Working from home is on the rise, according to the 2017 US Census. From increased work-life flexibility and employee productivity to decreased real estate costs and overhead, remote work (or "telecommuting") offers benefits for both employee and employer. Whether you're a grad student like me, self-employed working out of a home office, or telecommuting part-time, you've encountered the benefits and the challenges of working home. Challenges like distractions. In this post we'll talk about several distractions you may be all too familiar with, and how to help nip them in the bud. Find 2020 statistics on remote working 15 Trends for Remote Working in 2021 With a third of the US workforce now working from home, many have moved to a new city or state - "Zoom Towns". Travel Experts from Million Mile Secrets put together an article on the most popular destinations for remote workers. If you can work from anywhere, why not live where you vacation? Coverage put together an article to help you decide if you can make the move to your dream city including stats on living costs and your basic necessities, like a strong WiFi signal. An article from AllConnect highlights our desire to reconnect with nature in this increasingly virtual need, and so they put together a list of the 10 states that offer the best combo of outdoors and internet access.
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Today we're talking about scheduling time for writing and making space for writing - both to improve productivity and to create a new habit. Let's jump in.
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Creating a new habit takes time, and with something like writing, it’s particularly effective to take advantage of your most productive time of day.
We often kickstart our mornings by checking our emails (here’s 7 reasons why you shouldn’t start your day with that) but if you’re a morning person, blocking off time to write would be better use of your time.
We heard from Bill Miller, Editor-in-Chief of STD Journal, and Associated Editor at Epidemiology, Tim Lash, Editor-in-Chief of Epidemiology, Andy Olshan, Editor-in-Chief of Current Epidemiology Reports, Petra Wark, Associate Editor at Nutrition Journal, Justin Lessler, Associated Editor at American Journal of Epidemiology, Nicola Low, Deputy Editor at STI BMJ and Specialty Consulting Editor at PLOS Med, and Emily DeVoto, Deputy Editor at Epidemiology.
One of my favorite parts of being part of a professional Twitter community like #EpiTwitter is how it brings together all the ranks – from students to trainees to early career professors and the highest and mightiest. This #AskTheEditor event was a prime example. Bill Miller, the chair of the Epidemiology Department at the Ohio State University proposed the idea, and I eagerly jumped on board. We rounded up some great editors and had people tweet us their questions.
I’ve summarized the great questions and answers exchanged during the course of the day, and categorized them generally below. Be sure to bookmark this page, and feel free to share with colleagues.
It’s normal to find work stressful, and a certain level stress actually makes us more productive. But sometimes the humdrum of spending all day in a cubicle can lead to even more stress. If your stress level has moved from productive to frazzled, it may be time to incorporate small things throughout your work day to decompress.
If exercise helps you unwind, you might search online to see if there are classes near your work to take during lunch hour. You could search for pilates classes, barre, yoga, or whatever sparks your fancy. Not all of us have lunch hours, or can exercise in the middle of the day, so let’s explore some other options.
It's exciting to start a new job. But sometimes a company isn't what it seems. There are strategies to evaluate work culture during your interviews, but in this article, we'll talk about what to do when you're already in a new job, and learn your manager isn't as great as they seemed.
There's a lot of advice online about how to "Manage Your Manager" and on handling confrontation at work - those that exalt it, and those that recommend avoiding it at all costs. Each situation is unique, and so we'll give you three aspects of the situation to think about as you craft a strategy to stand up for yourself at work. We confront external obstacles every day, but they aren't the only ones. Our perspective on the world is colored by our own expectations of ourselves and others. Your perspective is often what makes or breaks a successful career, because it can push you to meet your potential, or it can get in your own way. Your perception of external obstacles shape how you manage internal obstacles. Is that barrier a puzzle to solve, or is it a signal that you've failed? Allowing these internal obstacles to keep you from continuing on the road to success will drain your motivation and work ethic. In this article we'll talk about 4 big obstacles that you can overcome just by recognizing them, and by taking steps to tear them down. Stay motivated with these quotes about overcoming adversity from Spread Great Ideas. Whether you yourself are struggling with giving education priority in your life, or you're a parent to an uninspired student, there are many things to consider when it comes to improving and enhancing our experiences with education. While in school, it's easy to slip into one of two bubbles - living a life other than class, treating homework and studying as a chore, or dedicating yourself to school alone. Either way, you are often living in the moment, and not thinking of the future, which isn't surprising - you have a lot on your plate! There's several ways you can think about the future, and start planning. Preparing for life after graduation might seem daunting, but these 3 techniques will help you plan for the future without feeling overwhelmed in the present.
With all the effort you put in during your college years, it can be frustrating when you get to your first job and find yourself less prepared than expected.
At no other time in your life will you learn so much information as when you're in college, but the majority of it is content knowledge, not interpersonal skills. If you've developed keen critical thinking and big concept mapping skills, like when studying for big exams, those will transfer well to the workplace. But some of the other challenges won't be overcome as easily. As you jump into your first job after graduation, you might find yourself feeling unprepared. These three challenges stem from a differences in your schedule, your work responsibilities, and your peers.
Moving into "real life" after you finish school can be a shock, whether its undergraduate, graduate, or professional school. Of course, it does depend on what you study. Many people get a taste of what their postgraduate life is going to be like during school, especially if their field is more hands-on than others. But the reality of finally being on your own can still be tough to take. If you feel like you're entering the adult world for the first time, without the bubble of student life to protect you, you should think about how to prepare yourself for new experiences. Being totally independent can be scary, but it's worth it - probably.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, over 8% of college grads have had their job offers revoked. The experts over at Bank Rate created a guide to help navigate the unpredictable job market during COVID-19 and its aftermath. The guide covers:
If you feel like your current career plans are not really going anywhere for you, you might be tempted to take a new approach and to find a career that is more in line with your personality. And if you’re the kind of person that likes other people and enjoys communicating with them, you should find a career that can play to that particular strength. There are many of them out there so you won’t be left short of options. Here are some great career paths to consider you’re a real people person.
