My goals for 2015

My momma says that as long as you write your Christmas/New Year's cards before the end of January, you're good. So, I'm extending this do blog posts that are related to reviewing 2014, and setting goals for 2015.

I set my goals for 2015 before the end of 2014, but I didn't get around writing a post about it. I know you must be feeling overly stuffed with "best of 2014" posts and "goals for 2015" posts by now, but I'm presenting you my goals for 2015 anyways - because somehow I feel more motivated when my goals are Out There in the Internetz. As if anybody would ever really come after me and kick my arse somewhere in April when I start slacking off...

For 2014 I had an impossibly long list of goals. Needless to say, I didn't accomplish all of that in 2014, but I did get a fair amount of Stuff Done.

I've learned a lesson, and limited myself to 15 goals for 2015. Just because of the symmetry of numbers :)

Not only did I set these goals, but I also clearly wrote down when I want to work on these goals, and how I'm going to make sure that I achieve them.

Here's my list of goals for 2015:

1. Try a month of writing from 6am to 8am

I recycled this goal from my 2014 list, since I never got this done, but I am curious to try out this experiment. I will do this in March 2015. Feel free to bug me mid-March and see if I managed to stick with it. (I will only write Monday - Friday at these hours.)

2. Submit 6 journal papers for review

I've outlined the papers that I will write, when I will write them, and to which journal I will submit them. #Acwri 2015 - here we come!

3. Meditate daily

I've been on and off with meditating for the last 13 years *__* so it's really time to turn this into a consistent habit. I know it's good for me, I know I can focus better when I practice - yet it's always one of the first things to slip to the side. I'm using Lift to track my daily sessions.

4. Work through the Dotzauer books for cello

For the last 10 years, I haven't practiced seriously, but last September I accidentally joined a band as cello player, and last August I flew my cello to Ecuador, so it's time to get going again. The Dotzauer books are 4 volumes of technical work, and after looking at the final etudes in the fourth book, I already regret setting this goal... I vouch the play daily, as long as I'm in Ecuador (or, in other words, as long as I have actually access to my cello - an instrument which is unfortunately not so handy to travel with, as Mr. Cello Lantsoght needs to travel as a ticketed passenger on flights). I'm using Lift to track my practice.

5. Write 80 poems and bundle the 20 best

Another recycled goal from 2014. I need to practice creativity in a more varied ranges of fields, and I used to write a lot and win prizes and stuff, and then suddenly life took over... I'm setting a reminder in Todoist to write every 4 days. I might use the prompts when I need a little push in my back.

6. Draw 7 mandalas

Another exercise to flex my creativity muscle, and another recycled goal from 2014.

7. Go without refined sugar for 40 days

Another recycled goal from 2014 - and one that might be very, very difficult for me, since I easily eat an entire bar of chocolate a day. However, I'm planning to do this between the 18th of February and the 30th of March (during Lent, in other words, even though I am not a Christian - but I like the 40-day challenges people put themselves during Lent, so I thought I might feel motivated to join the herd).

8. Revisit the Silva meditation technique

I worked through the basic Silva course on the Mindvalley website in 2012/2013, but then I dropped these meditation exercises. I like these exercises, so I want to pick it up again. Another recycled goal from 2014.

9. Get a tattoo

I know exactly what I want, but I'm terrified by needles. I also know that I want crueltyfree ink. I just need to work up the courage, and I think I will do this in June 2015, when I am in Delft. And before I turn 30.

10. Visit the Galapagos Islands

I've been living in Ecuador for 1,5 years now, and I haven't made it to the Galapagos - clearly, I'm doing something wrong (or tell my boss, I'm doing something right). I'm hoping to go during the Easter break, in April.

11. Buy a house

Another recycled goal for 2014. But by now, at least my husband fulfills the requirements to make the loan. I need to be living in the country for 3 years before I qualify...

12. Write a grant proposal

Yet another recycled goal from 2014... This year, it's time to move my position as researcher at USFQ one notch up, and try to get a research grant, instead of fully depending on projects from Delft to keep me busy (even though I love Delft projects, don't get me wrong, but I need to develop research lines here too, and direct more theses based on these research lines).

13. Write a book

I am so going to do #nanowrimo and write a book chockful of advice for PhD students. I've been wanting to do this for way too long.

14. Read 40 books

This goals shouldn't' be too hard - I read 105 books in 2015. In 2014, however, I want to chew through a few harder, lengthier books. I should finish Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, for example.

15. Improve my Spanish

I haven't taken any formal course in Spanish, but I babble and write emails when necessary. However, I have no understanding of the Spanish grammar at all, so I probably sound like a caveman. I have two coursebooks on intermediate Spanish that I want to work through. I've set a reminder every 3 days to fork out some time to study...

(And, above all, I'll remain committed to eating well (aka plant-based), training (a lot), getting enough sleep, playing with my cat, pomodoring through hard tasks, and generally keep up with the good habits I've developed over the past years).

PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: How to set goals and resolutions for the New Year

This post is part of the series PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: posts written for the Dutch academic career network AcademicTransfer, your go-to resource for all research positions in the Netherlands.

These posts are sponsored by AcademicTransfer, and tailored to those of you interested in pursuing a research position in the Netherlands.

If these posts raise your interest in working as a researcher in the Netherlands, even better - and feel free to fire away any questions you might have on this topic!

The beginning of the year is the moment when millions of people swear they will make this year better than before. We decide to change some of our habits, live healthier lives, become more productive and -generally- become a better version of ourselves.

The new year is associated with setting resolutions and goals, both for our personal as well as our professional lives. I myself have come a long way: originally, I never set new year's resolutions (because everybody always seems to focus on wanting to lose weight, something which is completely out of my range of interest - I don't even own a scale). A few years ago. I started to set goals and resolutions at the beginning of the year, inspired by all the productivity blogs I'm fascinated by - and I ended up making the typical rookie mistake(s): setting too many goals, and not having a focus in these goals. I ended up with my own method for setting goals, which involves a good deal of self-reflection, and which attempts at finding a balance between focusing on priorities in life and still finding space for an array of different interests.

In today's post, I'd like to walk you step by step through the process of setting achievable goals, and turning these goals into reality.

