I started this resource page for myself awhile back when I was feeling overwhelmed with work and I wanted to learn new habits to work more efficiently. I recently started sharing it with other lab members who expressed similar roadblocks. Now I hope others can find it useful too!
The goal of this blog post is to mainly highlight some of the resources others have shared with me, and to pay it forward by also trying to normalize the process and to share a few additional resources that I found (and still find) particularly useful. This list is not intended to be exhaustive. I hope it becomes a living document as I keep learning from others!
Online Resources
2) If you are on twitter, make sure you are following Dr. Raul Pacheco-Vega @raulpacheco and his blog raulpacheco.org . He posts endless organizational and writing blog tips to keep you inspired!
3) Follow, read, and digest the content from The Professor is In http://theprofessorisin.com
4) I don't know what I'd do without my bullet journal (I could spend a whole blog on this topic). However, for those who prefer an online system, our lab has recently picked up Asana, which is one of many online programs popping up to track progress and productivity.
Books for Time Management
My ultimate time-management strategy combines many of the techniques across these books. The main idea here is that there is no "magic bullet" solution for everyone. Try a few strategies out and keep the ones that work best for you. These books will provide some great scaffolds. I'll keep adding books as I remember other recommendations I've received over the years.
1) The Clockwork Muse: A Practical Guide to Writing Theses, Dissertations, and Books
by Zerubavel, Eviatar
3) Demystifying Dissertation Writing: A Streamlined Process from Choice of Topic to Final Text
by Peg Boyle Single and Richard M. Reis
4) Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done
by Laura Vanderkam
Hot Tip: Try to read these in the evening or on audio when you walk/bike/do the dishes (etc.) to avoid them becoming new "productive procrastination" strategies that impede your writing time. ;)
Books to Improve Your Writing
This was a hard category for me to add. I went too long in graduate school feeling like I was the only one that never really learned how to write. Shockingly, imposter syndrome around writing only makes it worse! While all of our prior training varies dramatically, it was so refreshing to learn that I wasn't the only one that found writing difficult and wanted more concrete help.
We are "professional learners," after all, so why can't we learn how to write?!
1. The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
by Pinker, Steven
2. The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition 4th Edition
by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White
3. The Little Black Book of Business Writing
by Mark Tredinnick and Geoff Whyte
For the Overachiever
(learning to lower goals for greater progress)
I went way too long thinking that being a perfectionist was a strength and thinking that I needed to always shoot higher than I could achieve in order to make sure I was productive. I can honestly say that the second I lowered my goals, gained small successes, and embraced my "imperfectionism," my productivity and happiness dramatically improved!
1. Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results (Volume 1)
by Guise, Stephen
Note: While some of the science is a little outdated and there were some parts I felt were a bit cheesy, what better way to practice being an "imperfectionist"!?
Coding/Stats
This topic will vary more depending on your specific field, so I'll keep this brief.
1. http://datacamp.com– invest in the yearly subscription!
Better yet, see if you can get a free subscription through one of your classes.
2. When in doubt, Google. Stats exchange is your other best friend.
I provided links to be helpful; I am not endorsed by any of these authors or platforms. If you have free or cheaper avenues of obtaining these resources, I fully support that!
Ideally, it would be great if labs had copies of these (and other) books that trainees could check out and share! :)
