Keukenhof

Keukenhof might be one of the largest tourist attractions in the Netherlands.
Sure, it is packed with tourists.
Sure, it is overly busy.
Sure, it might be pricey.
But... it is stunning.

The Keukenhof features the outside tulip gardens. These are of the finest gardens I have ever visited, complete with entirely landscaped parts, large ponds, a windmill, garden inspiration side "cubicles" and all sorts of vendors. Some of these vendors sell all sorts of plants, while others sell ice cream, waffles or bread with sausage. I had some poffertjes (small pancakes) there are they were very tasty.

The main roads in the Keukenhof connect some pavilions which all have their own theme. The tulip pavilion is probably the most impressive, but the pavilion with the orchids and the one with gerberas are also breathtakingly beautiful.

If ever you visit the Netherlands in spring, you definitely should go to the Keukenhof. It's too pretty to miss out on it.

Four mindful habits

Admittedly, I've not been regularly practicing the breathing and meditation exercises lately. I've noticed that whenever I'm stressed out and should get enough rest and sharpen my brain, I slack off, talk on the phone to rant about whatever is bothering me, get migraines and neglect my well-being.

However, I've done good progress on incorporating mindfulness into some activities throughout the day, which help me to do a quick round of recharging for my mental batteries:

1. Eating

Eating, and keeping my full focus to my food has become a way to practice mindfulness. I've been eating more and more slowly lately, to make sure I keep my focus to my plate, chew properly and avoid wolfing too large amounts of food. Sometimes I still am already with my mind in the next thing I am going to do, and then I end up eating too fast and without much noticing and enjoying a quiet moment.

2. Running

Now that spring is finally here, I've started running outside again. I used to either use my running to think about my work, or about the fact that I am running and that I am feeling bad and out of breath. Even though I enjoy a run for problem-solving purposes, I now am also trying to run while keeping my full focus on the act of running. Just keeping my focus on my feet which roll over the ground, one by one... just noticing the blossoms on the trees and the water in the canals.

3. Relaxing

I've started to do my breathing exercises while taking a bath, or while being in the sauna of the gym. I've been combining these relaxing moments with a simple breathing meditations, and afterwards I was feeling doubly relaxed.

4. Sit and breathe

This one is still quite a hard one for me. Every now and then during the day, I am trying to take a mini-break in which I sit back into my chair and focus on myself: my feet touching the ground, my back against the chair and my breathing. It's a wonderful way for a quick energy-refill, but I tend to keep running around during the day and not allowing myself to take a moment to stop and think.

The Unwritten Rules of PhD Research - Gordon Rugg and Marian Petre

I just finished reading yet another book about PhD research, and I really enjoyed reading this book. After reading around the internet tons of valuable information contained in blogs and reading a few books about doctoral education, I have the impression that, by now, the main ideas keep coming back repeatedly. However, this book, was a true joy to read. The writing style is truly witty, and it made me smile throughout the entire reading.

Here are some random aspects from this book which I especially enjoyed:

1. The three golden rules of public speaking

1. Don't lie.
2. Don't try to be funny.
3. Don't panic and blurt out the truth.

I'm going to memorize these rules and keep them printed onto my brain for a long time. It just captures really well the most important things about speaking.

2. Cabinet-making

This book often refers to the thesis as some kind of master piece as produced by craftsmen in the past who followed a master-apprentice system. Your thesis should provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate that you master the whole range of skills which you should have to be a member of the scientific community as a researcher.

3. Blood in the water

Another great metaphor used in this book, "blood in the water" refers to flaws in your thinking/research which would seduce "sharks" to come after you and bite you. There are a few great checklists (especially in the chapter about writing) to help you identify some typical "blood in the water" mistakes which novices make.

4. Reading

Reading of course is a vital element of a researcher's life. I particularly enjoyed the insight that a researcher's core is about 50 to 100 pages which contains their main working knowledge. There is also a great section titled "reading habits of lifelong readers" which gives great advice on how to make reading large amounts of literature and vaguely related papers a habit. Also worth looking at is Table 2, which shows how a student evolves from entering student (surveys, collects and reports literature) to a completing student (who reads to know what isn't already known and judges information).

5. Paper types

- data-driven papers
- tutorial papers
- method-mongering papers
-consciousness-raising papers
- theoretical papers
- review papers
- demonstration of concept papers

More information about these types of papers is found in the book, and it made me realize that I can write even more than now. I am now mainly focusing on reporting test data and my conclusions from those, but I never thought of writing a review paper.

6. Academic writing

One great advice on learning how to judge the quality is this:
" Go through important documents that you write with two highlighters. Highlight in one color anything that an intelligent layperson could have said and anything where nobody would think of saying the opposite. Highlight in another color anything that only someone with detailed knowledge of the field could have said; anything an intelligent layperson could not have said; any tangible facts (references or data) or achievements; any other signs of excellence. Delete the former, and make sure there is at least one of the latter per paragraph."

Chapter 11 (the process of writing) also contains bulleted lists with wonderful advice for writing up your thesis. Since I haven't started yet on writing the chapters for my thesis, I can't really try these out, but I'll make sure to go over this list again when my time of writing up is there.

To conclude, I'd recommend reading this book if you like a lighter writing style, a good dose of wit, advice packed in bulleted lists and a lot of focus on reading, writing and presenting.

Gremlins and procrastination

Last Thursday was one of those horrible days again in which the fear gremlin was on my shoulder and made me procrastinate. (I forgot in which blog I read about gremlins sitting on your shoulder and whispering in your ear - anyone?).

The only good thing about that day is that I was experiencing an interesting range of fears of which at least I could learn something.

My task at hand for the day was actually quite easy: alter the Matlab code which reads my raw data and produces plots for the new setup which I am using in the lab.

1. Reluctance to get started

Since I already had the Matlab code of my previous setup, I did not need to start from an empty screen, which was a positive point. However, the idea that my task would consist of going over code and check all numberings was putting me off because of its lack of challenge. As a result, I simply kept staring at the screen and the drawings of the setup before really getting started.

2. Fear of losing important information

Ctrl + s, repeat every twenty seconds. Just in case the program would crash and I'd have to go over a few lines of code again... This absurd fear of losing data makes me stop my train of thought too often and inhibits progress.

3. Fear of making mistakes

Checking the drawing and numbering, double-checking them and checking again... Even though the coding I have to do is easy, I am worried of mixing up the old and new numbering. I am in fact so worried about this that I can't let my train of thought flow without feeling the need to recheck something on the drawings.
I was trying to convince myself that, when I keep on disturbing my thinking process, I am more likely to make mistakes. But the gremlin kept blabbering in my ear: shouldn't you check again where that measurement point is exactly located?

4. Random paralysis

Do you know those days in which a lot of small things keep buzzing through your mind (waiting for your advisor's input on something, waiting for the delivery of material to the lab, waiting for the final detailed program of a conference, ...)? I was trying to get these off my mind to get my thinking straight but somehow it was too crowded in my head. I'm still hoping more mindfulness practice will make me able to overcome this as well.

Are any of these fears familiar to you? How do you overcome them and get your work done?