1. Review your year

Before you enthusiastically start making a list of all the things you want to achieve in the new year, I recommend you reflect on the previous year first.
If you need some inspiration for this review, you can start by replying these questions:
* What are your 10 top achievements of the last year?
* What are your 10 top failures of the last year?
* How would you summarize the past year in a single sentence?
* What do you wish you would have done in the last year, but didn't?
* What did you do in the last year, that you wish you wouldn't have spent your time on?
Alternatively, you can free-write or journal about your past year for a given amount of time, and then reread what you wrote and summarize the major points for further reference.
Once you start setting goals, you can use your list of goals at the end of the year to reflect back upon your successes and failures.

2. Analyze the different areas of your life

You can't review your year solely based on your academic performance. If you were not living under a rock for the past decade, you should know by now that your physical and mental health deeply influence your productivity and academic outcome. Therefore, I strongly suggest you carry out your annual review and set your goals based on the different categories in life. If you need some guidance, you can use the following categories:
1. Health and fitness
2. Intellectual life
3. Emotional life
4. Developing your character
5. Love relationships
6. Spiritual life
7. Parenting
8. Social life
9. Financial life
10. Career
11. Quality of life
12. Life vision
You can carry out your annual review, by thinking about each of these categories, and giving yourself a grade for each of these categories - this exercise helps you to see which areas of your life might need a little more attention in the following year.

3. Identify your priorities and values

We're not at the point yet of listing down goals and resolutions... First, I want you to think about your priorities in life, to get the correct mindset for listing your goals. Limit yourself to somewhere between 3 and 5 priorities. Again, these priorities are broader than your academic life; your career might be one of your priorities, but should not fill up your entire priority list (if that's the case, go back to step 2, and realize that your career and intellectual life, which both encompass your academic work, are just one aspect of life, and that you need to add some juice to the other categories to stay balanced).
Do not come up with more than 5 priorities - you risk spreading yourself too thin and losing focus.

Next, take some time to reflect on your personal values. Which personality traits and characteristics do you value most? What makes your heart sing? How do you want to live your life? Do this exercise to make sure that you stay close to yourself and your core, and avoid losing yourself.


4. Define your goals, based on your values and priorities

Now it's time to list your goals! Stay close to your values and priorities to identify your goals. Limit the number of goals you set for the year - you're not superhuman, and you don't want to be spending a little bit of energy on a 1000 different tasks - if you want to make a difference in your life or in the world, you'll need to pour a good amount of energy in a limited number of tasks.

I've set 15 goals for 2015 because I like the symmetry in the numbers, and I'm working on developing/strengthening two habits this year (meditating daily, and practicing the cello daily). That's already more than enough for me (and I do am someone who likes to raise the bar for myself to challenge myself to perform better and better).

5. Make a plan

Setting goals is one thing, but turning them into reality requires some planning. If you are working on building habits, such as exercising or playing an instrument, I recommend you build these activities into your schedule. You can check out this post if you want to learn more about developing a weekly template to fit in all your activities. If you want to write a certain number of journal papers during the year, set deadlines for yourself by when you want to finish each manuscript, and plan your writing accordingly. To keep an overview of your planning, you might want to use a yearlong calendar that you stick to the wall in your house and/or office, or you can use a digital calendar (I use Google Calendar). To keep track of the activities that you need to do, one by one, to reach your goal, you can use a hand-written task list (again, I recommend you put it somewhere in your house and/or office where you can actually see it, to remind yourself of your goals) or use a digital version (I use Todoist).

6. Track your progress

If you want to build better habits, it helps to track your progress, and see your chain of days in which you "did" your new habit. The longer you grow your chain of days on which you fulfilled this habit, the more of a pity it becomes to actually break this chain. You can use a paper calendar on the wall, and mark every day that you "did" your habit, or you can use one of the many apps that are geared towards this purpose (I use Lift).
Don't beat yourself up if you drop the ball somewhere during the year - we all get sick, face family emergencies and the like. Just remember that when you build good habits, it's much easier to pick them up again if you've wandered off, and if your habits are geared towards building a healthier, happier and more focused version of yourself, you will become a wee bit more resilient when you need to face hard times.

7. Find an accountability partner (or talk to yourself)

See if you can find a partner (or more partners) who share one of your goals. You can partner up with a friend who wants to get in shape, and work out together, or at least keep each other motivated by sending WhatsApp messages. You can see who else in your research group or university wants to find more time for writing, and organize a #shutupandwrite meeting once a week in your university. You might have heard this piece of advice a number of times before... What I like to do, is a technique that is slightly more geared towards the quiet among us. I, for one, enjoy the silence of working out on my own from time to time. I also find it beneficial to reflect on my days and progress at regular intervals. As such, I've come up with my "internal coach". In my journal, I reflect on my progress, and analyze what is not going very well, why things might be more behind than I would like, and think about strategies to improve the situation.

Happy New Year - may this year your most productive, most focused and most enjoyable ever!

Evaluation of my goals for 2014

At the beginning of 2014, I wrote quite an ambitious list of goals for 2014. Since I shared this list publicly, I wanted to take a moment to discuss what happened to all these goals. Somewhere in April, I already tweeted that I replaced this entire list by the simple goal of surviving the semester without passing out under a pile of homeworks-to-be-graded.

Things changed this year, life is fluid - but let's see how I did:

My academic goals for 2014 are the following:
- try a month of writing daily from 6am to 8am

Didn't happen. I ended up going to the gym in the early morning, and never did the writing-in-the-morning experiment. Maybe I'll try this out in 2015.

- start up a laboratory at the university where I'm currently employed

Yes! It's up and running in its very first stage, and we had the official opening celebration in November. The space is temporary and too small, but the lab is running great with 2 parallels of the Construction Materials Lab class that I was teaching in the Fall, thesis projects, a research project, students who are preparing for the national concrete competition, and we will also host said competition at our institution. We're on a roll!

- get involved in a bridge design project

Yes! Get prepared for pictures of this bridge as it gets built next year.

- teach awesome courses to my students

Leave out the awesome, and that's what I did: 3 courses per semester, 4 new courses this year. It's a LOT of work *__*.

- organize a science communication course

I made the syllabus, got everybody enthusiastic.... and then the authorities realized they needed me to teach civil engineering courses, because we are too few professors.

- graduate 4 thesis students

I have 1 student officially registered this Fall semester, and a few people getting ready to graduate under my supervision, but this plan has been slower than I thought.

