Dr. Bill Miller pointed out the flip-side of challenging reads: it's not that the content is necessarily complicated, but that it is likely poorly written.

Is that how you feel, too? Or do you start with an outline every time you write?

No matter which camp you're in - or even if you're straddling both sides - let's go through the basics of using an outline to plan your writing so you can make an educated decision.

Never stop learning, never stop reading.

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. 

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.
 ​

Goals for writing challenges often fall in one of several types:

• Writing daily (time goals, content goals)
• Starting a project
• Finishing a project
• Working on a skill

You may have an overall objective of finishing your dissertation, or a large project, or making time in your daily schedule to improve your writing. All of these can be broken down into SMART goals. ​

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. 

Forever on the go, the topic of burnout has hit headlines for many professions. From doctors working 36 hour shifts to businessmen with a cellphone glued to their ear, no group is immune. 

They say list off all the things you'd like to prioritize in your life - fitness, friends, family, sleep, work - and then pick 2. With a lifestyle like that, seeing articles headlining "How to Actively Invest Your Money" and "3 Easy Steps to Get Fit" probably fall on deaf ears, on the couch, exhausted after a very long day at work.

We all go through cycles. like New Years resolutions, when we try to boost our productivity, even in our down hours.

As we work all day and night, we work ourselves on a fast track to burnout. Exhaustion, nervous break downs, and an overall reduction in productivity and even work means lost income - the very opposite of what we're all trying do. (Make money). 

This post is about maximizing your earnings without contributing to burnout - how? By spending 1 hour of your day focused on it. Let's get started.

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.

​When you get home from work, would you rather collapse on the couch or do something – hit the gym, meet up with friends, go for a bike ride? Most of us fall into one of these two camps, but there’s a happy medium to get the both of both worlds.
Let’s jump in. 

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.

Whether you want a promotion for the increase in pay or to have a more influential role in your organization, by setting your mindset for growth and making a plan, you can climb the corporate ladder and get the paycheck to go with it.

Just like when you're in school, and you make a plan for graduation and for the job search, you can also make a plan for your career. What positions exist in your organization? What skills go along with those positions? 

Talk to people you know in those roles, find out how they got there. Conducting these informational interviews is extremely helpful in making your plan. You can find out what they wish they had known early on, and learn from their perspective.

Want a jump start? We have a free Career Plan Template for you to download at the bottom of the post. You can also find it on our Resource page.

Running a modern business is all about how you adapt and evolve as a brand. Whether your brand is your company, or YOU yourself, incorporating change early on, continuously learning new skills, and focusing your marketing efforts will not only keep your business relevant in an ever-changing market, but help it soar to the top. 

You can find countless tips on the internet and in self-help books on how to improve upon your company moving forward. Today we'll pare it all down to 3 tips to help you surge forward. 

Photo Credit

If you want to start your own business, you need to channel your ambition in the right way. With all of the competition in the marketplace, it'll take direction to stand out from the crowd. A clear business plan, preparation, and the skills and knowledge to back it up will make it happen. To get you started, we are going to talk you through four of the key principles of starting a business. Let's go!

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.

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.

​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. ​

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

*affiliate links

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. 

A 2011 article titled "Quit Being So Nice" opens with this quote: 

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: 

• Minimize text
• Choose high contrast text and background colors
• ​Use a consistent layout
• Don't read from the slides

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.