Hello!
With the start of a new year, it can be helpful to take a moment and assess our progress, aiming at identifying possible areas for improvement. I find the new year’s break to be especially useful for such an assessment, as it enables a more extended break and is usually followed by the start of new projects at work. Therefore, in this post, I would like to review and reflect on some of the changes I would like to implement in my workflow for the upcoming year based on the experiences I have been collecting in my doctoral studies.
1. More structured planning of time
More structured planning of time
Meetings are essential in academic research, as they enable all team members to share results and decide on future steps. Nonetheless, calendars can quickly fill with invitations for all the projects and additional topics of relevance for the lab. Consequently, finding time to accomplish (any of) the tasks piling on our list of to-do’s can become a struggle, potentially leaving a sense of underachievement and frustration.
In this regard, after reading a productivity-focused book, one of the suggestions presented by the author focused on every evening, defining three tasks to accomplish for the following day. Comparably, a similar exercise would be performed at the start of every week for higher-level tracking of milestones. I remember sporadically implementing this technique and realizing how, on some days, completing three tasks can be already a substantial achievement. Therefore, this year, I aim to incorporate this practice into my workflow to better manage time around other collaborative requests. Although there are frequent spontaneous interruptions daily to handle some tasks, my project evolves in steps of weeks at a time, where I can focus on completing a subsection before moving to the next. Therefore, a variation of the pre-day task planning that better fits my workflow is to define those slots in my calendar at the start of the week. I still aim to define three daily tasks and set those blocks in a way that best aligns with my daily responsibilities. Ultimately, this approach still has the desired positive effect of starting a day with clear goals of what to focus on while also preventing an overwhelming feeling of letting my to-do list grow indefinitely. As the project advances, I can progressively adjust the slots to include subsequent tasks in my planning.
Focusing on being early
Next, I would like to emphasize the importance of being prepared early. This effort can be beneficial for external deadlines, such as conference and journal submission dates. Often, we aim to submit our work to these events while continuing to progress on our main project. Therefore, as submission deadlines are usually communicated a few months in advance, having our submissions prepared on time can save us from stressful periods in the days before the deadline. Co-authors will have plenty of time to review it at their own pace and provide feedback, while the main authors can still reflect on the work and ensure they are presenting a clean, curated, interpretable version of the results, which can only have benefits during revision stages. While the conference submission phase is significant, the weeks before the conference meeting, where the actual talks and posters are prepared, are equally crucial. As these have more space, they enable more freedom to present data than the template used to submit an abstract, making any feedback we can collect even more valuable to maximize the readability and clarity of our presentation.
On a different note, other tasks, like manuscript submissions, may not have an externally defined deadline. In these cases, it is our decision as drivers of the project to set a timeline and communicate it to co-authors. As discussed previously, being ready and maximizing the feedback received by collaborators early on can be very constructive to the quality of the final product. In our group, a significant focus is placed on organizing clear figure panels, often even before the first word of the manuscript is written. Therefore, quickly iterating on suggestions and re-uniting with co-authors for subsequent discussions has shown to be a reliable way to advance.
Conversely, manuscript revisions often require higher time commitments, which can be scarce as we move to more senior authors. Nonetheless, the same intention of iterating on the feedback received ensures that the manuscript is in its best shape when senior authors read it, enabling them to focus on comments that derive from their experience publishing articles. In this way, I have experienced that if a draft is ready for revisions by senior authors, it is helpful to avoid keeping it idle for too long. A meeting can be scheduled to skim through the work, and these authors can provide critical feedback without necessarily reading all sections, or a firm agreement can be defined on when to expect their comments.
Workspace decluttering
Finally, the following topic focuses on maintaining our tools in a state that empowers our productivity rather than hindering it. Specifically, I am referring to the endless tabs and windows on the browser, the quickly jotted notes in a digital logbook, or the random files sitting in the Downloads folder. This can often be a challenge, which is why I find it so critical to make it part of the workflow. One step certainly includes defining and following precise rules, such as immediately deleting temporary files and notes when they are no longer needed or moving them to more permanent, clearly referenced locations. Therefore, I am experimenting with different approaches to see which helps me the most in keeping my workspace organized, and I intend to follow them consistently.
Conclusion
Being aware of areas of improvement can have a tremendous impact on our lives, and focusing on our work can represent a considerable advance in our productivity. Although I often perform such a reflective exercise, changes can be easier to implement after definite breakpoints, such as holidays. Therefore, I aim to continue experimenting and identifying practical ways toward a balanced and productive workflow.
Please feel free to share your goals to implement at work in the new year!
Have a great day!