- write a grant proposal

Didn't happen - I need to do this in 2015. I've been surfing on Delft projects, and joining projects that were thrown at me because of m knowledge, but I have been more in a reactive than in active mode in that regard.

- submit at least 6 journal papers for review (priority number 1!)

I submitted 6 new papers (2 of which got accepted in the mean time), worked on reviews of 4 papers submitted in 2013 (2 of which got accepted in the mean time). I have more papers to write about my dissertation work, and after that about the research projects I did last summer.

- learn Spanish

I didn't take an official course, I didn't work through the books I bought - but I understand what people say, and sometimes I speak a bit.

Overall: Even though I steered away from some goals, I think it's been an interesting year. My focus shifted from purely research to teaching, research, outreach and more, and I had to make quite some course correction this year to fit everything in. It's been a learning process, and given the fact that I'm adjusting and learning all this, I think it is sort of OK how I've been doing.

My health/personal goals for 2014 are the following:
- get back onto the FLO living protocol for eating and time management

Postponed to 2015....

- try a month of going to the gym daily at 6am

Yes - I've been pretty much doing this the entire Fall semester. 6am yoga classes, 6:15am weight lifting - I've been in the gym early most days. But sometimes I am tired.

- eat vegan for a month

I joined the Vegan Challenge in April, and felt amazing - so I've kept eating a "95% plant-based diet". I occasionally eat eggs when I travel when there are no other options. I'm moving away from animal-based clothing, products and all that, and replacing all my toiletries by cruelty-free versions.

- revisit the Silva course

Didn't happen, postponed to 2015.

- find friends in my new city Quito

Working on it (and as an introvert, I'm not too good at this): I am playing in a band, taking yoga classes, started a meetup group (and closed it again, but am working on finding a tribe in a different way at the moment), get along well with some of my colleagues, and hang out with my sister-in-law every now and then. But when shit hits the fan, I call my mom or friends at home, because they are really close to me, and I don't easily find people like them.

- give up refined sugar for 40 days

I'm a chocolate junkie. I eat an entire bar of chocolate a day, or more. I'll try this in 2015, but I'm scared I'll be super cranky.

- buy an apartment

Not yet - I need to be working for a year in the country, registered in social security (which I only have since January) to apply for a loan. Plus the 30% down payment they require here is a little unpleasant. And housing is surprisingly expensive here.

- exercise daily

Maximum 6 days out of 7, because I need a rest day once a week. But yes, since March, I've joined a gym, and I've been going strong.

- meditate daily

I used to meditate first thing in the morning, but that doesn't happen if I need to wake up at 5:30 am to take a class in the gym at 6 am... Other options would be to meditate before I sleep (but I always get to bed too late, especially if I want to wake up at 5:30 am the next day to go to the gym), or right when I come home from work (which would be a great way to change gears in my mind, but somehow, there's always a hungry cat, dirty litter box, mess in the kitchen or what not waiting for me when I enter the house...).

- journal daily

Moderate success: not daily, but I've been consistently journaling. I had a block in my heart and writing for a few months when my dad passed away at the end of August.

- read 60 books

I'm writing this post on the last day of November, and so far I've read 91 books this year. Maybe I'll make it to 100 books.


And for PhD Talk, I'd like to do the following:
- transform PhD Talk
- write a book
- teach a social media workshop
- write 10 guest posts for other blogs

None of this happened - with changing jobs, adjusting to Ecuador and all that, I decided I'd put my plans with PhD Talk in the fridge in the mean time.

And a few fun activities that I want to do:
- go hike in a national park

Best hike I did: hiking down to Papallacta from La Virgen, through the national park of Coca-Cayambe.

- run a race

Didn't happen... hopefully in 2015!

- play more music

Yes - I booked a seat for Mr. Cello Lantsoght on my flight from Brussels to Quito last summer, joined a band, and I've even started to study some new sheet music (something I haven't done in the last 10 years...).

- go horseriding in nature

Yes, although they kept the horse guided - so no "real" horseriding yet.

- volunteer a couple of days on an organic farm and forest-keeping project

No, that will be for 2015... I got sick so often in 2014 (salmonella and other food-borne diseases) that I shooed away from going to the Amazon rainforest until I can stomach tap water in the highlands.

- get involved with the local TEDx community

TEDxQuito took place while I was in Europe, so I didn't volunteer for the event.

- write a bundle of poems and publish them

Not a single poem... postponed to 2015!

- go for a singing weekend

No, I can't find anything like that in Ecuador - so I'm hoping to join one in Europe during the summer.

- study an NLP course

I started a self-study course, but didn't get any further than 1 video.

- climb the Cotopaxi volcano

I visited the volcano, but I still get dizzy before even reaching the refugio on the volcano from which the real climbers depart on their trek to the top.

- attend a meditation workshop

Postponed to 2015...

- do one handscraft project

I made candles with my sister-in-law a couple of times, and it was fun!

- go on a yoga weekend

I joined the Ecuador yoga festival for a weekend, and it was amazing: my first time to the beach since moving to Ecuador, and I learned so much.

- draw 7 mandalas

I drew 1 so far - the rest will be for 2015.

All in all: I needed a lot of energy for starting my new job and adjusting to a new country, and I've been working very hard. Hopefully, in 2015, I can relax a little more, explore more of the country, and spend more time doing creative work.

20 Tips for Surviving your PhD

PhD studies are the highest level of education, and the road can be frustrating and exhausting at times, but the final result (your dissertation) is at the same time a major achievement in life, and a very rewarding event.

Whenever you feel like you keep on working on the same problem, with no way out, remember that blocks and friction are simply part of the creative process that is research.

When you feel like your world is limited to your lab, your bed and the library - know that there is no shame in taking a break and refueling yourself.

In the 3,5 years of my PhD research (no coursework), I've spent about 40 to 80 hours a week on my research. Sometimes, I was in the lab from 8am to 4pm, and then making calculations for the funding organization from 4pm to 10pm. Major deadlines always tend to fall around the same time. Other times, I left the office at 5pm and spent the entire evening relaxing.

Some people say a PhD costs you a kidney and a lung, other people say it's just like a 9-to-5 job. I say, the truth is somewhere in the middle, and you have the freedom to determine how much time you really want to pour into your work. It's not a linear process, at all - and it's different for every student.

