I am Anna Clemens, and This is How I Work

Today, I am interviewing Dr. Anna Clemens. Anna is a scientific writing coach and editor with a PhD in chemistry/materials science. She helps scientists to write better papers and grant proposals in less time and regularly blogs about scientific writing. She’s passionate about making academia a better place to work and helping scientists to succeed in their career. In her spare time, she writes her own articles for popular science magazines, such as »Spektrum der Wissenschaft« and »Scientific American«, and goes on hiking trips with her dog Zuza. You can connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn or reach out by email: edit_at_annaclemens.com

Current Job: Scientific Writing Coach & Editor
Current Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Current mobile device: Samsung S6 (I tend to adopt my friends’ old devices they aren’t using anymore 😊)
Current computer: Dell XPS 13

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I help scientists to write papers for high-impact journals and grant proposals that get funded, and my services are ideal for new principal investigators (e.g. Assistant and Junior Professors). I focus on using the concept of storytelling to help my clients to write scientific articles and funding applications that are clear, concise and accessible to broad audiences.

I’m also a science writer and I try to write a few articles per year for popular science magazines.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
Oh, I have to admit I love productivity apps! BUT: I force myself to use as few as possible. I found that in order to be productive it’s a lot more essential to create systems that work for you instead of spending time learning new tools or feeding them with data.

As for the software and apps I currently use, I mainly rely on Microsoft Office products: To review and edit my clients’ papers and proposal, I use Word – the commenting and track-changes functions are crucial! I also use Outlook for email, calendar and task lists – it’s an incredibly powerful piece of software although admittedly it doesn’t look very good and isn’t very user-friendly. And I keep many of my lists and other spreadsheets I need in Excel.
To meet my clients in strategy sessions, I use a video conference software called Zoom, which I’m a big fan of. You can easily share screens and record the sessions and the video and audio quality is high.

When I have larger projects, e.g. when I’m writing an article, I like to use Trello – both as a project management tool and to keep track of information I read.

I also use the note-taking app on my phone quite a lot when I’m on the go. For example, I keep a list there with books I want to read, topic ideas I get for upcoming blog posts, and notes when I’m listening to an audio book while out walking with my dog.

What does your workspace setup look like?
I have a home office. And (despite what you usually hear people say) it works really well for me! Once or twice a week I go to a café for a few hours if I need a change of scenery. I like to meet friends to co-work too or go to a co-working space. That’s also a great opportunity for me to network.



What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Can I offer three? 😊
The first (and most important one) would be to reflect on what works for you and start tweaking your work habits from there. If writing daily doesn’t work for you, don’t force yourself to do it. If you aren’t a morning person, don’t set your alarm for 5am. Find out instead when and under which circumstances you work well and go from there. I know from my own experience that it can be incredibly hard to break free from the norms around e.g. working early in the day and in your office. But it’s worth it!

The second one would be to make sure that what you spend your time doing every day is aligned with your overall goals. It’s easy as an academic to get stuck in admin tasks and departmental meetings while what’s actually moving your career forward would be discussing data with your lab members, publishing papers and winning grants.

And my third piece of advice is: Theme your days! If you know that you’re doing all admin tasks on a Friday, you don’t need to stress (or even think) about them on a Monday or Wednesday. And conversely, if Monday and Tuesday are your writing days, protect them and don’t schedule any meetings then. This approach has made such a difference for my productivity!

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
Here’s my system: Every week on a Friday, I look at my calendar for the upcoming week and my task list. Based on this, I create to-do lists for each day of the week. At the end of each day, I review and adjust the list for the next day.
I like using pen and paper for these daily lists – checking off items is more fun this way 😊 I also keep some space there for notes and thoughts that come up during the day. Once it’s Friday, I review all those notes, and either take action or file them in the appropriate place, e.g. as a task in my general task list.

If I need to keep track on the progress of bigger projects, I use Trello in parallel.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
I have an eBook reader but that’s it.

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
Writing (perhaps not so surprisingly) 😊

What do you listen to when you work?
The snoring of my dog 😃 All joking aside, I need it to be quiet when I’m editing or reviewing a client’s paper or proposal. When I’m doing tasks that don’t require such focus, I like to listen to music – for example to a German radio station called “byte.fm” to check out indie pop/rock music that has been released.

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
I’m currently reading “Why we sleep” by Matthew Walker (as an audio book) and “The people in the trees” by Hanya Yanagihara. I like both! I read the most when I travel but am now trying to read at least half an hour before going to bed. Listening to audio books is easier for me because I’m out walking with my dog a lot. Apart from audiobooks I also listen to a ton of podcasts.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
I’m an introvert – in the meaning of that I recharge when I’m on my own. I still like to socialise and am generally not shy around people, but it takes energy from me. This is probably why it suits me so well to work from home on my own – I feel like this way I can be the most productive.

What's your sleep routine like?
Since starting to read “Why we sleep” (see my answer to question #9), I’ve realised how important sleep is and that’s why I’ve started to prioritise it. I go to bed somewhere around 10-12pm and don’t set an alarm for the next morning. I typically wake up at 7:30am on my own.

What's your work routine like?
I’m a big proponent of working fewer hours and using them as productively as possible. I typically work for six hours every day – from midday until 6PM. I have quite an extensive morning routine that includes journaling, learning a language (currently Czech), meditating and exercise. I also do any household chores in the mornings and walk, play with and train my dog.

What's the best advice you ever received?
Trust yourself!

I am Ayesha Scott, and This is How I Work

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Ayesha Scott. Dr Scott joined the AUT Business School, Finance Department in October 2016. She obtained her PhD in Financial Econometrics in July 2016 from Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia, and has undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Finance. She is an interdisciplinary researcher, with an agenda that spans violence against women, empirical finance, personal finance and financial econometrics. Her work (particularly on KiwiSaver and personal finance) has generated media interest within Aotearoa New Zealand, and you will find her commentary in outlets such as the NZ Herald and stuff.co.nz. Passionate about healthy financial relationships, Ayesha has ongoing projects exploring the impact of financial and economic abuse in the context of intimate partnerships. This is a critical social issue that must be addressed in NZ and internationally, and her current work aims to give voice to women facing this evasive, invasive and poorly understood form of intimate partner violence.
Ayesha is also interested in the personal financial literacy and capability of New Zealanders, including vulnerable populations, and how we might improve the financial fitness of individuals. Poor financial literacy (knowledge of financial concepts) and capability (the ability to use that knowledge to make better decisions) has a significantly negative social and economic impact on a nation, both in terms of the macro economy and individual welfare.

Broadly, her doctoral research focused on the volatility and correlation dynamics of financial assets such as stocks. The near-continuous flow of price and trade data of financial assets presents researchers with opportunities, as well as unique challenges, to capture the return dynamics of these assets individually and as a group. Such models may lead to insights regarding optimal portfolio allocation decisions, information that will directly benefit investors.”

