As we all head toward the Christmas break there is time for one more Helmholtz Juniors Blog Post. The Christmas break can be a time of relaxation, a time to gain perspective or a time of indeterminable stress. Getting up and leaving your desk as break time approaches can be a difficult task, even more so when impossible deadlines loom in the New Year. Reintegrating with family and friends can be challenging. Inane friendly questions such as; how is the thesis going, or when do you think you will be finished, can take on a diabolical edge. As a result, these questions are just as likely to elicit a rage driven series of superlatives as a blank stare. If a constant feeling of walking on glass is something you and those around you would like to avoid. Here are some suggestions to make the Christmas break what it should be!
Be prepared
You are always going to get questions that remind you of your PhD and everything that is wrong with it. For most people questions about work are like questions about weather. Treat them the same way. Its unlikely that your aunty Bob really wants to know the problems you’re having at work. Even if you tell her she will probably be lost at the half of a sentence you utter. Realise it’s a weather question, smile and give whatever polite response you feel like. It helps to be at peace with that status of your work before entering the situation but that’s a pipe dream for most. Just remember every other PhD student out there is feeling the same pain. For those around PhD students, don’t ask. Just don’t. Under no circumstances is it ok to bring up the proverbial PhD elephant.
Companionship of contemporaries
If your lucky enough to have a friendship group undertaking a PhD at the same take, advantage of it! They will know, they will understand and most of all their disaster stories will make you feel better about what ever train wreck you are currently riding. Remember to return the favour. Avoid those who have just finished, their satisfied smile is a thing of nightmares to those that are not quite there yet.
Productivity
Nothing helps guilt better than getting something done about it. If your contemplating working over the Christmas break then set strict guidelines for yourself. In particular, success criteria that are achievable. Even if you don’t feel like you are on holiday everyone else will assume you are. They may well view your work as less serious because your doing it in your free time. No PhD student wants this, the sacrifice to work on your own time is something that is never given lightly.The last thing you want is people seeing it as a hobby. Setting time for your work and time for life helps with this. Make appointments accordingly and make sure to take the time for the special events. This might be the last time you see these people before your finished when life will change and you will never be the same. Remember it may be impossible to get everything you want done but set goals you can achieve. A strict time schedule can help with this. Work the time allocated, not more.
Gifts
A good thoughtful gift can always make Christmas that much brighter. A good smart gift for a PhD student can reinvigorate the interest and motivation that has been drained over the last year. It may even end up saving the PhD student huge amounts of time. Here are some suggestions easily available for purchase on amazon:
- The unwritten rules of PHD research (Author: Marian Petre)
This is a useful book for those starting out or even for those who are close to the end, it can be real eye opener to those just making the transition to graduate study.
- How to write a better thesis (Author: David Evans)
This is a book for those students getting to the end. The book is aimed at making that first draft into something worth believing in again.
- Wireless Presenter (Logitech)
No one who makes regular presentations should be without one of these.
- Datex Miracle cube timer
Entertaining way of keeping track of time and working in short focused bursts.
- Wake up light (Philips)
To make getting out of bed and facing another day just a little bit easier.
- Coffee related products
For example a new Moka pot with some packs of good coffee to go with it. Or a new coffee mug, this one caught my eye: http://www.cafepress.de/mf/22018626/dont-ask-a-phd_mugs?productId=123358260
So that brings us to the end of the first year of the Helmholtz Juniors blog. To those that have been following us, thank you for the support! To all those with the noses to the grindstone over the break, best of luck, may the end come soon but in the meantime, may the coffee flow and enjoy the time you have!
Merry Christmas from all of us and a happy and successful New Year!