With these precautions in mind, I'd like to share with you my 20 best tips for making it through the PhD, in a time-efficient way:

1. Don't work too hard

It's a PhD, not a Nobel prize - and in this context I'd like to remind you of your sole purpose of your PhD: finding a way to answer your research question, in a novel way, showing that you are an independent researcher.
Everybody has loose ends, but if they are only remotely related to your research question, cut them out and leave them for later (or put them up as an idea for a MSc thesis student).

2. Know when you need to do some extra effort

When major deadlines collide, go into bunker-mode. Don't stay in that mode for too long, but know when you need to put in that extra effort to push things through. It's just a temporary thing, never stay bunkered or hermiting for too long.

3. Take enough breaks during the days

Don't skip your lunch break, for the love of the Flying Spaghettimonster. Browsing the internet does not count as a break. You know what I mean - get some fresh air, talk to a colleague or go and grab a coffee with a friend.

4. Make friends in your department

If you're a foreigner, befriend a local to whom you can turn for advice on the non-written rules in the society you landed in. Make friends with your fellow PhD students, and have fun together. I contribute the "success" of my PhD by and large to being in a great research group, and working closely together with the bestest lab tech and awesomest daily supervisor in history.

5. Go to conferences

If you can find funding, get out of your institution and learn from the rest of the world. Conferences have been my eye-openers, my trial-stages and the place where I made friends within the research community on my topic.

6. Reach out to the industry

Especially true for a PhD in Engineering, which will always keep at least one finger at the pulse of the problems of the World Outside. Try to go to conferences that are attended by industry players, or attend workshops/meetings/... where practitioners of your field come together.

7. Don't forget the bigger scope

When you get frustrated with a detail, remember the bigger scope, and if you're a little on the idealistic side, remember what the Greater Good of your work is: are you making sure the roads/bridges are safe (my case), or protecting baby hearts, or improving water purification? Connect to that feeling of pride and importance on being able to contribute to the greater problems of society for a meager salary.

8. Work up a sweat

After sitting all day behind my computer screen, you need to get your body tired too to be able to get a good rest at night. Try to move your body for at least 15 - 20 minutes a day; and try to find time for 3 to 4 longer workouts per week.

9. Pick up a hobby

Get a hobby that absorbs your mind fully, so that you can concentrated on something completely different than your research. The options are plenty: musical instruments are a great way to clean your mind, but gardening, handiwork, cooking,... all work equally well. Just find something that touches a *dzing* within you.

10. Get your finances sorted out

Avoid financial stress during your studies. Get a good overview of your finances, know in how much debt you will be getting over your studies (if any), and always always have an emergency fund ready in case shit hits the fan. Don't overspend. If need be, roam around in clothes from thrift stores and eat from a discount supermarket. Been there, done that, stayed out of debt.

11. Make time for your friends and family

There will be times when you bunker down and don't call anybody. But make sure you find the time to catch up with your friends and family every now and then. They are what truly matters in the end.

12. Find a routine that works for you

Nobody ever told me to come to campus early, but I've always started some time between 8am and 8:20am at the latest. Having a routine of certain evening/social activities throughout the week, designated cleaning/laundry days and batch-cooking evenings, can greatly help you at getting into a routine that makes sure you get fulfilled in all your needs.

13. Lead your own research

Become the CEO of your own research-enterprise. Take leadership of your project, and come up with ideas. Don't depend too much on your supervisors, make sure you know what to do when they are unavailable for a month or longer.

14. Present wherever you can

Practice presenting your work as often as you can, and for as many audiences as possible. Try giving a TEDx Talk, talk at an industry event and present at as many conferences as possible. Get your face out there, and practice practice practice.

15. Write, write and write some more

Write as often as you can, as much as you can, so that by the time you write your dissertation, you will have become a fluent academic writer. Writing is your single most important task, so make time for it. Practice makes perfect (or at least - experienced), so ask for ample feedback.

16. Get the right fuel

Say goodbye to grilled cheese sandwiches and instant tomato soup, and get yourself some decent food. I'm talking veggies here, as well as quality protein, some good grains and healthy fats (avocados ftw).

17. Read outside of the borders of your research topic

Read as widely around your topic as possible. Having broad peripheral knowledge has helped me in two ways: 1) by teaching me how to think out-of-the-box, and 2) by having a basic understanding of a broader field so that I can more easily follow conference presentations and have chitchat with other researchers.

18. Make time for deep work

Get a good slot of time to do your deep work, as this is the time when you get to push your project forwards. Dedicate an entire morning or afternoon to unraveling one tiny subquestion of your research question.

19. Teach and supervise students

Teaching is incredibly rewarding, and so is supervising thesis students. If you're in a program that does not comprise coursework, it's easy to get fully bunkered down into your small topic. Teaching helps you to regain a broader perspective of your field.

20. Remember why you started this PhD journey in the first place

I have my own reasons why I decided to pursue a PhD, and yours my be very different - but remind yourself from time to time why you started this in the first place. Remember the greater goals you have in mind, and know that it was your personal choice to start.

What is your best advice for surviving the PhD? What keeps you going when the going gets though?

Silver Linings: Discover your Major Strengths

Curiosity and interest in the world = traveling

Regardless of whether you are currently seeking a job and want to have a ready answer to the question "What are your major strengths?", it is never a bad idea to take time to reflect on this question.

Knowing our strengths can work as a tool to leverage these strengths and push projects forward in your unique way. It's all about honoring the unique individual, you.

Moreover, research has demonstrated the impact of using our strengths on our mood and effectiveness: knowing and using our top strengths increases our happiness.

As Caroline Miller puts it:

"We do not become happy BECAUSE we are successful, we become successful because we start in a flourishing place, and using strengths assists in getting there."

A free online tool that you can use to assess your strengths, is the VIA Survey by University of Pennsylvania. You'll need to register to use the website, and -unless my spam filter did a great job- I've not been receiving any obnoxious emails from UPenn. Sleek, great work by them - and an eye-opening test.

As a researcher, I was not too surprised about my top strengths: "Curiosity and interest in the world", and "Love of learning". The most interesting part for me, was to go over the entire list according to my results, and see the relative positions of these strengths with regard to each other. I use these results to analyze a major task at hand:

• Viewing my list from top strengths to mehs, 
• Deciding how I can contribute to this project from my unique standpoint,
• Bringing my personal spice into the solution.