General:
Current Job: Senior Lecturer – Finance (equivalent of Associate Professor in the US system) at Auckland University of Technology
Current Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Current mobile device: Samsung J-series – don’t ask me what model. Not the most recent one!
Current computer: Work provided HP Elitebook

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I am a permanent academic faculty member (equivalent of a tenured Associate Prof in the US system), mother of two children (7 and 5 years old – yes, I had them during my PhD) and my husband is the primary carer. My secret weapon is without doubt the support of my husband, who works part-time at the kids’ school, and is otherwise a stay-at-home dad.

My research is eclectic. I have projects spanning intimate partner violence, personal finance, empirical finance, corporate finance…the project closest to my heart is financial violence, which is the use of money as a weapon against a romantic partner. Predominantly gender-based violence, financial and economic abuse (financial violence) has devastating consequences on families, and my work is focussed on theorising solutions, raising awareness and telling the stories of survivors.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
For planning (aka keeping ALL the balls in the air): My bullet journal and Microsoft Outlook calendar
For writing: Word or Scrivener, depending on the project and team
For storage: OneDrive/Dropbox, depending on the collaborator
For data analysis: Matlab, Stata or NVivo, depending on the project
For music: Spotify

What does your workspace setup look like?
Ha! Messy! I am in a perpetual state of flux for this one. I do the work primarily from my office on campus (photo below), because I adore having a double monitor with the option of a third if I open my laptop screen (in the photo this is being used as additional desk space). What you can’t see is the bed, couch and home office I work from at home, the yoga mat in my campus office when I want to lie down and read, or the pile of random paper on a chair behind my desk chair that is my quick version of ‘tidying’ my desk. This ‘tidying’ helps my desk stay relatively operational, and I can’t see the mess 😉
The wall behind my computer monitor is covered in art from my kids, photos of those kids, thank you cards and inspirational quotes.



What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Do what you love. I have been extremely fortunate to land in a department at a university in a country that supports research that matters, and I have been able to transition from a solely quantitative researcher (my PhD is in Financial Econometrics) to a qualitative researcher focusing on personal finance and financial violence in romantic relationships. In an environment where everything we do is judged (students grade our teaching, peers review our research) and we face a ton of critique and rejection, it makes productivity much easier when you believe in the work you are doing.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
Lists, both handwritten and digital – I keep a bullet journal and schedule EVERYTHING in my calendar. As I go through my day, I update my calendar to reflect how long tasks actually take so I can adjust my expectations in the future. In terms of longer-term goals, I set weekly goals that build toward my semester/quarterly goals.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
I use a dictaphone if the words/ideas aren’t flowing and firmly believe when typing and talking don’t work, a pen and paper will help. An external hard drive automatically backs up my work while I’m sitting at my office desk.

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
I would love to put “professional dot connector” on my CV! Seriously, I enjoy building quality relationships with people and believe this is a skill that allows me to work efficiently and effectively across teaching, research and service.

8. What do you listen to when you work?
Spotify’s Morning Motivation playlist gets me through admin tasks, email and teaching prep, if I’m writing then something instrumental. I do try to branch out occasionally, but quickly realise I am a creature of habit! If I’m working on something in particular, I have been known to play one song on repeat.

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
I have been on a personal development binge this year, and just finished Atomic Habits by James Clear and The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll. I rarely read one book at a time, I have at least two on the go at any one time. In terms of finding time, I have prioritised my mental health this year and part of that is making myself read non-academic work. I listen to audio books on my walk to work (30 minutes) and read before I go to sleep.
In terms of fiction, I adore romance novels – these tend to be quick reads for me and are pure escapism.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
I’m an omnivert, for sure, meaning I am 50/50 and it depends on the situation, but as I get older I am becoming more introverted. I teach on large courses, meaning in a given week 650 undergrad students have access to me, not including my teaching team and postgraduate students. To protect my energy, I either wake up early and leave the house before my kids are up and about, or sleep in and cuddle them until we all have to get moving. Whichever happens, the first two hours of my day has to have quiet!

What's your sleep routine like?
I aim for 8 hours and probably get 7.5 on average. I really like getting to sleep before 10 pm and try to wake early (before 6 am), but this is a continual work in progress…I don’t make myself get out of bed before 7 if I’ve had a rubbish sleep, unless I have an appointment early.

What's your work routine like?
Coffee (yes, this is work!), check in with my bullet journal, research if a non-teaching day, teaching prep or meetings if a teaching day – I would love to be one of these people who doesn’t check email until 12noon, but it is unrealistic for me as I have things crop up organically that can take a day in a different direction (research students are great for needing help at random times – and I have an open door policy). I also don’t try to force myself to work on a project if I simply am not feeling it, my energy is sometimes best directed at something different.
I do try to lump my meetings onto teaching days, to try and retain big chunks of time for research days that are flexible. Not always possible, but I try!

What's the best advice you ever received?
That academia is the best job in the world – use the flexibility to your advantage. I’m not sure I do this as well as I could, but it is something I am striving for.

I am Jack Whitter-Jones, and This is How I Work

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Jack Whitter-Jones. Jack is a PhD Student and part time lecturer at the University of South Wales, where he researches Security Operations which encompasses Cyber Security, Machine Learning and Automation. During term time you can find Jack teaching secure web programming and application security, all of which revolve around the wonderful programming language PHP. While a PhD takes up a substantial amount of time, Jack is currently one of three organisers of BSides Cymru which is the first security conference in Wales. With any remaining down time he may have, he also carries out independent security research focusing on programming, machine learning, reverse engineering and general security topics, all of which can be found at his blog.

General
Current Job: PhD Student/Part-Time lecturer
Current Location: University of South Wales
Current mobile device: Android
Current computer: Macbook Pro

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I am a PhD Student in the brilliant University of South Wales, where my field of research focuses on Security Operations within Cyber Security. The overall aim of my PhD is to use automation and machine learning to improve log analysis as to help reduce stress of cyber operators in their daily operations.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
My Macbook Pro, Mendeley, Visio, Word, Emacs, a Desktop and four screens

What does your workspace setup look like?
I am provided a wonderful desk which holds all the screens that can fit under the sun. Along with two plants and a great desk lamp, that has different modes to reduce the constant white light.

What is your best advice for productive academic work?
The best advice that I have been given is by my supervisor - take breaks regularly. A week long break is better than trying to force yourself out of a slump or writers block, which is going to demotivate or set you back by four weeks.
The best advice that I have learnt is, talk to your co-workers and reach out to people within your field. Everyone wants to talk about research and all the cool things that go along with it.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
Regular meetings with my supervision team and also employ a project management style to your workload (they were made for this reason).

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
Looking at your phone or computer can be tiresome when reading long pdfs and can tether you to your desk. A kindle is the perfect device to go outside and do research.

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
It isn’t much of a skill, more so a willingness to speak to anyone, as a PhD can be a lonely experience at times. Speaking to people in your daily life will help with motivation, happiness, building a support network and you meet lots of interesting people along the way.

What do you listen to when you work?
Metal, trance and songs from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
Currently, I am reading: A Guide to Effective Studying and Learning: Practical Strategies from the Science of Learning.

