Week in review: 31 May-6 June

Today was another work day... as I am trying to keep on top of my to do list.  I've certainly made progress this week and I think I am about where I would expect to be, meaning my planning went much better this week.  I am still excited by my work, but I am getting a little nervous about my upcoming trip.  I am in good shape, with my parts back from the mechanical workshop, but I am still waiting on a PCB which should have been delivered this past Thursday/Friday.  I need the board to solder the components and test the final product before leaving next week and I am hopeful this can still happen.  Of course a work around or alternative could be found, but this PCB is the last piece of electronics I'll build for my PhD research and in a way it's a bit symbolic of the culmination of my work.  Regardless, I'll deal with the cards I am handed so stay tuned next week.

Week in review: 24-30 May

This week has not gone as expected.  This week I exposed a mountain of work that I, previously, had greatly underestimated.  Last Sunday I stated my goal was to move on from my current programming tasks by today, but even with an extra afternoon today, I am still far from completing this task.  It's my own fault to find myself in my current situation and main for one reason, poor planning.  Making things up as you go along is bad news, especially when you're months from submitting you PhD thesis.  The problem came when I desired to update my documentation for the communication protocol I use for controlling my custom built hardware.  This isn't a bad idea as I frequently refer to my previous notes and I had recently made some significant changes.  Also, next month I'll be headed overseas to a lab where I plan to hand off copies of my instruments to other researchers.  For their benefit, decent documentation is welcome.  After cleaning up this portion of my user manual, I got a wild idea to update all my documentation.  This is a good idea, because it's been nearly a year since I wrote the original documents and much has changed, however, this is a bad idea, because it's been nearly a year since I wrote the original documents and much has changed.  At this point, I have the option to continue with my task, which will make it easier for other to reproduce my work and take advantage of the hardware I've developed.  Or I can fall back to preparing/writing my thesis.

Week in review: 17-23 May

This week my preparation for next month's trip has gone quite well.  I have a number of work streams underway and each one is tracking well; prints are in to the machine shop, I have a order in for electronics components and a PCB design to verify once I have the parts in my hand and finally I've started to tackle my mountain of programming chores.  Compared to this point prior to my past trip overseas I have a firmer grasp on the prerequisite workload.

Week in review: 10-16 May

It's been a full on week.  Having both just returned from a month working overseas and learning that in 4 weeks I'll be heading off again.

At this point in my studies, I should have my work flow/methods pretty dialed in, so I am almost embarrassed to say I spent time getting organised this week.  Yet that's exactly what I did; I spent time setting up a new laptop and cleaning up my files on my work desktop.  I've also compiled a list on my whiteboard with a punchlist that stems from hands on experiences working with my hardware in another lab.  Add to this the "wishlist" of preparations for my next round of work in Montana and it looks like I've got a full few weeks ahead of me.  The good news is I've already started to dive into my jobs and not only am I getting some done, I am culling the list of things that simply can't happen in a month.

Week in review: 26 April-2 May

This week has been extremely busy, but I feel I've made so great progress.  I am only to my last batch of samples, which I've been running today.  I still want to look over the processed data before I start packing my bags, but so far things seem to look good.

Week in review: 19-25 April

I am to the point, where I can start running suites of experiments, which was my goal for the week.  The instruments are set-up and I have a few layers of code to help automate/streamline the data collection process.  The results generally are looking reasonable, but there are a couple issues that need to be looked; with the biggest concern the post-processing routine.  I mentioned earlier in the week that I have a lot of experiments to run which makes me nervous about time, but once we dial in the current process, I'll be able to knock out half of my run pretty quickly (2-3 days).  Ultimately that would leave me almost a week for the rest of my work which isn't too bad, but it doesn't allow for many curve-balls.

Week in review: 29 March-4 April

My goal this week was to prepare for my trip without exhausting myself (and ideally not work this weekend).  I am pleased to say all my equipment is packed and I am ready for my flight, although it did take me the better part of today to finish my preparations.  I have quite a bit of gear to take with me, so much that I couldn't carry everything down from the lab this evening.  Tomorrow I'll stop my school and grab the last of my kit, but everything is staged and ready to go.   I did take my time heading into work this morning and other than a quick stop in the lab, I'll have all of tomorrow to myself.  I am pleased not to be working until the absolute last minutes; a trend I've been trying to outgrow for years.

Week in review: 22-28 March

This week I've focused on preparing for my trip overseas.   With the addition of the visiting students in the lab it's been an extremely busy week.  I am pleased to have made nice progress with collaborations in Wellington and I feel like I am in a good position to head off on my trip.  The only concern  have is that I am quite tired and I worry that starting my trip next month exhausted will hurt my productivity.  I think next week it will be important to keep up with work, finish my preparations, but also do so efficiently so I am not working consecutive long days in the lab.

