someone said PhD starter pack? 🐣

Good morning! ☕️ It’s August 1st, 2024, and while the world watches athletes sprint, swim, and vault at the Paris Olympics, we researchers know that science is the ultimate marathon. So let’s channel that Olympic spirit—whether it’s pipetting with precision or wrestling with data, remember, every hypothesis tested is a step closer to our own gold medal in discovery!

Speaking of Olympic spirit, a big shoutout to Claire Boles 🙌🏽 an Irish PhD student 🇮🇪 who’s not just excelling in pharmaceuticals but also representing Ireland in rugby at the Paris Olympics! Claire, originally from Co Fermanagh and currently conducting cutting-edge research at SSPC, will be joining the Irish Women’s Rugby Sevens team this week. Balancing the roles of a dedicated researcher and a top-tier athlete, Claire is a true inspiration 🏅 

Let's wish her and the Irish team the best of luck as they compete at the Stade de France! 🥹

When you start your PhD, you may feel a little like a fish out of water 🫨 grappling with new jargon, facing seemingly endless experiments, and deciphering complex theories that can make even seasoned researchers scratch their heads. 

However, the one advantage of your relative newness to this world is that you can adopt a fresh approach to my research workflow: you are not constrained by paradigms that you have heavily invested in before, nor was you have tied in to any particular software tools! Ok, so it’s worth admitting that this comes with some disadvantages too: new software → learning curve, for example 😕

We have curated a sort of 'starter kit' of tools, along with tips and tricks for life in academia, that we believe will be useful for you on this journey, starting with task management.

First, let us share a crucial piece of advice we came across: ensure that every day is a Non-Zero Day — do something, no matter how small it may seem, that contributes to your research every single day. If you’re using Android, check out Nonzero Day for tracking your NZD streaks.

Every day is a “Non-Zero Day”

First, let us share a crucial piece of advice we came across: ensure that every day is a Non-Zero Day—do something, no matter how small it may seem, that contributes to your research every single day. If you’re using Android, check out Nonzero Day for tracking your NZD streaks.

Notebooks

As distance-learning students, we don’t get to meet our supervisors nearly enough. However, we keep dedicated notebooks (ruled, large Moleskines, in this case) for all the conversations we have with them, in person or via VoIP. You also jot down ideas, TODO items, and reminders in these notebooks (before transferring them to other channels, see below), and keep the books with us nearly all the time.

We also have Evernote notebooks for recording longer, more detailed notes to ourselves, and whenever we come across an event (such as a conference) that seems interesting, we file it away in a spreadsheet on Google Drive. But we really prefer taking notes by putting pen to paper; we seem to retain more information that way, although maybe that’s just our selection bias speaking.

Related: Have you tried mind-maps? They really are a game changer for many people

TODO lists

Many of you may have day jobs while pursuing your PhDs, and will therefore have at least three categories of TODO items:

• Personal

• Work

• Research

It can sometimes be difficult for us to focus on one task category when there’s worry or anxiety about the others. What we do is write down everything we need to do regardless of category, and then start filing them under the respective categories, prioritising tasks as we go along.

One method that has had some measure of success with us is the…

Bullet Journal

A Bullet Journal or BuJo is a system for organising tasks based on goals or lists. In other words, a kind of personalised diary. The main difference with a traditional agenda is that you shape it according to your needs.

The creator of the BuJo method is Ryder Carroll, who started using it as a way to improve his productivity. If you’re a super fan of the #bulletjournal you might have the book he published to explain his system (we don't get anything for recommending it, by the way).

You may want to use this method along with…

Asana

As PhD students, you will often need to plan well into the future, with many external deadlines looming ahead: progress reports, vivas, conference submissions, etc. Many of these have smaller sub-tasks, and this is where Asana comes in. You can define projects for yourself and create TODO lists under them with notes. This doesn’t replace the Bullet Journal, but it helps show us the bigger picture.