What's your sleep routine like?
I try and get as much as I can, knowing that the end of my PhD is going to be long. But I would recommend anyone that is interested in sleep to check out Matthew Walker.

What's the best advice you ever received?
Don’t be afraid to ask for help or say you don’t know something.

I am Zaira Arvelo, and This is How I Work

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Zaira R. Arvelo Alicea. Zaira told me the following about herself: "Life was also thrilling before becoming a small business owner. I had served as teaching assistant, online curriculum developer, and research assistant at Purdue University and the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez for around 8 years. In addition, I had worked as assistant professor at the English Department’s Teacher Preparation program at the University of Puerto Rico in Aguadilla for 4 years. All in all, I had accumulated more than a decade of academic publishing, presenting, and grant writing/managing. You could say I had mastered the academic genres coveted by scientific journals and major organizations related to Literacy and Language, my specialty area. But I had SO much more to learn about how the real world communicates, how to reach wider audiences, communicate in lay terms, and connect with non academics. That’s what I’m here to do: help others with their oral and written communication bringing insight from academia and the business world. The mission of Professional Writing and Development is to use language and training to connect people to their goals. I provide writing, style and grammar editing, as well as English-Spanish translation services for academics, professionals, and small to medium sized businesses. Plus, I facilitate online and face-to-face English and professional communication training for busy people. Simply put, I can be your alley and personal editor in dissertation work, manuscripts, professional site, among others."

General:
Current Job: Proprietor
Current Location: Puerto Rico
Current mobile device: Android
Current computer: Chromebook and Windows Desktop

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I am a former full time adjunct assistant professor of English at the University of Puerto Rico’s Teacher Preparation Program who now owns a small business specializing in language services and training. My research has centered on the intersection of literacy and social skills. My research background is in mixed methods research in education.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
As an academic and researcher the Microsoft Office Suite, Zotero Plugin, and research software like Nvivo in a powerful computer were a must. As a business owner, my mobile and Chromebook are my weapons of choice. I need access to my business data 24/7 and the long lasting battery provided by this light laptop. Because I can work from anywhere, I prefer using the Google Suite as it syncs across devices. Since I host a YouTube channel where I teach English pronunciation, I still need a powerful desktop from which to run open access software like OpenShot and Audacity. I also rely on a GoPro, and a desk microphone with amplifier. I have an automated electronic store operated with WooCommerce, a blog in WordPress, and a newsletter with MailChimp.

What does your workspace setup look like?
I used to have a neat setup at my former home office until the wall of 6 feet of water brought by hurricane María drowned it all. Now, I alternate between different spaces in a 1 bedroom apartment. I have a tall bar area where I work from my laptop standing up, a yoga ball and folding table in front of a large glass window where I sit, and a dorm like wooden desk where I keep my PC and recording equipment.

What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Scheduling and setting boundaries. Take time to separate spots (or blocks) to work towards writing goals, teaching prep, grading, etc. Establish healthy boundaries like no more committee work, no more than x amount of credits, no work or emails during the weekends. Reward yourself for each small victory. No one is going to do it for you.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
I used color coded Google Calendar entries, spreadsheets with road maps and red, yellow, green for task status, digital protocols and marketing plans where again I color code the progress of campaigns or products. I also love having interactive checklists like those provided by Google Keep.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
Yes, GoPro, desk microphone, and lapel mic for on the road recording.

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
Versatility to think like an academic but speak and write like a real-world person.

What do you listen to when you work?
Ha! Anything from new age to cumbia and rock del patio in English and Spanish.

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
Mostly online mainstream news outlets being that I am in Puerto Rico witnessing an unprecedented social and political movement.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
Extrovert. I can work from anywhere and accept these new challenges of owning a business. Unexpected yet crucial tasks pop up every other day and must be solved nearly immediately. Sometimes they include reaching out to lawyers and accountants, other times they entail doing a pitch with a very tight notice.

What's your sleep routine like?
I NEVER pulled all nighters as an academic. My six to eight hours of sleep are sacred. If broken, is certainly not for academic work but for my business or nonprofit contributions.

What's your work routine like?
Depends on the month and the week. I cater to varied audiences and each one has high and low seasons. For example, March is dissertation season with graduate students and there’s lots of editing to be done. November is admission season and undergrads need mentoring in their documentation package. December is seasonal job palooza and mainstream clients need help with their professional documentation.

What's the best advice you ever received?
Always ask “Why me?” when prompted to do voluntary work. And follow up with “Who else have you approached?”. As a Latina scholar, you need to make sure it is your expertise and not your ethnic background they want.

I am Hanan Hindy, and This is How I Work

Today, I have the pleasure of inviting Hanan Hindy in the "How I Work" series. Hanan is a second-year PhD student in the Division of Cyber-Security at Abertay University, Scotland, UK. Her research focuses on Deep Learning usage for Cyber-Security, specifically Intrusion Detection Systems. Hanan holds a bachelor with honours (2012) and a masters (2016) degree in Computer Science from the Faculty of Computer and Information Sciences at Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. In addition to her research, Hanan has five year teaching experience at various levels and prides herself in helping students explore new subjects in computer science. Check her website here.

General:
Current Job: PhD Student, Division of Cyber-Security, Abertay University
Current Location: Dundee, Scotland
Current mobile device: iPhone 8
Current computer: Dell XPS

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I am currently a second year full-time PhD student at Abertay University. I am working on how Machine Learning (ML) can be utilised for building Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS). I am interested in applying new ML techniques to special-purpose networks IDS (i.e. IoT, SCADA, etc.) and how they are different from general-purpose ones.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
Python, LaTeX/Overleaf, Email and Calendar app (currently Outlook), GoogleDrive and a Web browser, of course!

What does your workspace setup look like?
I usually have my laptop side-by-side with my notebook(s) and different colour pens and highlighters. Sometimes I use colour-codes but just using different pens help me concentrate. My headphone is a plus.
I tend to work from the University Graduate School office.



What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Keeping a work routine, not in a bad way but fixing working hours, breaks, etc. I strongly believe in this quote "Long-term consistency trumps short term intensity"

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
To-do list, sometimes pen and paper (it feels good to strike off things that are finished)

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
Generally, perseverance that is led by the motivation of having an impact.
In terms of teaching, having the ability to communicate the same piece of information to different learning styles.

What do you listen to when you work?
It depends, sometimes silence is the key to concentration but my playlist has a variety of classical and instrumental music. When I miss home, I either listen to an Egyptian radio stream or Arabic hymns.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert?
A mix of both, I think; which is helpful to keep going. My introvert side helps me stay focused and get the work done with minimal distractions, while my extrovert side recharges my energy and keeps my sanity.

What's your sleep routine like?
I don't have a fixed routine, but I don’t sleep before midnight and usually wake-up by 8.

What's your work routine like?
I work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I tend not to work over weekends, however, when I’m too excited to finish something I do work late evenings and/or weekends.