So, if you can carve out 20 to 30 minutes today, give yourself the gift of self-reflection. Fill out the survey, and link it to something that you are working on.
Maybe it gives you some insight on why you are struggling with a certain aspect. Maybe it gives you a hint of how to leverage your potential to tackle a certain problem.
Certainly you will learn something.

Did you take the survey, or have you taken a similar survey in the past? What did you learn? Please share your experiences in the comments section!

Silver Linings: Kickstart Your Change

Kickstart Your Change organizes a variety of free courses through the Ruzuku course platform.

Topics range from photography, career planning to nourishing your creativity and improving your health.

The courses typically last about five days, and take about 15 minutes a day. 

For me, these courses are an excellent way to squeeze in some learning on different topics of my interest.

Most courses also feature an hour-long webinar at the end, typically at 5pm EST (I have not been able to make it for any of the webinar because of the difference in time).

You can sign up on the Kickstart your Change website, and they'll send you an alert when a new course is open for registration.

If you enjoy learning something new, I'd cordially recommend you to sign up and see when a course of your interest passes by.

So far, I've signed up for every single course that came along - but not all of them equally appealed to me. It's free, there's no obligation, so you can simply sign up and listen in to a first session to see if you find it inspiring.

Give it a try, and let me know how you like them!

Writers' Lab: 750 words versus longhand journaling

To clear out your mind, keeping a journal is a great tool.

Keeping a journal does not only bring you more peace of mind but it also has the following benefits:
- identify your worries by expressing them
- create a moment for self-reflection
- have a personal archive of thoughts
- track your progress in achieving goals
- practice writing in a different way
- by reading multiple entries, you can analyze deeper thought patterns.

I'm a long-time journal-writer. From spring until early December, I was using 750 words and it helped me developing my theoretical approach and ultimately writing my dissertation. But since late 2012, I have switched back to my longhand journal - a notebook I've been using since 2000.

As a teenager, I wrote in my journal daily. I copied the habit from my grandfather, who wrote daily for his entire life (and thus, throughout the second World War). When I went to university, I wrote less and less and eventually spaced entries by two years. Early in my PhD, I picked up the habit again to reflect on my research, and life in general.

Having used both digital and longhand journals over the past months, I have listed to pros and cons of each method, to help you chose the right method to keep up a journal.

750 words
+ This website is designed to get you writing:clean workspace, no distractions.
+ I've used 750 words to flesh out ideas and to write a brief overview of what I did during a day.
+ It's the perfect place for typing out a rant.
+ The stats are great - they help you analyze your writing.
- You're restricted to (mostly) unformatted text: you can't highlight, scribble, draw.
- You're staring at a screen, like for too many of your activities.

longhand journal
+ It's great to flip through a journal and read random entries from long ago.
+ Writing longhand makes it easier to get into the flow of writing.
+ Distractions associated with the internet are not there.
+ You can draw, highlight, use different colored pencils,..
+ I find it easier to mix up the writing: overviews of what I did, my deeper thoughts and worries, random gratitude lists, affirmations
- Writing longhand is slower than typing
- It's not in the cloud, you need to drag along a physical object when you travel.

Do you journal? Has it improved your writing, or keeping track of your goals? Share you experiences in the comments section!

Five reasons why I decided to pursue a PhD

Some time ago, I was asked why I decided to pursue a PhD, and how I got an idea of what a PhD candidate's work life looks like. In fact, I had always liked to idea of simply keeping on studying (there's always more to learn), but when I went to Georgia Tech and was in class with both MS and PhD students, I got a more realistic idea of what I could expect when deciding to pursue a doctoral degree.

Ultimately, these five reasons are the main reasons why I decided to study for a PhD, and why I enjoy my studies and research so much:

1. Curiosity

I wanted to know more, I wanted to figure out things - and for that reason, research is about the best fit possible. I was also curious to explore my own boundaries and abilities and to get off the beaten path and "work my way through the woods".

2. Intellectual freedom

Even though I do have deadlines, I still have enough time and space to spend on developing thoughts that simply seem interesting to me. Also, I dislike authority very much, and being able to work for my degree on my project in all the freedom I like, is about the most ideal work-situation for me.

3. Self-development

While pursuing my doctoral degree, I have been developing my transferable skills much more than I expected to do. I've had the opportunity to attend workshops and trainings for this goal, but I have also had the opportunities to bring into practice what I've learned from these workshops - by presenting for various audiences, traveling to conferences and juggling several smaller projects at the same time.

4. Challenge

The ultimate goal of a doctoral dissertation is to present an original contribution to your study field. To fulfill this requirement, certain intellectual boundaries have to be pushed, or -as my best friend states it- we have to reinvent hot water every day.

5. Fun

Science, and in my case experimental research, is fun. There's always an unexpected challenge (or, for the pessimists among us, a problem) which requires an original and preferable quick fix.

Blog birthday!

Yesterday was PhD talk's first birthday. One year since my first blog post, and I must say it has been a great experience.

I started off this blog to keep track of how I am doing with my resolutions (stay focused and find a work-life balance), but this blog has taken many directions. I've found a way to write about my research, what it means to do research, and many other remotely related topics.

Here's a big "Thank you" for my readers and subscribers! I never thought my writing would be read in the first place, but I'm glad to see your comments and input! Thank you all so much!

So, after a year, how am I doing with my resolutions?
1. Stay focused
Major improvements! My ability to focus and concentrate has greatly increased - partially because I have been training my concentration "muscle", but also partially because I feel more time-pressure on the different tasks I am juggling, which makes me gear up to a higher mode of concentration.

2. Work-life balance
I still spend more hours on my PhD than what you'd spend on a "normal" job, but I enjoy it a lot, and get a lot of energy and joy out of doing research - especially when I "find" something. It looks like a work-life balance to me means a large shot of work and a large shot of "life" in there, and as little "idling" time as possible. I've been working out a lot, playing music a lot, writing in my dairy, blogging, occasionally writing poems and drawing, reading Good Books, modeling, making scrapbooks, spending time in nature, spending time with my family, traveling, sleeping more and trying out new recipes (to mention a few). You might get tired by simply reading this list, but I've found that to keep going is what really fuels me. An evening in front of the TV just feels like wasted time to me.

