Yesterday afternoon I had difficulties concentrating. Instead of being mad at myself and disappointed, I've decided to try to look for the possible causes of yesterday's reading failure (while my back-up is running and Scopus seems to be down).
So I've been sitting here and staring at the screen and contemplating all possible reasons why yesterday turned out the way it did, and, more importantly, what I could do about that.
1. I wasn't really reading exciting new material.
In fact, I was reading a PhD thesis. The material of this thesis was published in journal papers in the subsequent years, and I've had already read all these papers. All I had to do is to go and search for some more details in the thesis, which was heavy on concentration-intensity.
2. Reading an entire day is hard on me
I know this, but somehow I fail to plan accordingly. Reading an entire day gives me the vast amount of time of "an entire day" and somehow puts me off. I work much better when I divide the morning into reading and the afternoon into lab preparation.
3. Lack of breaks
Yesterday, after lunch, I didn't see any person nor talked to anyone nor had a break with the others. Bad idea, as simple as that.
4. My body
I was feeling painful and unfit yesterday. I did go to the gym in the evening, but my muscles (if any) were not collaborating at all.
The lesson I've learned from this is that I mainly should plan better and divide my time into smaller chunks so I can get a little more variation in my day.
A few good Friday habits
on Friday, September 17, 2010
Friday means the end of the workweek and the beginning of the weekend. Or at least, it means that for the next two days I can sleep in a bit and work/read from home. Naturally, my energy level is lower on a Friday, and that is the reason why I developed a few good Friday habits.
1. Back-up time
Thursday evening I put my external HD in my backpack and my first action on Friday morning is to make a back-up of this week's work.
2. Plan less intense work
I reserve certain tasks that require less brain power for Friday's lower energy level. For example, I run my code to obtain the graphs for my test report, and write about the most recent experiments in my test report, based on the notes from my lab book.
3. Make an overview of the past and next week
Every Friday evening I make a to do list for the next week, and I look at the past week's to do list. I write on the bottom of the past week's and current month's to do list what I've accomplished. For about half a year I've been doing this now, and it gives me a much better estimate of how much work I can actually do in a week's time.
4. Time for chores
My last Friday habit is to try and get as much chores done as possible: getting groceries, cleaning, doing laundry and more of that fun stuff. Getting this done on a Friday gives me more time during the weekend to divide between reading papers, studying, relaxing and working out.
Do you have any special Friday habits?
1. Back-up time
Thursday evening I put my external HD in my backpack and my first action on Friday morning is to make a back-up of this week's work.
2. Plan less intense work
I reserve certain tasks that require less brain power for Friday's lower energy level. For example, I run my code to obtain the graphs for my test report, and write about the most recent experiments in my test report, based on the notes from my lab book.
3. Make an overview of the past and next week
Every Friday evening I make a to do list for the next week, and I look at the past week's to do list. I write on the bottom of the past week's and current month's to do list what I've accomplished. For about half a year I've been doing this now, and it gives me a much better estimate of how much work I can actually do in a week's time.
4. Time for chores
My last Friday habit is to try and get as much chores done as possible: getting groceries, cleaning, doing laundry and more of that fun stuff. Getting this done on a Friday gives me more time during the weekend to divide between reading papers, studying, relaxing and working out.
Do you have any special Friday habits?
First steps in speed reading
on Thursday, September 16, 2010
I'm naturally a slow reader, a very slow reader even. When I read a book, I create an entire universe in which I can visualize the characters. I can imagine how they look like, how they act amongst eachother (outside of the story of the book), how they are dressed, what their voices sound like...
However, having this habit of slow reading isn't helping when there are piles and piles of papers waiting to be read. I've been reading around the internet about speed reading, selective reading, skimming and more of those fashionable terms, and I decided to give it a try. As for now, I'm very positive about my results.
At the moment, I have a folder of papers on my desk which basically gives background to my research. It is not exactly about my topic, but I need to know more about the general background and the application of my research. So I've decided to read all of these papers, and try to read them fast.
My first attempts have been based on this method:
1. Read the abstract.
2. Read the introduction.
3. Skim through the text, paying special attention to graphs and (sub)titles.
4. Write down a few keywords.
5. Go to the conclusions.
These actions I perform in one wave of concentration, and afterwards I "relax" by putting the reference into my system to manage references (Endnote, in my case) and by adding the relevant information to the "scope" chapter of my literature review.
I've only been using this method for a few days now, and I will write about my progress.
However, having this habit of slow reading isn't helping when there are piles and piles of papers waiting to be read. I've been reading around the internet about speed reading, selective reading, skimming and more of those fashionable terms, and I decided to give it a try. As for now, I'm very positive about my results.
At the moment, I have a folder of papers on my desk which basically gives background to my research. It is not exactly about my topic, but I need to know more about the general background and the application of my research. So I've decided to read all of these papers, and try to read them fast.
