The Grad Student

Deep Work: Fixed Schedule Productivity.

Last post on deep work because I'm finally done with the book.

Fixed schedule productivity looks to organize your schedule to handle only a fixed task a time. This also ties in to my previous Deep Work post on "batching" work as well.

Although hard to manage for someone in academia, especially a grad student or professor, once you make people aware of your schedule and availabilities, it allows you to create time for deep work.

For example, schedule weekly meetings, office hours and classes (you teach) on a few days of the week, giving you the freedom to commit to deep work with research on the other days.

You can also try to fix an 8-5 working schedule (exceptions occasionally permitted of course) so that you are commited to using your time more productively.

Progress in Grad School.

Measuring progress in grad school isn't straightforward. Almost anyone who starts grad school is ambitious. Unfortunately, for the most part, one feature of grad school is the lack of instant gratification, i.e., immediate grades/approval etc., that we are so often used to.

It is important to recognize that grad school is more of a marathon, than a short sprint. It's about putting in the consistent effort day in, day out, trusting your own skills and experience will pull you through.

I spent a good portion of 2019 designing and developing an experimental setup in Qatar, without any idea of when we would have it up and running due to logistics issues. I ended up having to head back to the US before the setup was complete, and defended before I received experimental data from the setup. Good news is that we finally completed assembly earlier this semester, and are running experiments (with me 8000 miles away 😂).

Hoping to trust myself and continue exhibiting the same patience in the job hunt over the next few months.

2020-09-22: Defense Preparation

One day to go. It's been a weird year, and weird last few months in isolation. I know I've been overworked, often handling multiple projects, jumping from one Zoom session to the next (some in completely different time zones). But I'm taking today to slow things down, and mentally prepare for my defense.

What I plan to do today:

1️⃣ Prepare a script for a few of my slides to prevent myself from rambling on (as I sometimes do). Then practice the presentation once or twice.

2️⃣ Think about potential questions and prepare responses for these. I'm expecting the questions to be more big picture, with a focus on industrial implementation and associated challenges.

3️⃣ Ensure I have all the forms ready for the defense tomorrow. Universities in the US have an absurd amount of paperwork that needs to be filed. Why? I'll never know.

4️⃣ Relax. I don't plan to work on anything else today to ensure that I'm in the right headspace to efficiently respond to any questions tomorrow.

🇨🇦

2020-09-16: Work from home battlestation upgrade.

Since I'm defending in a week I decided to reward myself and splurged on a new wireless keyboard and mouse to bring a little color to my workspace.

T -7 DAYS

Deep Work: Embrace Boredom

I have the annoying habit of trying to multitask constantly. This isn't the most productive. Although, it sounds counterintuitive, embracing the boredom of working on a single task is the most efficient way to get tasks done.

This chapter focused on the following concepts.

1️⃣ Don't take breaks from distraction. Instead take breaks from focus.

This strategy works well even if your job requires a lot of internet use and email replies. Time spent doing these tasks are more focused.

Regardless of how you schedule your internet blocks, you need to keep time outside these blocks internet free time as well.

This is essential for both use at home, but use at work as well.

2️⃣ Meditate productively

Be wary of distractions and looping. It's important to remind yourself that you can get back to distracting thoughts and tasks later, when you feel yourself drifting away.

Structure your deep thinking. Make sure you have an alloted daily time to ensure that it becomes a habit.

Virtual Career Fair & Networking

Got to attend my first completely virtual career fair earlier this week. Although, I was initially unsure of what to expect, I think I preferred the virtual format over the usual in-person ones I've attended, possibly because I could network from the convert of my home (as opposed to being in a stadium filled with a large group of sweaty students in suits).

Here are some tips to prepare for one:

1️⃣ Be comfortable with your introduction/pitch. This is the same as the usual elevator pitch you'd give in person.

2️⃣ Do your research. Make sure you know what the company does, tailor your introduction accordingly, and also familiarize yourself with the job postings available on the company website so that you can ask questions.

3️⃣ Install and test all video calling software. Different companies use different options to network, and you need to be prepared to use anything. Common ones are Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and WebEx. Make sure your connection is stable, too.

4️⃣ Stay Organized. Make sure you have a means of taking notes, whether it be on paper, or typed up.

5️⃣ Dress formally. You need to create a strong first impression, just like you would in person.

6️⃣ Expect technical difficulties. The networking system might go down, so be prepared to call in if required.

7️⃣ Do follow up after the career fair to get updates. And make sure you get all your online applications done.

2020-08-30: Rainbow after the storm.

After what seems like forever my committee chairs have finally given me the green light to schedule my dissertation defense.

I almost quit two years, after believing I had exhausted my creativity and options with research. I had one statement from a professor who gave the advice my first year that kept me going.