Research-wise it has been an amazing year, too. I've started to feel confident about my research and to grow as a teacher. Currently, I'm juggling a crazy amount of different tasks - and I totally love it. Since I have a problem with authority, the freedom of academia seems to stimulate me to perform in an optimal way.

Personally, too, this past year (I was 25) has been among my top 3 favorite life-years ever (together with 23 and 17).

Halfway my PhD

Today, I'm exactly halfway the time it is supposed to take me to finish my PhD. Looking back at the past two years, and thinking of what still needs to be done, I find it hard to tell if I am on schedule, but I can say for certain that I've had a fruitful learning experience so far.

What I've done so far:
- Experiments: the largest chunk of my time has gone into preparing and carrying out experiments in the lab. In total we've done 134 tests on 31 specimens by now, and we've just started our smaller, second series of experiments.
- Reading: I've been reading technical papers and reports with an insatiable hunger for a broader knowledge. I'm nearing 500 entries into Endnote (which just looks like a fun number, but it doesn't tell you that much). What matters is that I feel that I've started to get a good overview on what we know with regard to shear in concrete and existing concrete bridges.
- Analysis: I've done the larger part of data analysis of the experiments which I have finished.
- Writing/presenting my research: I've written a few conference papers, gave some talks and am about to finish a set of research reports.
- Case studies on existing bridges: which I found very valuable - maybe mot directly for my thesis, but definitely for my general understanding of my topic.
- Teaching: I've been TA for a course for two years, and I've just seen my first MSc thesis student defend with flying colors and graduate.
- Study: Of only one course I followed the course and finished the exam. Since I have no requirement for a certain amount of credits I should obtain to get my degree, I've been mainly shopping around in some courses to learn what I directly need. I wanted to study more, but I couldn't combine it with my busy lab-schedule. Additionally, I followed some workshops and courses on skills for PhD students, which I found very helpful.

What I still need to do:
- Finish my experiments, 7 more slabs to go.
- Analysis: I'm curious to see what will come out of these new experiments
- Development of a theory: I have a few loose ideas, but I have to do it. This is still an enormous task to tackle.
- Writing: I haven't finished my literature review yet. I haven't written any chapter of my thesis at all (a thought which by times mildly distresses me). I don't have a journal paper out yet, either. Also, I want to write more conference papers.
- Teaching: keep doing and keep learning from practice.

What I've learned so far:
- Writing: When I look chronologically at the different conference papers I've written, I see progress in my own writing. I try to improve step by step.
- Organizing/Productivity: Bit by bit, I've been developing my own ways to keep all my documents and ongoing projects organized and up-and-running.My main goal now is (still) to be able to get as much out of my concentration and focus as possible.
- Teaching: If I compare the way I was TA-ing the course last year and this year, I notice that I've become much better organized and found a way which works very well for me.

It's been an interesting journey so far - and I'm really curious to see where the path will be going.

Blog post about holidays

Before I went on holiday last summer, I read this inspiring post (in Dutch) about how you can keep that "holiday feeling" a longer.

That feeling was described as:
"This feeling is associated with peace, energy, creativity, inspiration and relaxation"

This made me realize how much I actually need a holiday every now and then. As a salaried employee of my university, I am entitled 41 working days of paid leave per year (yes, that's not a typo, and that's quite common for us here).

As I had read this article before I left, I decided I would pay closer attention to how precisely I was feeling before and after my (relatively short and very full holiday).

I left completely exhausted. In fact, I fell asleep before my plane took off and slept through most of my 10 hour flight.

Now that I've been back to research for one week, I clearly noticed how taking a break positively influenced my abilities. My thinking is clearer, my attention span longer and my focus sharper. Even though I find it hard to stop and rest for a while, this should be a reminder for the upcoming (crazy-busy) months.

As a result of this, I decided I will take the recommendations of that post and put them into practice. Here's a brief summary of that advice:
- do something new once per week
- take enough breaks
- go outside
- turn off your phone/mail/twitter/facebook
- surround yourself with that holiday feeling

I'll be writing in 1 or 2 months to describe how I could savor my holiday feeling a little longer.

A personal note: I wrote my holiday was rather short (10 days) but very full. In fact, it was filled with the PhD defense of my boyfriend, my birthday, a lot of partying and our engagement.

Strengths or Challenge?

After reading (amongst others) this article about using your strengths to find your most suited path, I've spent quite some time reflecting on this issue.

The fact is, I've never made a choice based on my strengths. In fact, I've always been driven by the challenge. I've never taken the option which I thought was best suited for me, but I've always taken the most challenging option.

In high school, my favorite subjects were Latin and History. Classical studies or history would have been a logical choice of study for me, but I chose engineering because I thought it was going to be a though study, and I felt as if I needed to look for a challenge to open up my maximum potential.

Whenever I feel like I've reached the point at which I am comfortable at doing what I am doing, and I feel like I'm mastering the task or subject, I start feeling a bit restless. I feel the need to go one level up and challenge myself again.

Reading about building your life path based on your strengths sounds very logical to me, but I wonder if it doesn't deprive us of some options. The freedom to learn from your mistakes, to play around and see if we can grow in a skill which initially does not seem to be our best fit.

I've come to think that not all of it is as contradictory as it would seem at first. I now think that knowing our strengths, cherishing and nourishing them is indeed something which will make us more confident and will let us live at our full potential. Within that frame, there is still room for improving ourselves through trial and error, as long as we keep our strengths and core values in mind. I've ended up realizing that one of my main strengths is my passion for challenges.

Reflections on Lifehack's 11 things to avoid in 2011

I recently came across Lifehack's post on 11 things to avoid in 2011.

Since one of my reverb 10 prompts was about 11 things to let go of in 2011, I was quite interesting in this article... and got some ideas as well while reading it.

What especially drew my attention were the following topics on the list:

4. Assuming that you always know the entire story

You don’t. Ask more questions. Listen. Ask more questions. Give yourself an out and don’t back others into corners when you give your final answer.

Too often I interrupt, and I have the horrible habit of interrupting when someone asks me a question. I hear a key word and I start answering, and I realized it really bothers. It gives a very bad impression too, when I do this at the end of a presentation during the Q&A.
With friends and loved ones, too, I often feel the need to relate to their story to tell a similar story of something which happened to me or which I heard before. Unfortunately, that makes me sound as if I don't care and want to drag the attention towards myself.