Week in review: 15-21 March

Typically on Saturday I decompress from the week, which gives me time to reflect on the days past.  However, today I carried on in the lab and spent another full day at school.  While my plan this week was to prioritise my work (which makes it seem as if there's some kind of choice involved), it turned out I was swamped with urgent work (which made it very clear where to spend my time).  This week obviously didn't turn out quite as I expected, but I am pleased with what I got done, how much I was able to get done and the fact that as I move into the final months of my PhD I am able to ramp up my intensity.  Ideally I would hope my extra effort now would mean an easier time around submission, however, my gut tells me I'll be swamped during my final weeks.  Only time will tell, but there are very few negatives to doing as much as possible in the present.

Week in review: 8-14 March

Overall I think this past week went extremely well.  I made progress on a number of fronts and pushed myself without burning out.  In hind sight, I suppose my major criticism would be prioritisation.  This week I did get through a lot of reading, I added to my thesis and I ran some experiments, but I still took jobs as they came.  I think it will be important to be flexible when trying to finish my thesis, but I need to make sure that my time spent is spent on my thesis.  One thing that I've hear numerous times from workshops and colleagues, is that it's ok to say no.  I find this pretty difficult, because I enjoy working as part of and contributing to a team (and a team can be defined pretty broadly); and for the most part, the things folks ask for help with is really fun.  I suppose at times, it can be beneficial to take a break from your work and put your mind on completely different tasks, but you can find yourself walking a thin line.  To navigate this space I think it's important to know what jobs have priority.  And I think setting goals helps to set priorities.  A check list or to do list is one thing, these lists are usually filled was small manageable chunks.  Personally, I make my to do lists very specific action items which are different in my mind from goals.  As a practical example, a goal could be to finish a thesis chapter, draft a paper or run a suite of experiments.  These goals could take you all week and depending on other goals you may have to revisit them numerous times before completing them.  Perhaps these are just middle distance tasks.  However, regardless of what you call them, you should have a clear sense of which take priority so that when a job is finished or you need to take a break from a task, you know where your attention should be focused.  Then instead of looking for more work you continue making progress towards the deadlines already ahead of you.

Week in review: 1-7 March

This week has gone well, but it has also gone fast.  Looking back I don't have any major criticisms, but I do have one major worry.  I mentioned earlier this week that work seems to progress like a small drip; with time, these small outputs can amount to something significant (like a polished thesis).  That's the plan at least.  And while I don't currently feel overwhelmed by my upcoming deadline, the deadline is approaching.*  During the entire tenure of my PhD studies pacing myself has been a significant challenge, or maybe it hasn't.  The problem is there are few if any signposts to measure your progress and the issue seems to compound itself in the last few months.  All this to say, I don't know how to approach next week or the week after, etc.  Do I continue with my schedule, pace and work plan?  Do I double my efforts, running the risk of burning out?  Can I afford to be side tracked for a week to write a paper, look for a job or take care of my personal to do list?  I suppose these are questions to answer tomorrow as I look ahead to the week, but for now they are the thoughts that weigh on my mind from the past 7 days.

*145 days and counting.

Week in review: 22-28 February

This week saw me move my desk space into an isolated, unoccupied optics lab.  I had decided to relocate so that I could focus, uninterrupted, on reading, thinking and writing.  And I am pleased to report, it's working.  I am extremely happy with the progress I've made in reviewing textbooks and straightening out my understanding of background concepts.  As an experimentalist, even one who develops new techniques, I've found it extremely easy to get tunnel vision on aspects of my work.  After three years I have significant results to show, it's meaningful and contributes to my fields of study, however, I struggle to narrate (at a technical level) the link between my research and first principles.  For me I want to be proud of my thesis not only because of the lab work, but also because it's a starting point for future students.  Now I don't expect my thesis (specifically the introductory chapters) to repeat, repackage or regurgitate all the information found in numerous textbooks, but I do want there to be a continuous string from basic concepts to why I did what I did.  Maybe this sounds like what all theses do (or at least should); I guess I am just declaring my intentions, which explains why I am spending most of my time with my nose in books.

I am pleased to have started writing my thesis (there's still over 150 days to go), I am motivated to be reviewing concepts and working through examples/exercises, and I am happy with my progress this week.

Just as a side note, and maybe to explain in another way how focused I am on my reading... The lab I occupy is also the new home to our lab's 3d printer.  Yup, we picked one up earlier this week and get this, I haven't printed any parts.  Now anyone who knows me has got to see what a sign this is that I am committed to my thesis preparation.