What's the best advice you ever received?
Appreciate your smallest achievements

I am Clayton Mansel, and This is How I Work

Today, I am interviewing Clayton Mansel, an undergraduate student in molecular biology, in the "How I Work" series. Next summer, he plans to apply to MD/PhD programs and pursue a career as a pediatric neurologist. He's also a writer at student-scientist.com where he writes about the tools he uses, his experience as a budding scientist, and science in general. In his free time, Clayton enjoys reading, photography, and playing the french horn.

Current Job: Student
Current Location: Kansas City, MO
Current mobile device: iPhone 7
Current computer: MacBook Pro 13 inch

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I go to school at a small liberal arts college where I have the opportunity to lead research projects on my own. In the lab, I study the molecular mechanisms of tributyltin-mediated neurodegeneration in mouse enteric neurons.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
There are so many! On my Mac, I use DEVONthink as an ‘everything bucket’ where I store all types of files and organize them using folders and tags. My favorite feature is that it automatically makes every PDF (e.g., research articles) fully searchable and uses AI to categorize and contextualize them. For writing papers, MindNode 6 is my must-have app where I take notes, organize my thoughts, and build a mind map for my paper. For collaboration, Notion has proven to be crucial to my lab’s workflow as we organize our tasks and lab calendar.

What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Find long chunks of time for focus without distractions. For me, it usually takes 30 min without distractions before I even begin to be productive and do meaningful work. Cal Newport wrote about this in his book ‘Deep Work’.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
I use Things 3 to organize my tasks and projects. But often I will also just write a little ‘hit list’ at the end of the day on sticky note and stick it to my computer monitor to remind me of my next steps the next day. For long term goals and my mission/values, I use Notion which gives me a blank slate to think carefully about what I am doing and where I am going.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
I use an iPad Pro that my school gives every student. I really enjoy it for taking digital notes and reading/marking up PDFs. I also use apps like Concepts which provides an infinite canvas—great for brainstorming. I think the iPad is a great companion device for students, but still not as important as a phone and computer.

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
My ability to use technology to make myself more efficient and effective. I have learned over the years how to make technology work for me, not against me, and that is something that has differentiated myself as an academic. As one example, I took the time to learn every feature in Apple’s excellent Keynote (like powerpoint) application, and now when I do presentations, people are always impressed and engaged and ask me how I made certain elements. When it comes to technology, I am usually one step ahead of everyone. (Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about math and statistics!)

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
I am currently reading ‘Economics for the Common Good’ by Nobel Prize winner Jean Tirole. To find the time, I use a Kindle and the Kindle app because I believe it greatly reduces the friction to reading. With the Kindle, I can highlight and take notes and purchase and download new books in seconds. I put the Kindle app on the home screen of my iPhone, and whenever I have a few minutes, I’ll just pull out whichever book I’m reading and my progress is automatically synced across devices. One of my favorite facts is that reading just 30 minutes a day equates to over 1,000 books read in an average person’s lifetime—I want to die having read 1,000 books!

What's the best advice you ever received?
I don’t know about best ever received, but advice that has really helped me this summer was ‘you can’t do anything wrong’. This advice has really given me the confidence to try new things at the bench and take risks in my research. Mistakes are completely fine and pave the way to success.

I am Munirah Al Ajlan, and This is How I Work

Today, I am interviewing Munirah Al Ajlan for the "How I Work" series. Munirah is an English Language Instructor in the College of Engineering and Petroleum in Kuwait University. She holds an MA in Applied Linguistics from University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and recently finished her PhD in Sociolinguistics from King’s College London. Her research interest falls into linguistics, sociolinguistic, and STEM, specifically engineering. Munirah has presented and published in both local and international conferences/ and proceedings.

General: I am an English Language Instructor at Kuwait University. I have just finished my PhD in Sociolinguistics from King’s College London. I am currently working on few research projects and studies concerning engineering, education, linguistics, and culture.
Current Job: English Language Instructor, College of Engineering and Petroleum, Kuwait University
Current Location: Kuwait
Current mobile device: IPhone
Current computer: Mac

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I have just moved back to Kuwait after spending five years working on my PhD in London. I am currently teaching English for Specific Purposes to Engineering students in Kuwait. My PhD research investigates women studying engineering, their stories, their gender, and how they navigate their identities in a taken for granted male dominated field.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
I enjoy working on researches, specially the ones that are directly related to my workplace and interests. For researching purposes for example, I have used SPSS in my Master research. However, this tool deals with quantitative analysis. I tried, for my PhD research, to focus on qualitative data rather than quantitative as it yields fruitful results. I mainly used Nvivo as main software for my research.
For teaching purposes, I definitely use my laptop in classroom. I believe that technology in teaching language, and teaching in general is essential. I prepare my material on slides using pictures, videos, audios and sometimes links to programs that students will enjoy. I believe that teaching should not follow the traditional conventional way. Nowadays, and I see that teachers still depend mainly on the books, strict curriculum, and tests. Teaching can always be creative, and we as educators should be using these innovative tools for teaching. These tools will facilitate learning and integrate fun in classroom activities.
I also use an App called MyU. This App is invented to be used for educators and students. Teachers can use this application to communicate with their students, take attendance (either manually or automatically using a barcode for attendance). I have used my own social media account; Twitter to communicate with my students before. However, MyU is a medium, which is completely dedicated for student- teacher communication. I would totally recommend this App to be used.

What does your workspace setup look like?
As an educator and a researcher, I try to look for the best workspace. As this is not always available, and since I got back to Kuwait, I managed to get my own personal space which I call reading/study station located in my house. I also spend quite long time in my own office in the university. I have a spacious office with large windows, good internet connection, desktop, and all my papers around. The only drawback of researching in my office is students going coming in and out. In general, I like to change spaces because this gives me positivity. Coffee shops and libraries are vibrant places for working.


What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Focus. Focus. And Focus. Point out what your academic targets are. Plan well and study the need of your students. I refuse being tethered to traditional books. I try my best to let my students think outside the box. Academics should learn what students really need.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
I mainly use a diary to record my appointments and meetings (sometimes, my phone calendar). I work better under pressure. Submission deadlines will always keep me working better. The less time I have, the better I work.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
For teaching purposes: Projectors. I integrate the use of the data show in the classroom. However, this is not always available in the university (or could be there but does not work at all), so I manage to use IPads or Tablets.
As my daily life, I only use my personal mobile device and my laptop.

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
Creativity. I always ask my students to ‘think’ ‘don’t only answer’ ‘think outside the box’. I have managed to get my students to watch a movie in class and visit the science museum. These activities are not counted in their marking scheme. These activities help them in the scientific and engineering knowledge in general. I have also asked them to write a narrative essay about their experiences: watching movie and museum visits). Although they were aware that there is no mark for these activities, they were enthusiastic about it and they wrote their essays beautifully. I believe if we as academic motivated our students in such fun activities, their love in learning new knowledge will increase.

What do you listen to when you work?
Music. Music has a powerful influence on the work I do. I cannot work without playing music: Jazz, classics, pop, and country. All genres are welcomed to make me productive.