6. Blaming anything on gender

For example: I was in an argument recently (imagine that!) and my partner in the argument forcefully uttered the remark, “typical male!” in response to something I said that was admittedly unkind (imagine that!). This created a predicament in which my subsequent apology would be not just for my comment but also for my gender. I can’t change my gender (really, not an option) so I’d be apologizing for being myself. Crazy, right? She doesn’t do that because she’s a woman. She does it because she’s an imperfect human. He doesn’t do that because he’s a man. He does it because he’s an imperfect human. Things are simpler when we approach conflict with as few stereotypes as possible.

Such an approach will change things. I promise you.

I wish gender wouldn't be so much of an issue, but it's tangibly there, all the time. I regularly feel uncomfortable just for being young and female. I shrink down when students look surprised at me, showing their disbelief that I am going to explain them something. It is as if everyone needs to have an opinion about me, before even looking at the work I actually do. It doesn't help me that I am so aware of this. I'd like to ban the idea of "what are they now thinking of me" from my head and just trust in myself and the value of my work.

10. Not asking for help

You’d be stunned if you knew just how many people are ready and willing to help you if only you’d clearly define your need and directly ask for help. Don’t ask for help like the friend who begs people to help him move but has nothing put in boxes when they show up. Ask for help like the friend who has done everything in his power to achieve and needs only that final push from a buddy to reach success. We want to be a part of your success!

One of my challenges for 2011 is to gather my courage and ask for what I need, whether that is help, input of ideas or the permission to present somewhere. We have a saying, which, translated, would be something like "No you always have, yes you can get." I'll try to live by that a bit more, and let go of my fear to disturb or upset someone.

Reflecting on Reverb10

I just went over my Reverb10 posts again, as suggested by the day 31 prompt.

One thing I've noticed is that I've started to allow myself to write about different topics. Initially I started this blog to share what I've learned so far while doing my PhD, and quite soon I started writing about how I experience the process of doing a PhD, and how this effects my life. For that reason, I needed to turn to a more personal style of writing and open up some more of my personal life into this blog.

Another thing I've noticed, is that I seemed to be writing shorter posts towards the end of the challenge. This might be because I wanted to finish up the challenge because I took a few weeks off. However, I think the most important reason is that I made the most important discoveries about the past year while writing out the first prompts. I spent a fair amount of time reflecting and thinking about the first prompts before I started writing about these, and by the time I reached the later prompts, I felt like I was mostly repeating myself.

In general I can conclude with the following observations which I made while rereading these posts:

1. I've gathered the necessary tools.

I've attended all possible trainings and workshops over the past year, and I worked myself through a massive amount of self-development and life-hacking blog posts. I've learned a lot through all of this, and I've been brewing my own success potion out of it (as for now, recipe is subject to change ;) ). With all these tools within my reach, I feel that I am now much more able to tack the difficult tasks ahead.

2. I've gained an active attitude.

2010 clearly was the year in which I started to take matters into my own hands and push my project forward. I might have been pushing with all my energy but in a random direction, but at least I've found myself bustling with energy. In the first few months of my PhD I was not sure of what was actually expected from me, and I was too passive. Now that I see my project as entirely my responsibility, with the highly appreciated input of my supervisors, I feel much more in charge and much more motivated.

3. Creativity is part of myself...

... and I need to make time for it. I have no idea about how my brain actually works, but I want to try out to see what happens if I allow more time for creativity in my life. I expect that creativity will grow on me again like a certain habit, and that I will find it easier to come up with creative ideas in my research.

4. I should trust myself.

Even though I have started to learn to right skills and know how to improve, I sometimes doubt and find myself overthinking situations and fearing all possible failures. I should just trust in what I've learned, and that I really know what I am doing since I am the expert of my very own topic. This is a point for improvement and I will work on this in 2011.

5. New year's resolutions

-> Focus and concentrate:
I need to get up from my office and go out for a walk, I should train my focus by meditation and mindfulness and I should try not to be so easily distracted anymore.

-> Communicate more clearly:
I need to learn how to convey my message in a clear and direct way, avoiding all the strange constructions I typically use in order to sound polite, while actually obscuring my key point. I also want to let go of the fear to go and ask for something. Getting a "no" is really not the end of the world.

-> Cultivate the creativity habit
By taking more time to play music and write, I want to train my mind to think out of the box more often and come up with original ideas.

Overall, I can conclude by writing that I am very grateful of participating in the Reverb1 project. Usually I never reflect on my past year, don't make resolutions and just let everything the way it was. I hope this challenge and reflection will help me work on achieving my goals.

Reverb10 - Day 31: Core story

December 31 – Core Story

What central story is at the core of you, and how do you share it with the world? (Bonus: Consider your reflections from this month. Look through them to discover a thread you may not have noticed until today.)

(Author: Molly O’Neill)

Smile, and the world will smile at you

In other words: think positive.

I try to always think positive and take the challenges which are on my way, although I am often confronted with my own thoughts of fear and doubt.

I try to share some sunshine with the people around me, knowing that if they feel warm and supported, I too will feel warm and happy.

Look at the beauty of the world, the joy of every day's little indulgences.

I remember that in secondary school, we had to stick some paper to our backs and have our class mates write what they think about you and your strengths on it. One of them wrote: "enjoying life at the fullest." I was the student who would open to windows to enjoy a little bit of sunshine during class, who would close her eyes and smile because the spring sun is shining on our faces during lunch break. And that characteristic has always been with me, but it has been pushed to the background the past few years.

I hope that, now that I realize this, I can bring this ability back and enjoy every little reason to smile.

Reverb10 - Day 30: Gift

December 30 – Gift

Prompt: Gift. This month, gifts and gift-giving can seem inescapable. What’s the most memorable gift, tangible or emotional, you received this year?

(Author: Holly Root)

Another hard prompt for me. I am inclined to immediately pick an emotional gift, since these have the largest impact on me. The continuous love and support of my boyfriend, family and friends are the ground in which I am rooted. But a gift itself should be more defined, a more precise moment or action.

I received beautiful presents on all occasions during the past year, which I all cherish very much.