My first attempts have been based on this method:
1. Read the abstract.
2. Read the introduction.
3. Skim through the text, paying special attention to graphs and (sub)titles.
4. Write down a few keywords.
5. Go to the conclusions.
These actions I perform in one wave of concentration, and afterwards I "relax" by putting the reference into my system to manage references (Endnote, in my case) and by adding the relevant information to the "scope" chapter of my literature review.
I've only been using this method for a few days now, and I will write about my progress.
A new blog
on Tuesday, September 14, 2010
A new academic year comes with some kind of new year's resolutions. For me, one of those was to start a blog, in which I am supposed to keep track of how well I'm doing with my other resolutions.
I have finished the first year of my PhD, and luckily I have done a fair amount of testing. However, there are always better ways to do things, and most of the time you discover this while doing. And so, after a year of working on this seemingly never-ending PhD task of mine, I have come to a few conclusions.
1. It's not like homework
Initially I wanted to show my supervisors every single calculation I had made, and show and tell them every single piece of work I had done. It took me a while to realize that it is my and only my responsibility to make this project a success, and that it also mainly depends on my judgment.
2. It's my playground
This conclusion follows from the previous one. So it's not homework, but then what is it? It's my playground. Where else in the world or when during your life would you ever get the chance to play around with something you like for an entire period of four years' time. Think of the idea. It's awesome, and not as scary as you would think.
3. It's so easy to drift off
There are several pitfalls that can result in drifting off too far. You can loose your point of focus by wanting to do too much and looking at too many things at the same time. Somehow, there is a point where you have to decide what you will work on, and stick to it. There's a lot of interesting material out there, but not all of that is what you need. And then another problem of course is not keeping concentrated on the work you are actually doing: going online and reading the news, talking to colleagues around you and more creative ways of procrastination.
My main resolutions for the new academic year are the following:
1. Stay focused
... in both ways I previously discussed. Some time management software is keeping track of my productivity to cover the procrastination problem. And when it comes to sticking to the main point of focus, it's all up to me. I find it very hard not to read another paper that touches the boundary of what I work on. It's interesting, and good background knowledge, but it won't make me move forward.
2. Find a work-life balance
I've taken a subscription to a gym, and I'm so ready to put a little bit more effort into staying healthy and fit. I know that it will benefit my research too, but somehow I find it very hard to allocate hours for it, or to stop what I'm working on to go to the gym and work out. Also, I have decided that once a month I will go and do something fun during the weekend. It doesn't have to take an entire day, but just something to mark the weekend and enjoy.
Two resolutions might not seem that much, and easy to handle, but these two will have quite an impact and will require some effort as well.
It's a new academic year and I'm full with good ideas and intentions!
I have finished the first year of my PhD, and luckily I have done a fair amount of testing. However, there are always better ways to do things, and most of the time you discover this while doing. And so, after a year of working on this seemingly never-ending PhD task of mine, I have come to a few conclusions.
1. It's not like homework
Initially I wanted to show my supervisors every single calculation I had made, and show and tell them every single piece of work I had done. It took me a while to realize that it is my and only my responsibility to make this project a success, and that it also mainly depends on my judgment.
2. It's my playground
This conclusion follows from the previous one. So it's not homework, but then what is it? It's my playground. Where else in the world or when during your life would you ever get the chance to play around with something you like for an entire period of four years' time. Think of the idea. It's awesome, and not as scary as you would think.
3. It's so easy to drift off
There are several pitfalls that can result in drifting off too far. You can loose your point of focus by wanting to do too much and looking at too many things at the same time. Somehow, there is a point where you have to decide what you will work on, and stick to it. There's a lot of interesting material out there, but not all of that is what you need. And then another problem of course is not keeping concentrated on the work you are actually doing: going online and reading the news, talking to colleagues around you and more creative ways of procrastination.
My main resolutions for the new academic year are the following:
1. Stay focused
... in both ways I previously discussed. Some time management software is keeping track of my productivity to cover the procrastination problem. And when it comes to sticking to the main point of focus, it's all up to me. I find it very hard not to read another paper that touches the boundary of what I work on. It's interesting, and good background knowledge, but it won't make me move forward.
2. Find a work-life balance
I've taken a subscription to a gym, and I'm so ready to put a little bit more effort into staying healthy and fit. I know that it will benefit my research too, but somehow I find it very hard to allocate hours for it, or to stop what I'm working on to go to the gym and work out. Also, I have decided that once a month I will go and do something fun during the weekend. It doesn't have to take an entire day, but just something to mark the weekend and enjoy.
Two resolutions might not seem that much, and easy to handle, but these two will have quite an impact and will require some effort as well.
It's a new academic year and I'm full with good ideas and intentions!
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