One of my previous supervisors often said that "I prefer to ask busy people to complete tasks for me." His reasoning was that busy people are more efficient, and often prepare high quality work in a shorter period of time. In some ways, this is an extreme version of the old saying 'the devil plays with idle hands'. I definitely believe that being busy is beneficial to a certain degree to keep you sharp and on task. There is a balance point however, where a person can be too busy which leads to over commitment and time stress. Most often this stress results leads to failing to fulfill a commitment or to cutting corners and producing subpar work.
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Recent posts:May 19, 2012 by
This is a tale of a graduate student facing adversity and criticism by others on their topic. I don't know who originally penned this story, but I saw it pinned up in my old PI's office. After pressing him about this faded, creased bit of paper in his otherwise OCD clean office, he said he was given this by his advisor when he was writing his thesis. He gave a copy to me which made me laugh on a day when I thought I was ready to give it all up. Hope this does the same to those knee deep in their thesis. May 18, 2012 by
This week I'm writing from a remote location (hence the delay, sorry ladies and gentlemen), doing my best to deliver the latest in weird and interesting science. So let's get started! Kicking things off, a study whose results surprise virtually no one (who'd have thought that teen drug and alcohol use could lower the ability to obtain a higher level of education); following that, a piece whose title alone would do the man in black proud (for those unaware, I'm referring to the incredible Johnny Cash), a "Ring Of Fire" eclipse will be seen in the sky this weekend; smack dab in the middle of the pack, natural surf waves... who needs 'em when you've got an invention that claims to turn any landlocked lake or river into a wavy paradise (ok, perhaps we're overextending a bit here); fourth, yawning... why, and what does it say about us? (I don't know about you guys, but personally, it says that I'm tired.); and last but never least, body odor as a natural defense mechanism! (No more judging our smelly skunk friends, looks like our natural makeup might be at fault for this less than pleasant combat response.) Read on » May 17, 2012 by
Working or training as a scientist, it is a good bet that you have collaborators that assist, complement, and extend your work (if you don't, I encourage you to get some!). Modern research in the best publications usually involves multiple labs working on distinct and complementary approaches to complex scientific problems. As well, there has been a large growth in the number significant projects involving multiple labs across the world. During my Ph.D. studies, my supervisor managed the collaborations and I had only a few opportunities to interface with those working with us. If you're lucky, you've had the opportunity to manage your collaborations at some point during your career. This means you've shared data, interacted with your collaborators, wrote papers, or presented work together. As an associate, and before that as a postdoctoral fellow, I manage collaborations on a daily basis. They are vital to everything I do but managing collaborations is not trivial and I've made some mistakes alongside my accomplishments. I thought I'd share a short list of tips from my recent experience. Read on » |
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