There's a difference between having people-facing skills and being a people person. And often in academia, the mix is weighted more towards people working hard to develop interpersonal skills, but not jumping up and down to do people-facing work. So if you're considering alternatives to academia, don't pass up these positions.
Cumulative final exams, licensing exams, masters comprehensive exams, doctoral qualifying exams - all are BIG! And effective study strategies focus on consolidating large amounts of information into tenable concepts that can be applied to whatever question thrown at you. Instead of getting bogged down in the details, painting the big picture is where you want to start.
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Materials in this photo: Arc Discbound Notebook (Letter Size, Poly Cover) | Office by Martha Stewart Discbound Dividers (5-tab, also available in 8-tab) | Planner by Blue Sky, no longer available | Printable Graph Paper
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In this post, I'll walk you through some strategies that will help you make this process as painless as it could be. Be forewarned, these are not your typical lecture-quiz-exam study methods, so they'll feel foreign and uncomfortable. But practice makes perfect, and after about a week long learning curve you'll look forward to study sessions and feel efficient and knowledgeable.
Search Google for "best powerpoint templates" and you'll get a number of modern designs for sales pitch decks, portfolios, business plans, and CV/resume presentations (like these).
Not sure what a CV/resume presentation is? If you're asked to give a presentation as part of a job interview, you might start with some introduction slides. CV/resume presentations put your CV/resume into a presentation format. Infographics have become popular in almost every field, but in more traditional areas, like science and academia, I believe there's a bit of a line to draw. You may notice I have an infographic on my About page as well as on my LinkedIn. Personal websites and the media feature of LinkedIn are great spots for some well designed graphics. Just make sure they are informative, and look good when display-cropped on LinkedIn.
While PowerPoint is still the go-to for slide presentations (sorry, Prezi, you tried but you just don't cut it in science), Powerpoint presentations have come far since 2003 clipart and animations.
There are what I'd say are the Golden Rules of PowerPoint. You'll find these repeated over and over again in articles.
I'll summarize them here so we all start in the same place:
For a great read, check out "How to Give a Dynamic Scientific Presentation" from Elsevier.
I'm going to expand on these with a few tips that will take your PowerPoint presentation from good to great.
I've written about how to prep for conferences (twice) and I've talked about it with many of you! But now I'm here at AHA Scientific Sessions 2017 - the biggest conference I've attended - and I have a whole new list of tips on tap for you. Before I do that (look for it in a few days), I want to talk about a topic that's come up gain and again in Early Career Programming events and in conversation with my colleagues.
That topic is: how do you establish independence early in your career? Background photo from 'Icelandic Roads' by Vadim Sherbakov at Creative Market Last week I read that you should never ask someone to be your mentor. Why? Because if you're downright asking, you haven't cultivated enough of a relationship to let it subtly slide into the "mentor zone".
I disagree. Finding a mentor can be one of the more nebulous concepts in career development, and certainly the most frustrating. It's like dating...choosing a boss...a parent...? Nope, not quite any of those. Hence the nebulous. I'm a firm believer that you need to figure out what you want, and take the steps to get there. With that said, I recognize that being direct and putting yourself out there is a difficult thing to do, no matter how confident or outgoing you are. So what now? 1. Free coffee refills 2. Outlets accessible to all 3. Catered seminars (free lunch) 4. Elbow room, in class and while studying 5. Professors that stay on topic 6. Perfectly timed public transportation 7. $2 drinks at happy hour 8. Naptime after lunch 9. Emails over meetings 10. Adorable puppies
At some point in your grad school career, you should be writing.
For me, it cycles through the challenge of writing while in classes to the wide open space of vacations and summers when I should be writing, but seem to do every other thing on my to do list before sitting down at my computer. Over the past few years, I've stumbled across some great writing resources, many provide subscription emails. A few subject lines from these resources popped out at me this morning from my inbox, and I'd like to share.
Great news! I've come back from my first conference as a PhD student and it went great.
If you read my first post on getting the most out of conferences, you may recognize a few of 'tasks' or suggestions I mentioned. You may be thinking, "Bailey, what was your goal for this conference?" Read more to find out.
How do you feel when you go to a conference? Are you nervous? Overwhelmed? Personally I wonder if I’ll ever get to the point in my career where I feel at ease, looking forward to seeing colleagues from all over the nation I’ve collaborated with on projects.
My advisor runs a weekly breakfast club for his advisees, and with a national conference coming up in the next few months, we wanted advice on how to get the most out of conferences. He came up with a top 10, that I’ve organized and elaborated on below. I’ll expand on a few in my next post (Part II).
All of these tips fall under the category of preparing for your own success. They should be done before the conference, and then acted upon. Make a game plan and you’ll return home feeling accomplished.
TIP: Make sure you read the conference program before registration day, so you can plan ahead and make the most of it! Check out the conference website, too! Re-evaluating your priorities is a good idea to do at least once a year, but can be especially helpful if you are feeling stale or stuck in a rut.
Orientation brings a tsunami of information crashing down on your head. Administrators and students acknowledge this fact in your meetings with a smile and joke. But by the end of the day, your pleasant expression has twisted and you'd prefer they get on with it.
But it's not their fault - what you really need is for the semester to fast forward a week or two. Diving into course material in class, instead of syllabus review. A routine for your schedule - problem sets due Fridays, lab reports due Wednesdays, happy hour on Thursdays. Everything fitting in neat little boxes in your head, instead of the nebulous cloud of worry and the frantic feeling you're forgetting something. |
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