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
End of March I have managed to get into a challenge, which I found through social media suggesting reading four books in April. I remember last April, I finished reading six books, and that was the biggest number I have ever read in a month. This April, I managed to read three books in the first nine days of April (Pistachio Seller, Tourist Guide, and Professor Hana all by Dr. Reem Basiouney). Currently, I am reading Angel by Elizabeth Tylor. Time is very difficult to find, specially, when I am a full time teaching and researching. I squeeze in few pages here and there, even sometimes, when I workout at the gym. The book is always carried in my purse.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
I always believed I was an extrovert. I love socialising with people, networking in conferences, I have even made friends through social media. However, I consider the workplace to be a very sensitive context. I try to be very careful with my colleagues. People think of me as an introvert, arrogant, or weird, but for me, drawing lines and limits will help me in my academic career and profession.
Don’t get me wrong, I love teamwork and I think working in a community of practice is essential for effective results. However, we cannot always guarantee people’s work and we see memes on social media making fun about one person work turns to be labeled as teamwork, which I consider not fair.

What's your sleep routine like?
I plan to sleep 7-8 hours per night. However, this is not always the case. Some days I pull an all night to work, mark exams, or prepare materials for the classroom.

What's your work routine like?
I go to work at 8:30 in the morning. Teaching three classes a day is very overwhelming. My friends know me as I am always the last to leave the office even during my student life in London. In Kuwait University, sometimes, even the security comes and asks me if I need to stay more and whether I’ll be okay working till 23:00 sometimes.

What's the best advice you ever received?
I remember when I was applying to start my PhD, my professor in Kuwait University, told me to not sink under the books during my study. I remember him very well saying, enjoy Britain, and always make time to have fun. My friend also told me to let go of the things that put you down. Life moves on whether we are sad or happy. Never take things seriously and personal.

I am Dominique Maciejewski, and This is How I Work

Dominique Maciejewski did her bachelors in psychology in Wuppertal, Germany. In 2011, she came to the Netherlands for an internship at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. It was supposed to be a 3-month internship, but Dominique really liked the Netherlands and so she stayed to write her thesis there. She graduated in 2014 from her research masters “Clinical and Developmental Psychopathology”, after which she started her PhD research. In 2016, she received her PhD Degree for her thesis about the development of mood variability during adolescence. In 2016, she went to the United States (Virginia Tech) for a postdoc on neurobiological determinants of adolescent psychopathology. After 6 months, she got offered a job as a postdoc and project coordinator for a large project – the Mood and Resilience in Offspring Project (MARIO; www.mario-project.nl). In 2017, Dominique and her colleagues received 1.4 million euros to set up the MARIO project, a project in children of parents with mood disorders to better understand, detect and prevent depression in those children. Dominique lives with her boyfriend in Amsterdam and enjoys yoga, playing guitar, meeting her friends, and drinking beers on her sunny balcony.

General:
Current Job: Postdoctoral researcher and project coordinator at VUmc and Erasmus MC
Current Location: Amsterdam (VUmc) and Rotterdam (Erasmus MC)
Current mobile device: Samsung Galaxy A5
Current computer: HP at work, at home lenovo laptop

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I am a postdoctoral researcher and project coordinator for a large project called MARIO – Mood and Resilience in Offspring (www.mario-project.nl). Children of parents with mood disorder have a higher chance to also develop a mood disorder, although there is a large percentage that stays resilient. This is a project in which we want to better understand, detect, and prevent depression in children of parents with mood disorders. As a project coordinator, I am doing everything that is needed to supervise the project, for instance our data management, fieldwork and two PhD students, who all do an amazing job. I have weekly meetings with them to discuss the progress, but also with other working groups and the principal investigators. In the past months, I have for instance prepared the application for the medical ethical committee, selected instruments, wrote a codebook, discussed contracts for an app that we want to use, and had a lot of meetings and e-mails. We are now planning to start data collection next month, which is super exciting.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
R and Mplus (statistical software), ToDoist, Google Calendar, Outlook/Gmail, Mendeley, Dropbox/Drive (for sharing papers)

What does your workspace setup look like?

Usually, it is full with papers. My most important thing is my little green notepad. I am still quite old fashioned. I need to take notes on paper. All my meetings and thoughts are in there. Of course I also type them in documents and save them later. I cleaned my desk a bit for the picture.
I work 2 days in Amsterdam and 2 days in Rotterdam. In Amsterdam I share a room with another postdoc and in Rotterdam I work at a flex place. I usually work from home 1 day. I have an own office room, where both my boyfriend and me can work from home if we want to (he is also a researcher). When I work from home, then this is my dedicated research day, because the other days I am so busy with coordinating the project, that I do not find a lot of time anymore for writing my own papers.

What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Use to do lists and make realistic goals for yourself. ALSO: Do not plan in anything 1-2 hours per day, because there is always something coming up you did not anticipate.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
I use ToDoist and Google Calendar, which really helps me, because all tasks I put into ToDoist, automatically appear in Google calendar and I can easily plan things. Moreover, it is also on my phone, so if I quickly think of something that needs to be done, I can just add it to my list. I can also assign it a specific project (but I do not do that anymore, because it costs me too much time).

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
No

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
That I am truly enthusiastic about research and that I love to learn new things. And I can do that quite efficiently (must be my German roots).

What do you listen to when you work?
Usually nothing. If I do tasks that do not require a lot of thinking, I listen to music (currently I am into Hop Along and Florence and the Machine). Sometimes I also listen to audiobooks.

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
Currently I am reading Harry Potter (again). It is my favorite book as I read it for the first time when I was a kid. So it is a nice memory. I usually read before bed, but fall asleep after 5 minutes already.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
Depends. I think more an extrovert. But I usually need some time to get used to people. Once, I do that, I never shut up and am very energetic and engaging.
I definitely became more extrovert since I am project coordinator. This is because I often have to call completely random people that I do not know. And if people do not meet their deadlines I have to remind them of them and sometimes I have to be pushy. SO, being extrovert helps.

What's your sleep routine like?
I really try sleeping 7-8 hours every day. For me this is personally super important, because I have bipolar disorder and any drastic change in my sleeping pattern could be associated with an increased risk for mania.

What's your work routine like?
Usually, I work between 8-10 hours. My contract is for 36 hours per week, but recently I found myself working in the evening and weekends. Now, I am practicing more self-care and try to leave office at 6.30 pm the latest and resist the temptation to continue working once I am home.

What's the best advice you ever received?
It is totally fine if you make mistakes. Everybody does and you really will learn from then. If you once fail super hard, then you probably won’t make that mistake again.
Also, there is no shame in getting help if you need it! There are multiple resources available, so make sure to use them.