Week in review: 15-21 February

It's been quite a week and not for any "good" reasons.  I've had a particularly difficult time over the past few days to stay on top of my work, remain motivated and keep myself physically and mentally health.  Now as always I don't mention this for any amount of sympathy, but to let the odd student who may stumble across my posts that these feelings are quite normal for a PhD student (or at least I've convinced myself they are).

At first glance, a PhD is much like a job.  There's an office, desk and computer; there's a supervisor and colleagues; a tearoom (lunch room to those from North America).  But a key difference between a PhD and a typical work experience is that you (as the student) are motivating your work.  That seems slightly mad, like letting a 6 year old choose their diet and clothes (and we can all imagine how that would turn out).  In pursuit of a doctoral degree we soak up knowledge (mostly self taught), synthesis this information and carry out our own research.  After studying and working for 3 years straight you know you should be building towards a great finish, a culmination of your efforts, a masterpiece worthy of praise, but then you remember that you came up with all your "bright" ideas and suddenly you wonder if your contributions have any value.  This is the crisis that stuck me this week and let me say it's a force powerful enough to take the wind from your sails.  How exactly am I suppose to continue in the lab if I question the very foundation of my work?

Sadly I feel there is nothing on offer that can remove these feelings.  It's the burden of a student.  However, I've found that with proper supervisor, regardless if you know it or not, you have been gently kept on a safe path.  Also, while it's important not to become to proud or self absorbed with your past, a look back over the past couple years can be very enlightening... was your abstract accepted for a talk at a conference, did you have a paper accepted by a journal, do others seek you out for collaboration, and the list goes on.  Whatever you've accomplished over the tenure of your studies, these suggest your work is meaningful and not in vane.

Practically thoughts of doubt can not only shatter your confidence, but they disrupt your entire workflow.  "How can I concentrate on reading this article when my work is garbage?"  "Why am I having the workshop build another piece of hardware, when my plans are rubbish?"  And the list goes on.  Unfortunately, I have to admit that this week I was shattered by a lack of confidence.  In hind sight, what little progress I did make was due to planning beforehand.  As I've mentioned in numerous previous posts, make lists.  Prioritise your work.  Know what you're doing so that when everything falls apart you just have to follow your own instructions.

Unfortunately progress was minimal this week, but I've learned a lot about myself and the struggles of a PhD.  In a way I am happy to have these problems now and learn from them so that when it really comes to crunch time (as my deadline approaches), I'll be that much more prepared.

Week in review: 1-7 February

With a public holiday and half day on Monday, this past week went by rather quickly.  I was able to submit my prints to the machine shop and sort out materials/follow questions.  The rest of my time was dedicated to analysing data, writing software for said analysis and placing the results in slides for a conference next week.

I was able to start a dedicated writing time and I followed through each morning.  It only took two days before my supervisor was apologising for interrupting me during this time.  My other hope this week was to review a paper a day in preparation of adding references to my thesis, however, I didn't follow through with this plan.

Even though I have a few jobs queued up in the lab, I spent most (all) of my time this week at the computer somewhere between a Python script, my thesis, a grant proposal and a slide presentation.  I would assume this will become more of the trend as I move full swing into my thesis preparation.  However, there still are experiments to run in the lab and I'll need to carefully plan my time and prioritise to make sure I am working on the most crucial job.

Week in review: 25-31 January

I can't complain with my progress this week.  I did everything I laid out at the start of the week and have momentum to carry me over into a new month.  However, taking this chance to be a bit critical, I need to point out that my work has become extremely fragmented and incremental.  While I think it's important to take small bites one at a time out a big project like a PhD thesis, falling into a checklist habit isn't health.  I say this because working one job at a time hides the bigger picture.  Sure I can be happy to finish a couple items on my to do list, but if I am not pacing myself according to the full project I am going to run into trouble.  Also individual jobs come and go and it's difficult to use them to set mid term goals.  For example, writing an entire thesis or even a journal article is a big job, but I can make progress towards completion by saying I'll write for two hours each day.  While I never check off a "complete" task, I am moving towards a milestone.  This week I just wanted to finish a few jobs stuck on my desk and in doing so I focused mainly on these items and made no contribution to my mountain of writing assignments.  I can't expect to finish everything and THEN write; as if writing is just another entry on a punch list.

Also this week how I finished my work was unstructured.  In the mind set of knocking out a couple jobs, I wasn't forced to plan out my week or days.  Time is precious and before I start working late or going into the lab on the weekend, I need to make sure I properly use my regular workday.

