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| https://80000hours.org/ |
1. Your PhD is important but it shouldn’t define you!
Everybody wants to have success in his or her career – there’s nothing wrong with that. However, sometimes you need to take a step back, and realize that there are more important things in life! Your health, your family and your mental well-being should always be of the utmost importance. The minute you deviate away from that is the minute you’re letting something take over your life that has so many variables you cannot control. Ambition knows no boundaries, but humans do. We have our limits, and pushing yourself beyond those limits is going to affect the route you take to success. Remember, Richard Branson is one the most successful, richest men in the world and he left school at the age of 16!
We’ve all been there. Socialising with our friends, and suddenly your mind drifts off to a place where you wonder if the data you collected in your last experiment was good enough… or that you definitely haven’t read enough papers in your literature review… No! This is bad. Too many people get an overwhelming sense of guilt when they allow themselves a few hours of not thinking about their PhD project. Learning to “switch off” sometimes is healthy – it allows you to relax, be yourself and ultimately it will leave you refreshed and raring to go once again.
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| http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/ |
3. Sometimes things can go wrong – and there’s nothing you can do about it!
You can plan as much as you want, create the perfect Gantt charts, and know the ins and outs of your experiment. However, sometimes, there are factors completely out with our control that can blow your plans right out of the water. This can create a fairly stressful working environment, but more often than not remember that you won’t be the only person experiencing this. Provided you keep on working, remain positive, things will eventually resolve themselves.
4. A bit of relaxation goes a long way…
We all have different ways to relax – and finding time to truly relax outside your PhD will make the difference between being stressed and mentally fresh. As mentioned previously, taking your mind off your PhD during said relaxation time is vital. Sports, music, reading, are obviously some examples, but there are always an infinite number of things you can do. Even something as simple as seeing your friends from the University outside of the working environment – you can’t deny that spending an hour or so complaining about your project is good for the soul!
By Ivan Hall Barrientos - Ivan is working on a tissue engineering based approach to hernia repair using 3D printing.
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