I am Steve Tippins, and This is How I Work

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Steve Tippins. Steve has worked for insurance companies and banks and done consulting for numerous firms, both for profit and not-for-profit. He has been a professor in various forms for 30 years. His true passion lies in helping people achieve their goals.
In graduate school, at Florida State University, he was the only student in a new degree program. All of his classes were one-on-one. He is well aware of the lonely journey of a PhD student. After graduate school he worked at Indiana State University for one year then 10 years at Howard University followed by 9 years at Roosevelt University and 6 years at the University of Wisconsin – LaCrosse. He also worked for Walden University for the last 15 years and spent 4 years on the graduate faculty at NorthCentral University. He has broad experience at both traditional and online schools. He has been granted tenure twice and promoted several times. Holds a Professor Emeritus position at Howard University. Been a Department Chair and served on many search committees and promotion and tenure committees. Steve has published over 50 times in academic journals and presented at many conferences. He has written one book that was translated into Japanese. He has Chaired over 80 dissertation committees. With these accomplishments his biggest joy is in working one-on-one with individuals at beyondphdcoaching.com. He enjoys helping people define their goals both related to school and after school and setting up programs and plans to help them get there.

General:
Current Job: Owner/Coach at www.beyondphdcoaching.com and Contributing Faculty at Walden University
Current Location: Eugene, OR
Current mobile device: Iphone 6
Current computer: Macbook - I don't like it as I prefer to be hardwired to the internet yet there is only one port for connecting. There are after market devices that accept the internet connection and the power adapter but they tend to break easily

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I currently teach online and coach doctoral students and recent PhD graduates about their careers. Five years ago we had the chance to move to Costa Rica so I resigned from my job at the University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse. After 3 years of Costa Rican life (we really enjoyed it) my wife decided to get a graduate degree in Marriage and Family Therapy so we moved to Eugene. I miss the classroom but I love working with my coaching clients and helping them reach their goals.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
The Microsoft suite of programs, my website, and coaching management software (I am just installing this and hope that it really works out). The internet provides everything else that I need at this point.

What does your workspace setup look like?
My workspace is anywhere that I open my laptop. Most days I sit on the couch at home but have been known to work from a tent at a campground, in a coffee shop, or even in my car.

What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Keep at it! Knowledge grows in incremental steps and our work gets done in small pieces. If you get discouraged take a moment to see how far you have come instead of looking at how far you have to go.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
I am a big list maker and and calendar user. Everyday I look at what needs to be accomplished today, this week, and this month. I am a plodder, I like to get a little bit done every day instead of waiting until the last minute. I also like to be finished a few days before a deadline and let whatever it is sit for a day before I submit anything. That gives my mind a day to let it sit there and see if anything else arises.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
I am pretty much a Luddite, I find that my computer and phone are enough.

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
I have been successful taking complicated topics and making them easy for students to understand. As a researcher I figured out a long time ago the review is an outlet for just about anything and not to take the comments of reviewers personally. This has helped me move forward if an article gets rejected.

What do you listen to when you work?
I like Folk music and sometimes Classical or Rock. If I need to be creatively inspired the tight harmonies of the Indigo Girls always seem to help me.

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
I make sure that I read every night before I go to sleep. My wife and I have been reading to each other before we go to sleep for over 20 years. I find it helps us connect and sleep. On my own I am currently reading Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva and a biography of Winston Churchill.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
I am basically an introvert but in some situations have extrovert tendencies (usually not work related). I like to let ideas come to me so I need time alone to let this happen. I have come up with many ideas while running, biking, or wandering around. I find that I need to give myself space and then ideas/solutions come.

What's your sleep routine like?
I like to be in bed by 10:00 pm every night (many nights earlier) and am up by 5:30 am.

What's your work routine like?
I like to start work by 7:00 am and finish up by 2:00 pm if possible. I do set aside time for phone calls throughout the day.

What's the best advice you ever received?
"Take a moment to listen to your inner voice - you really know what you want"

I am Robert Lepenies, and This is How I Work

Today, I am interviewing Dr. Robert Lepenies in the "How I Work" series. Dr. Robert Lepenies is a research scientist at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research and a member of the Global Young Academy. He holds a Ph.D from the Hertie School of Governance, a MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics, and a BA in PPE from the University of Oxford (The Queen's College). He works on the politics of nudging & on themes in the philosophy of the social sciences (economics), international political economy, and public policy. Currently, he is developing new projects related to the application of behavioral insights to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and on themes in water governance in the interdisciplinary environmental politics team of the UFZ.
He has held post-doctoral positions at the European University Institute (Max Weber Fellowship) and at the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB; Center for Global Constitutionalism). He held visiting fellowships at Yale University (Fulbright-Schuman Grant) and the FU Berlin. He taught politics at the ESCP Europe Business School Berlin and history of economic thought at the Hertie School of Governance Berlin in the MPP program, as well as a seminar in moral philosophy at the FU Berlin (Centre for Advanced Studies Justitia Amplificata and KFG The Transformative Power of Europe). Robert received the inaugural WIWA Young Scholars Award for Pluralism in Economics (2015), as well as the Mulert German Fulbright Association Award for Mutual Understanding (2016) and the A.SK Social Sciences Post-Doctoral Award (2016). He was the project manager of Global Colleagues (now concluded). He has three young kids.

General:
Current Job: Research Scientist (Post-Doctoral Level)
Current Location: Leipzig & Berlin, Germany
Current mobile device: Whatever is not broken
Current computer: MacBookProo

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
Employed as a fixed-term research scientist at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig where I work on the politics of evidence-based environmental policy & themes in the philosophy of the social sciences.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
Mac, Mendeley, Word

What does your workspace setup look like?
All I need is my trusted MacBook Pro. And PDFs, lots and lots of pdfs.

What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Have kids. Seriously: after bringing them to school and before picking them up, I need to make my hours count. And for the long term I guess the standard response: write about something that you enjoy & that is meaningful (to you and others). Or write with someone you really like.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
Shared Google Calendars, Moleskin for more thorough notes. I use the snooze function of Gmail a lot.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
No, most are gimmicks that I try once and that do not last. Long term planning is key (I'm not great at it).

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
Interdisciplinarity and the attempt to have both: family life (which means exactly shared responsibility for chores and kids) and academic work/service

What do you listen to when you work?
Depending on how much sleep I've had: instrumental indie to Death Metal

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
I read mostly stories for my kids these days. Recently I've been reading some authors from the former GDR to try and understand East Germany better. I was bad in finding time for reading but now have reading plans (complete 1 non-work book bi-weekly or monthly)

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
Situational, as for most people. It's fine to be both: to be excited by seeing people, and to be getting tired from it.

What's your sleep routine like?
Too little (because of three kids under 6). But generally: Wake around 6.20, sleep around 12 pm if all goes well. I wish we had a work culture that was more permissive of naps during the day.

What's your work routine like?
Extremely hectic (because my wife and I both have careers). But fulfilling. I am grateful that my institution allows me to be flexible with when and how I work, but that also means that I feel the duty to put in extra hours...

What's the best advice you ever received?
Only take on projects with people you like.

I am Suzan Verberne, and This is How I Work as an Academic Parent

Today, in the subseries about academic parents in the "How I Work" series, I am interviewing Dr. Suzan Verberne. Suzan Verberne (1980) grew up in Twente in the east of the Netherlands. In 1998 she started her academic education at Radboud University, Nijmegen. She obtained her master degree in Natural Language Processing in 2002 and worked in a small company for a couple of years. From 2005 to 2009 she was a PhD student, also at Radboud University, on the topic of automated Question Answering. After her PhD she worked as a postdoctoral researcher from 2009 to 2017, on a variety of projects involving Text Mining and Information Retrieval. As from March 2017, she is an assistant professor (tenure track) at Leiden University for the Data Science Research Programme.Check out her homepage.