Week in review: 18-24 January

After a late night in the lab yesterday, I went back in this afternoon to run another experiment.  In the end I was able to run a successful experiment.  This was one of my goals for the week and I am pleased to tick this off the list.  The second job this week was to finish a suite of blueprints.  I still need to go back through the prints to clean up tolerances but most of the parts are now laid out.  I probably need another day to a day and a half to finish this job, but for the most part this is all desk work.  The design has been refined with a number of sets of eyes on it, including our machine shop, so I am happy to move forward once we have the material.

Week in review: 11-17 January

This week was productive and saw me shake off the sleep from my summer holidays.  In addition to my research contributions over the past few days, I have also been working on the logistics for a pair of trips.  First is a conference next month where I will be presenting a talk on our new hardware/methodologies.  Second is a month long overseas trip to a lab in the U.S. I've mentioned this trip in the past, but have also avoided going into too much detail as I didn't consider this a "sure thing" until my airfare was booked.

While producing a thesis in the next couple months is certainly a drive force, these two trips will serve as small checkpoints.  For the conference next month I'll present the data I collected last month and the work I hope to complete with my new sample next week.  The journey overseas requires me to get my new designs to the machine shop and into production.

Seeing these trips mature over the past week I am even more pleased with my lab work from this week as I know I am working towards these milestones.

Week in review: 4-10 January

Overall I am pleased with the week past.  I focused on the jobs I said I would, that being: 1) two days of outreach, 2) organisation and 3) a punchlist from last round of experiments.

Regarding the outreach, while I had the best of intentions to share an experience that was both exciting/interesting and educational, I see now how difficult of a task this can be.  We did get the visiting students through our lab and I think they learned a bit and enjoyed their time, but I've taken from this week a list of notes for future exercises.  In particular I would like to look at how I explain basic concepts of my research and what tools I could create to help (animations, computer simulations, slides).  However, these things just end up on the wishlist as I don't want to commit serious time to these tasks over the next few months.

In the latter part of the week I re-focused on my research and where I am at.  And started back with small jobs, as to dip my toes and carefully wade into the massive ocean of work.  I did a number of different types of things, which isn't necessarily the most efficient/productive, but moving among different types of jobs brought back a heap of "muscle memory" which I'll need as I dive in deeper from next week on.

Week in review: 14-20 December

On Saturday night our lab group got together from a Christmas BBQ.  It was a nice way to wind down the week, month and year. After such an intense week a social gathering with my colleagues and friends was appropriate.

Yesterday I gave an early review of the week's activities and I don't really have too much to add.  I had a list of work I wanted to finish and I focused on these tasks.  I didn't allow myself to get distracted to sidetracked and by the end of the week I was able to attend to all my scheduled jobs.

Week in review: 7-13 December

In addition to giving the tradition wrap-up from the week past, today I also have the pleasure of describing my afternoon in the lab.  With school closing for the year at the end of next week, I have a slight urgency to complete some experiments.  Particularly that data I need for the paper I hope to write over the break.  Yeah, the one from November... actually this is an excellent opportunity to share one of my two realisations from the day.  I was thinking today of the time it's taken me to work through my punch list of items for publication.  While I have been simultaneously attended to other tasks, it's been almost 2 months now.  In that time I've made tremendous progress and I am very pleased with my results, but it's taken me two months.  Back when I started it was my supervisor who pushed me to focus my energy.  Left to my own devices, I might have left this work far too long.  The fact everything takes longer than you expect is a theme of the past few months, but it looks like my supervisor was already clued in; maybe there is wisdom in experience, but don't tell him I said that.  The second thought I had today was how much I am enjoying "using" my hardware.  By that I mean the instruments, software, bells and whistles and little bits that allow me to run these experiments.  Months ago I commented that I liked the challenge of designing and building these things, but the collection of data is too mundane.  What a ridiculous sentiment.  Now if I had turn-key devices that flawlessly collected, analysed and interpreted data at the push of the button, maybe I'd have a real beef.  The truth is that there's still an enormous amount of troubleshooting in getting a prototype system to work in a real world setting, not to mention combining the machines with other experimental techniques and sample preparation.  In the past I think I may have been a bit scared or intimidated by this type of work because I lacked experience.  I am still a newbie, but now I am building confidence tackling these challenges.  I am hoping I'll have a similar revelation regarding writing.  Right now it's easy to write the task off as boring, but the real issue might be insecurity.  As I am learning, I need to charge into my preparing my thesis and publications with enthusiasm and an open mind.  Maybe in the end it won't be my favourite job in the world, but I am sure there will be puzzles, challenges and new learning opportunities involved.