"There'll come a time a when you're too far in to see why you started, and you'll be too far from the end to see if it's worth completing. In that moment push through, trust yourself, and keep going.".

Just spreading the positivity in case anyone needed it, do you part and pass it along.

Virtual Conference Tips

Attending my first virtual conference this week to present 2 talks and a poster, for a conference that was postponed from March to August. Spent some time searching for tips online today, and here were the most important ones I found.

1️⃣ Block your time - Although you attend the conference from the comfort of your home, it's important to ensure that you make time to attend the talks you are interested in, especially if they are live vs. pre-recorded.

2️⃣ Avoid multi-tasking - Although it's easy to attempt to listen to talks in parallel while you're working on something else, you're only deceiving yourself by not paying full attention to either and gaining the most from the conference.

3️⃣ Plan your schedule - Since the technical programs are made available, browse through and make a note of talks you really want to attend.

4️⃣ Be enthusiastic - If your talk is pre-recorded ensure that your tone is engaging enough for people to listen to.

5️⃣ Don't feel like guilty for taking time away from research - You can't expect to attend the conference AND have a productive week at work, and it's okay to acknowledge this.

6️⃣ Network - Many conferences have sessions set up to promote networking. Take advantage of these.

Dealing with roadblocks in research.

It's a common issue, especially when starting a new project. Here's are a list of tips that generally work for me.

1️⃣ Read, read, read - Keeping searching for answers. More often that not if you're seeing a certain trend of behavior that you're unable to explain by yourself, you'll be able to find the answer in literature.

2️⃣ Seek assistance - This can be your own supervisor, a senior member in your research group, or even a friend. They might have already dealt with the problem you're facing. Once you've put in sufficient work in trying to overcome and issue, there is no shame in asking for help. You might even save yourself time.

3️⃣ Take a break or breaks - Although you might consider this counterintuitive, taking time off from work let's your mind review and re-evaluate the problem, often helping you attack the problem from a different direction.

4️⃣ Attempt deep work - Block a few hours a day to attempt to solve the problem with minimal distractions.

5️⃣ Embrace the results - If the problem still cannot be solved, justify the results using your knowledge and experience. It's alright to acknowledge this.

2020-07-15: Job Hunt: Virtual Info Sessions.

Attended my first virtual info session today. As the job hunt ramps up, I've been keeping my options open and applying to as many places as possible. These were in person in the past, but due to the covid situation in the US nearly all companies have gone virtual in terms of screening and recruitment.

Pros of virtual sessions: Ability to join the session from the comfort your home/office + more access and quicker response to questions posed to the recruiters + no crowds.

Cons of virtual sessions: No pizza. lol

2020-07-06: Boston sunsets.

My personal Instagram reminded me of this post from four years ago. It was at the end of the first year of my PhD, and I got to travel to Boston to attend and present at the 2016 American Control Conference. I definitely took the time to explore the city and its cuisine to my satisfaction.

Texas A&M has literally taken me on trips to five major continents. Business travel motivated my solo travel adventures to budget destinations of which y'all may have seen a few.

I've seen more of the US than the average American, at 13 states and counting. 2020 was supposed to be the year I relaxed a bit, traveled around more of the US and Canada and enjoyed the fruits of my labor. But for now I'm thankful that I'm still employed (for a few more months), and healthy so far. To better days and pretty sunsets by more harbours.

One. Day. At. A. Time.

2020-07-01 - Back on campus 👀

Our campus/department officially reopened to non experimental grad students today. The university decided to continue with plans to reopen despite the rapid rise in covid cases in Texas and Brazos county over the last few days and weeks.

However, I am happy with the measures that are in place to reduce the spread of the virus. Masks are mandatory on campus and in our office at all time. Additionally, many restaurants in the city only admit customers who wear masks. Don't worry, I don't dine in (I just do delivery or pickup to support local businesses).

I took the opportunity to go to my office after 5 months to get some work done. My remote desktop connection has been acting up a lot lately, and I needed to use MATLAB without interruptions. I don't intend to go everyday. I do have frequent virtual meetings with my supervisor as we need to meet deadlines for the company we are collaborating with, and only intend to go to campus when I really need to use the software.

Have you been able to get back to your office lately? What do you think about the measures in your city/county/state/country?

#2020-07-01 - Back on campus 👀

Our campus/department officially reopened to non experimental grad students today. The university decided to continue with plans to reopen despite the rapid rise in covid cases in Texas and Brazos county over the last few days and weeks.

However, I am happy with the measures that are in place to reduce the spread of the virus. Masks are mandatory on campus and in our office at all time. Additionally, many restaurants in the city only admit customers who wear masks. Don't worry, I don't dine in (I just do delivery or pickup to support local businesses).

I took the opportunity to go to my office after 5 months to get some work done. My remote desktop connection has been acting up a lot lately, and I needed to use MATLAB without