Current Job: Assistant Professor at the Leiden Institute for Advanced Computer Science
Current Location: Leiden, the Netherlands
Current mobile device: Samsung Galaxy S7
Current computer: MacBook Pro 15 inch

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I am an assistant professor (tenure track) in the Leiden Institute for Advanced Computer Science at Leiden University. I am a data scientist, specialised in text data. I am affiliated with the university-wide data science research programme in which I supervise projects on text mining and information retrieval in the biomedical, health, legal, archaeological and policy-making domains. I currently supervise 4 PhD students, a handful of undergraduate students, and I teach two courses per academic year (link to my homepage).

I live in Nijmegen with my husband and two children (3 and 6 at the time of writing, almost 4 and 7). I have a part-time contract so that I can be at home with my children one day a week. My husband also works 4 days and we have 3 days of childcare.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
GMail, Dropbox, Todoist. Also: a text editor that allows for advanced searching/replacing and keeping track of multiple files in parallel (currently BBEdit). TeXshop for writing (although my collaborators have caused me to use MS Word as well), and PyCharm for coding.

What does your workspace setup look like?
I have two offices in two different university buildings, I work from home and from the train (my moving office!) I fully depend on my MacBook Pro that allows me to work effectively from everywhere.

Office number 1

Office number 2

What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Plan your long-term important work (proposal writing, paper writing) as first thing in the morning. The rest of the day you will be flooded with other work and you won't have time to write, which is frustrating at the end of the day. If you reserve the first hour (or one-and-a-half) of the day for the long-term priorities you are sure you progress with the important things over the course of weeks.

What is your best advice for academic parents?
Take vacations with your family, both long and short. Take real weekends: go out with your family, be active. Taking time off has a truly positive effect in the long run. Plus, it always strikes me that the best memories of my children are from family vacations. Being away together.
Also, try not to work on days with the children. Postpone the work to the evening when they are sleeping.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
I have overview spreadsheets: one for papers, one for projects and proposals. I colour the lines based on status (in preparation, submitted, rejected, in revision, accepted) and keep track regularly.
For task planning, I use Todoist, which allows me to set dates and priority levels. I learned not to be frustrated to not finish all my tasks but to be satisfied with finishing the high-priority tasks.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
Not that I am aware of. We have an iPad at home but I am typically not the person using it (all other family members seem to love the thing).

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
Planning and organisation are my talents. I can be very efficient and deadline-oriented. (A pitfall is being too deadline-oriented and doing too many on the last day; the closer the deadline the more efficient I become.)

What do you listen to when you work?
Mostly nothing. I don't bother to hear co-workers or co-commuters talking. I do have Spotify and listen to an occasional playlist when the train company is too noisy (current playlist: 90s Rock Anthems).

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
A book about the history of the neighbourhood we will move to next month (Hees in Nijmegen).
I don't find a lot of time for reading honestly. On vacations, when there is no Netflix and work to fill my evenings, I read a number of books. The rest of the year very few.



Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
Extrovert. I communicate a lot, both in written and in spoken form. I try to be open and honest to colleagues, supervisors and students. I feel that I failed when someone tells me I was not clear to them.

What's your sleep routine like? Has it changed significantly since becoming a parent?
Roughly 22.30 to 6.30. When I became a parent it changed dramatically in the sense of: going to bed earlier, sleep with many interruptions, and getting up earlier. Now my children are getting older and sleep through most of the nights, I am happy with a regular sleeping schedule where I go to bed between 10 and 11 PM and wake up between 6 and 7. To be honest, I have better sleeping habits now than before we had children because I often was away in the evenings and went to bed too late, which caused me to be tired during daytime.

What's your work routine like?
Different depending on the week day because my husband and I share the responsibilities for bringing the children to childcare/school and picking them up again.
On Mondays I work from home or have meetings that are relatively close by, so that I can bring and pick up the children. On Tuesdays my husband brings and picks up the children and on Wednesdays he does not work -- those two days I leave for work at 7.15 in the morning and return around 6.15 in the evening so that I can have dinner with my family and bring the children to bed. On Thursdays I don't work. On Fridays I bring the children to daycare and then leave for work, starting later. I return home before 7 in the evening, unless I have work events to attend in the late afternoon.
I often do some work in the evening but typically only for one hour, finishing some tasks and replying to emails (between 8 and 9 -- when the children are sleeping).

How is it like to be a parent where you work? Are your colleagues supportive and understanding?
The combination can be difficult sometimes. I have to say no more often than colleagues without children. I only attend one or two international conferences per year and I have not been to conferences outside Europe for 7 years. Also I have to set priorities for events at work and miss a number of relatively important events such as the opening of the academic year, and the monthly drinks at the institute. However, I have not experienced complaints from direct co-workers about not being available late in the afternoon, or evenings, or Thursdays.

How much maternity or paternity leave (if any) did you get and was it paid leave?
I did not use any. I have a part-time contract.

Which childcare services are you using? Does university provide support in finding and funding childcare?
I believe they do, but we have childcare close to where we live (and close to the school).

How is your parenting style?
Difficult question! When the children were younger I was leaning toward attachment parenting: I breastfed both children up to two years, carried them in slings and we co-slept regularly. Most of that was motivated by pragmatism, not so much a principled decision I must admit.
At the same time, we have always be working parents relying on professional childcare from a young age (3 months, which is standard in the Netherlands).
Now they grow older I cannot say we have a particular parenting style. There is quite some talking involved, we try to take our children seriously (although toddler tantrums are sometimes difficult to rationalise), and I think we have a little bit of focus on social relations -- the importance of having friends and contacts you trust and are loyal to. We have a few strict rules on the things we find important (the 'pick your battles' strategy).

What's the best advice you ever received?
In parenting: "het is een fase" ('it is a phase'), which means that challenges with children (infants/toddlers/preschoolers/...) often go away after a while; you can hardly influence that.
In work: this image

I am Misty Paig-Tran, and This is How I Work as an Academic Parent

Today, I am starting a new subseries within the "How I Work" series - a series for academic parents. My first contributor is Dr. Misty Paig-Tran. Misty Paig-Tran, PhD. is an Assistant Professor of Biology and runs the Functional Anatomy, Biomechanics, and Biomaterials lab at California State University Fullerton. She earned a B.S. in Marine Biology and a PhD in Biology with an emphasis in Animal performance.

Current Job: Assistant Professor California State University Fullerton
Current Location: Fullerton, CA
Current mobile device: IPhone
Current computer: Both Mac and PC

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I am a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences. My lab is called the FABBLab or Functional Anatomy, Biomechanics, and Biomaterials Lab. Most of my work explores how organisms perform in their environments. Sometimes this leads to new technologies for human use.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
We use the basic adobe suite of products often. We also use 3D cad programs and AMIRA visualization software. As for tools we use our material tester a ton. We also make use of microscopes (compound and Scanning electron microscopes, laser cutters, 3D printers, and high speed videography. Sometimes we need basic tools like drill and R software for data analysis.