Other than that, I find it very hard to pick the best gift out of all these.

Reverb10 - Day 29: Defining moment

December 29 – Defining Moment

Describe a defining moment or series of events that has affected your life this year.

(Author: Kathryn Fitzmaurice)

My confidence has grown this year over a series of events.

1. I moved to a much nicer place, which makes me feel much happier and relaxed.

2. I had to opportunity to present my research a few times, and I received some encouraging feedback

3. My supervisors suggested that I start writing a journal paper.

Number 2 and 3 filled me with a mixture of fear (I hope this won't go wrong) and excitement (Awesome! I really want to do this). I've put the fear to the background and have drawn the card of the challenge, which made my confidence grow after each little success.

Reverb10 - Day 28: Achieve

December 28 – Achieve

What’s the thing you most want to achieve next year? How do you imagine you’ll feel when you get it? Free? Happy? Complete? Blissful? Write that feeling down. Then, brainstorm 10 things you can do, or 10 new thoughts you can think, in order to experience that feeling today.

(Author: Tara Sophia Mohr)

I want to learn how to concentrate and focus better

With so many distractions around, and juggling several major tasks at the same time (series of experiments, writing papers, preparing conferences, supervising students, random people showing up at my door), I find it very hard to actually turn away from the world and concentrate on one single task.

Even on moments when I am with my office door closed, and no appointments coming up within the next few hours, I still feel my thoughts going all over the place. I am doing one task, the another task comes into my mind, then I open a folder on my computer to do something, think of something else and note it down, and by the time I turn back to my screen I've forgotten why I actually opened that folder.

I would really love to learn how to silence all the background noise in my head (all advice is greatly appreciated) and work straight on with a single task. It is possible, sometimes I feel I am totally "in" my task and don't notice my surroundings and random thoughts. But those moments are very rare.

I imagine that by achieving this goal, I will feel calm, less stressed and in control. I hopefully will make better progress, and as a result, I will feel satisfied with my efforts.

Ten things to do and thoughts to think to feel calm are the following.


1. Meditate

One of my new year's resolutions (which I am still making, and for which I will make a certain set of goals) is to pick up meditation again. Training my mind to focus will help me concentrate on my work more as well, I hope.

2. Practice mindfulness

In the PhD training course which I am taking, we practice mindfulness exercises every meeting. It has a great effect on me. Still, I feel the need to learn more about it, actually get a book to work with. I'll combine this with my meditation efforts.

3. Do not act out of fear

Too often I feel I am being held back by the fear of "doing something wrong" or "being seen as stupid" or "being considered impolite" or "being too demanding". As a result, I end up sitting in my office, thinking about all random possible other solutions, and feeling stressed out. Once I start to retrace why I am not just getting up from my chair, knock the right door and get on with it, I can trace the fear hidden behind my actions.

4. Sleep, exercise and eat healthy food

Mens sana in corpore sano. I can't concentrate and feel all calm and focused when I am feeling tired due to a lack of sleep, an overdose of sugar or a lack of exercise. I too often cut back on all these though, because I try to fit too many activities into one day.

5. Prioritize

Knowing what is the most important thing to be working on at a certain time, and more precisely: knowing what is my most important thing to be finished at a given day, makes me feel more calm. I know what is most important, and which other tasks need to be sent to the background.

6. Eliminate distractions

I find it still very hard to concentrate on something, while I am expecting a reply e-mail or when all kinds of alerts start popping up onto my computer screen. In the bast case, I just can switch off my computer screen and work with pen and paper on my desk. But the amount of time I can do this before I return to my screen to quickly check when it will rain or whether my e-mail was replied, is deplorably short.

7. Let go of perfectionism

It takes me so much energy in trying to be perfect and have every detail completely finished and polished before I show it to someone else. I will feel much calmer if some day I can let go of this.

8. Spend time on reflecting about goals

Knowing how I am progressing and seeing the little successes along the way, while keeping in mind the bigger picture, will help me to feel more calm. With a clear planning and list of goals, I can see how much I have already done and what is still left to be done. It gives me a less biased overview of my real progress.

9. Celebrate successes

I need to stop and celebrate whenever I reach a milestone. Too often I just think "Alright, this is done, let's rush on to the next task", while it would give me some peace of mind to realize that I've actually completed an important step forward.

10. Stop trying to please everyone

Hard one, but a lot of what I have going on in my head are small tasks I need to do to help someone else out. Too often, I also worry what others think of me, which takes a lot of my energy. I actually only want to care about what my loved ones think of me, and how I can nourish these relations.

Reverb10 - Day 27: Ordinary Joy

December 27 – Ordinary Joy

Our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments. What was one of your most joyful ordinary moments this year?

(Author: Brené Brown)

1. biking around

After adjusting to the actual biking and building up some stamina, I've noticed that I really started to enjoy my bike rides. On pleasant spring days, I've been biking around, enjoying the mild weather, while getting some exercise and being able to sort out my mind.

2. sleeping early, waking refreshed

I've come a long way since the days when I used to feel awesome when I'd go to bed at 6 am. Nowadays, I enjoy the days when I can sleep at 10pm (those very rare days), and wake up in the morning feeling all refreshed. I often want to put too many activities into my day schedule, and end up cutting back on sleep. As a result, the next day, I'll be fighting my afternoon dip, trying to stay awake and not progressing as fast as I would like to.

I started to note down the hour at which I go to sleep two days ago, hoping this will encourage me to go to bed before 11pm (so I get my 8 hours of sleep).

Reverb10 - Day 25: Photo

December 25 – Photo – a present to yourself

Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.

(Author: Tracey Clark)

I both like and dislike this prompt. It makes me mostly doubt whether I want to have a picture of me here or not, and what kind of picture it should be. I often feel that I don't look like the serious engineer I would like to be, and feel that certain people don't take me serious.

Recently, though, I started to realize that it doesn't really matter how people judge me based on their first impression. All I can do is to try and prove them wrong by showing what I've done and what I am doing.

Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.

Picture taken by Synart, close to Barendrecht, the Netherlands.

The picture was taken without me noticing it. We had taken some pictures of me standing in the river, and while I was coming out and I was talking, this picture was taken. It shows me in nature (which I enjoy so much), smiling (which I do a lot and enjoy a lot) and talking gently to the photographer.