And it also sends reminders straight to our…

Calendars

This is another one of those things that we may overlook before realising how useful they are. We’re talking exclusively about web-based calendars, because paper calendars are pretty useless to us. Primarily, we use Google Calendar, in which we set up individual calendars for different purposes:

• Personal activities

• Work meetings

• PhD events

• Regular reminders (recurring items, across all previous categories)

You may also want to sync your Asana agenda with Google Calendar. We integrate both our Exchange calendars (for work and university) on our phones. Although we don’t really use the Calendar app on our laptops, we have set it up to sync with all these calendars to take advantage of the “Today” view in macOS Sonoma Notification Center. We handle calendar invitations on our laptops using Thunderbird, which we use for e-mail across all our accounts…

There is no right or wrong way of calendaring, but be sure that you use some form 🤓

Checklists

Checklists don’t quite fit into the category of TODO lists, although there is a significant overlap. The kind of checklists we want to address here are not of the one-off kind but are meant for repeat tasks. We’ve only been recent converts to the philosophy of checklists for routine tasks, mostly thanks to The Checklist Manifesto, a book we cannot recommend enough!

The premise is simple: we all perform tasks regularly, gaining a certain proficiency in doing them; but when we have to perform familiar tasks under high-pressure conditions, we may miss a step or two with unhappy consequences.

Checklists come to the rescue by ensuring that our minds are not occupied by making sure we’re following the right sequence of steps, allowing us to focus on the individual steps themselves or on the wider picture of the task at hand.

As an example, a checklist for a data-collection interview makes sure that you have the consent form signed, have recorded all the interviewee’s data correctly, and have provided your own contact information to the interviewee at the end of your session.

If you’re not convinced, give this summary of the aforementioned book a read. Although the book focuses on the medical profession, with examples from aviation and construction, you might find, like we did, that it is applicable to your research as well 👀

Podcasts every scientist should add to their playlist 👀

Podcasts have become increasingly popular, and for good reason. They offer a fantastic way to stay updated on various topics, making them especially valuable for scientists who often have their hands full with lab work.

Whether you need the latest scientific breakthroughs, insightful discussions, or a bit of intellectual entertainment, these podcasts can seamlessly fit into your busy schedule 🌟 Here are our top 8 podcast recommendations that every scientist should tune into:

Hiring alert! Postdoc opportunities for new PhDs 🚀

Recently graduated? These job posts may be of interest to you!

Don’t miss our next article, where we will bring you the complete guide on how to find, apply for, and choose a postdoc! 😏

👨‍💻 Research Associate / Postdoc

• Employer: Technische Universität Dresden

• Location: Dresden, Sachsen (DE)

• Closing date: 30 Aug 2024

🔗 More information here (THE link)

🔬 Postdoctoral Fellow in Computer Science

• Employer: Khalifa University

• Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE

• Closing date: 31 Dec 2027

🔗 More information here (direct link to Khalifa University)

🧫 Postdoctoral Research Associate in Chemistry

• Employer: Durham University

• Location: Durham, UK

• Closing date: 20 Aug 2024

🔗 More information here (direct link to Durham University)

🛠️ Postdoctoral Fellow / Research Assistant Professor, LEO Dr. David P. Chan Institute of Data Science

• Employer: Lingnan University

• Location: Tuen Mun, Hong Kong

• Closing date: 9 Aug 2024

🔗 More information here (direct link to Lingnan University)

🧫 Harold T. Shapiro Postdoctoral Research Associate in Bioethics

• Employer: Princeton University

• Location: Princeton, New Jersey, US

• Closing date: 29 Aug 2024

🔗 More information here (direct link to Durham University)

You can also access the full catalog of open positions available here Remember to type “postdoc” in order to filter results!

Looking for online communities? We have you covered! 💌

Feeling a bit lost in the vast world of academia? You’re not alone!

The internet is packed with awesome online communities just for academics and PhD candidates like you. These spaces are perfect for finding support, sharing advice, and connecting with others who totally get what you're going through. Whether you need help with research, career tips, or just want to chat about your latest academic adventures, these online hangouts are here for you. Check out our top picks and join the conversation – your new academic buddies are waiting!

r/GradSchool (Reddit community)

Academia Stack Exchange

This site is for academics of all levels (from aspiring graduate and professional students to senior researchers) as well as anyone in or interested in research-related or research-adjacent fields. If you have a question about:

• Life as a graduate student, postdoctoral researcher, university professor

• Transitioning from undergraduate to graduate researcher

• Inner workings of research departments

• Requirements and expectations of academicians

  ... then you're in the right place!

@ThePhDPlace (X)

@Academic Chatter (X)

Looking for online communities? We have you covered! 💌

Feeling a bit lost in the vast world of academia? You’re not alone!