my activities in the lab. The software clearly showed me that I do not only spend the time in the lab which I need for an experiment, but I also go downstairs to check regularly, to help the technical staff here and there and the discuss our planning, material schedule and casting dates. I also need some time after every experiment to sort out my labnotes and to put certain data into the computer. All those small tasks are necessary, but they take up 10 and 20 minutes every time and add up to the total time I actually need per experiment.
A second conclusion I drew from using this software is that, in total, I was spending a way too much time per day on surfing around on the internet, reading the news and playing around on social networking sites. I saw the results of my "very distracting time" per day, per week and per month and I was alarmed about it. However, I did not take action right away. Somehow I couldn't just give up on my bad habit. But after a two-week holiday and a one-week sick leave (related to that holiday, unfortunately) in which I had not had any time at all to visit social networking sites, I realized I could do without these sites during my workday. At the beginning of the new academic year, I decided to simply block my distractions.
The result is that by now I can go home about 1,5 hours earlier per day and I feel much less guilty about spending time in my office on social networking sites. I now have time in the evening to go to the gym and play some music at home. In turn, having these activities in the evening which help me unwind, results in having more concentration during my work hours and being able to focus better. It's a giant win, and apparently a software tool was the impulse to act which I needed.
Once I started to see the advantages of Rescuetime, and my free trail period ended (it still keeps track of my very productive and very distracting activities nowadays), I decided to try out a few more other time management tools. I downloaded a few tools which were of not much use to me. However, ManicTime turned out the perfect addition to RescueTime's free verion. ManicTime is an incredibly easy to use tool. It obviously tracks the software and documents which you use, but at the same time you can also tag slots of time with the activity you have been carrying out. I can tag the time that I spend in the lab, or the patches of time I use to write a paper.
All this helps me to estimate how much time I need to finish a certain task, and I am sure this knowledge will help my planning and will help me reach my goals in time within the next years of my PhD.
But I kept thinking about the idea and a few days later I downloaded my first tool Rescuetime. Initially I was enjoying the free trial period of the extended version in which the software asks you after an idle period what you have been doing (meeting - phone call - other).
After two weeks of using this software, I realized how much time I actually need for my activities in the lab. The software clearly showed me that I do not only spend the time in the lab which I need for an experiment, but I also go downstairs to check regularly, to help the technical staff here and there and the discuss our planning, material schedule and casting dates. I also need some time after every experiment to sort out my labnotes and to put certain data into the computer. All those small tasks are necessary, but they take up 10 and 20 minutes every time and add up to the total time I actually need per experiment.
A second conclusion I drew from using this software is that, in total, I was spending a way too much time per day on surfing around on the internet, reading the news and playing around on social networking sites. I saw the results of my "very distracting time" per day, per week and per month and I was alarmed about it. However, I did not take action right away. Somehow I couldn't just give up on my bad habit. But after a two-week holiday and a one-week sick leave (related to that holiday, unfortunately) in which I had not had any time at all to visit social networking sites, I realized I could do without these sites during my workday. At the beginning of the new academic year, I decided to simply block my distractions.
The result is that by now I can go home about 1,5 hours earlier per day and I feel much less guilty about spending time in my office on social networking sites. I now have time in the evening to go to the gym and play some music at home. In turn, having these activities in the evening which help me unwind, results in having more concentration during my work hours and being able to focus better. It's a giant win, and apparently a software tool was the impulse to act which I needed.
Once I started to see the advantages of Rescuetime, and my free trail period ended (it still keeps track of my very productive and very distracting activities nowadays), I decided to try out a few more other time management tools. I downloaded a few tools which were of not much use to me. However, ManicTime turned out the perfect addition to RescueTime's free verion. ManicTime is an incredibly easy to use tool. It obviously tracks the software and documents which you use, but at the same time you can also tag slots of time with the activity you have been carrying out. I can tag the time that I spend in the lab, or the patches of time I use to write a paper.
All this helps me to estimate how much time I need to finish a certain task, and I am sure this knowledge will help my planning and will help me reach my goals in time within the next years of my PhD.
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