What does your workspace setup look like?
I do have my own office, a labspace, and I make use of a home office as well.



What is your best advice for productive academic work?
For me, I use lists. Every morning I make a list of tasks to be completed. I keep longer term lists on my whiteboard where I see it daily until I complete the task.
Also rewards. If I am writing a grant, I write a solid paragraph then get a bit of social media time (5 min) or chocolate.

What is your best advice for academic parents?
Treat the day as if you are at a normal 9-5 job. I try to make realistic goals for what fits into the time I have here. Once I go home, my time has to be devoted to my kids (they are 1 & 3). By the time I get them both to sleep, I am too pooped to do more academic work.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
I am super conventional in that I have a running list of projects taped on my desk and a list of where each project is in terms of completion on my white board in my office. I’m really good at ignoring reminders on my phone or on a google calendar, so this is my best organization method.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
Ipad when I go to meetings for sure.

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
Oh geez, this is totally a loaded question. Probably my experimental approaches, but honestly the thing I get asked most is how do I balance work and home life with two kids while still publishing.

What do you listen to when you work?
Ok so full disclosure I cannot listen to anything and write. I am one of those people who know the lyrics to everything, so my brain will focus on music or the podcast while I am trying to think. If I am grading, I try to listen to something light like post-modern jukebox.

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
Currently I am reading a book called The checklist manifest because I realized that paperwork is not my strength and I am trying to learn to cross my T’s and dot my I’s so that I do not annoy the wonderful folks in the bio office. Usually I read some sort of fantasy novel because it is light and I don’t have to think to hard about the characters while I am at work.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
100% introvert. If I could just sit in my office and work I would. That said, people stop by my office all the time to chat and catch up. Sometimes this gets a bit overwhelming, kind of like going to a scientific conference and having to interact with people (with whom I really do want to socialize with) for days. By the end of the conference I feel like I need a week in solitary confinement. Interacting with people via social media is great fun because it also lets me experience a conversation without being forced to input my opinion unless I choose to.

What's your sleep routine like? Has it changed significantly since becoming a parent?
By 10pm I am done. By 4:30am or 5am I am up because my 1 year old refuses to sleep past that time. Naturally I like to stay up late and wake up late. So yeah, my schedule has totally changed since becoming a parent. My best work pre-kids happened at around 9 or 10pm. Now I am lights out at this time.



What's your work routine like?
8:00 am teach human cadaver based anatomy or ichthyology
mid morning = office hours/emails/prep for lecture/coordinate lab
late morning = meetings with colleagues or students about research projects
lunch
early afternoon = paper/grant writing
late afternoon = either more of the same or instruct students/experimental design/seminar/ other tasks
4:30 – off to get the kids.

How is it like to be a parent where you work? Are your colleagues supportive and understanding?
My colleagues are luckily 100% supportive. We are a family friendly university and no one bats an eye if I have to leave early for a doctor’s appointment or if I come to an after hours event with kiddos in hand.

How much maternity or paternity leave (if any) did you get and was it paid leave?
I got almost a semester of paid leave and yes, this was leave coupled with sick leave and disability. I got two extra weeks because I had c-sections.

Which childcare services are you using? Does university provide support in finding and funding childcare?
I use a Montessori school around the block from campus. I do not get extra support from the university. I found it myself and have not seen something through the university to help with this, though it may exist and I just don’t know about it. Childcare is ridiculously expensive especially when you have two kids. Basically this is where my paycheck goes and my partner pays the mortgage.

How is your parenting style?
Hmmm…I guess I don’t know the buzz words for types of parenting styles. I am somewhere between strict (somehow I will instill manners into a three year old – mostly there now) and somewhat hands off meaning I do try to let my kids make mistakes and learn from them.
When it is family time, I guess I am sort of all in and not getting work done – which is probably good for tenure but not good for my sanity. Toddlers are a special kind of challenge.

What's the best advice you ever received?
I guess I could say about what? About academia? I once was told that the tenure process is awesome because it is a guaranteed job for two years at a time and then if you get tenure it is a job for life. Having worked in restaurants, etc where I know people got fired all the time (no I have never been fired), that seemed like a great gig.

For my sanity: Never be the smartest person in the room. I tell my students on the regular that I feel dumb every day. If I don’t feel dumb, then I am not learning something new.

For parenting: Try to go with it and not react immediately. I tend to get frustrated when I have to say something over and over, which is pretty much a daily occurrence with a 3 year old. Stopping and taking a breath has been magical for my sanity and for my kids seeing a balanced and not-so-stressed-out mom. Does it always happen? No. Are there days when I question my life choices trying to balance the academy and small kiddos? Absolutely. But really, it is my dream job and my dream family, so I don’t have too much to complain about.

I am Miguel Abambres, and This is How I Work.

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Miguel Abambres. Miguel is a passionate Portuguese scientist, born in Lisbon in 1984 (Leo), and also a cat guy who loves traveling and teaching. He received his degree in Civil/Structural engineering in 2007 from IST (University of Lisbon) after spending the final semester of his undergrad at TU Delft. He received his PhD in 2014 from IST (University of Lisbon) on the topic of computational mechanics (novel FE formulation) applied to thin-walled carbon/stainless steel structural members. He did a post-doc at FCT (University of Coimbra, Portugal) in 2017-2018 on the development of an AI-based software for nonlinear regression problems in any field of knowledge. He also has 1,5 years of experience as a structural engineer in national and international firms, has spend 1,5 years as a under/postgrad professor (in Spanish) in Lima, Peru, and has worked 9,5 years as a scientist in several countries. His research interests include: Applied Computational Intelligence, Artificial Neural Networks, Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, and Steel Structures. Besides Portugal, he has lived in Holland, Australia, Norway, Perú, Colombia and Brazil. This interview was conducted in August 2018.

Current Job: Pro bono scientist
Current Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Current mobile device: black Samsung Galaxy A3
Current computer: hp pavilion x360 convertible (laptop)

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I'm in a sabbatical year since I finished my postdoc (Feb 20th, 2018), but actively looking for a faculty position since then (Europe, Canada or Latin America preferred). After finishing postdoc, in which I developed/validated an Artificial Neural Network software for functional approximation and classification problems in any field of knowledge, I’ve started looking for collaborations worldwide aiming to apply my software to real problems and propose novel analytical models to the scientific and technical communities (interested researchers are very welcome to get in touch @AbambresM and/or ResearchGate).

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
Windows-based laptop and desktop computer (running MATLAB simulations 24/7), Android-based cell phone, fast internet, MS office, MATLAB software, AnyDesk software/app.

What does your workspace setup look like?
I LOVE to work, so I might work anywhere as long as I have my laptop and a quiet/cozy place. My favorite office is in my place in Lisbon, where I work most of the time when i´m in town. At the moment I don´t have any institutional office (also, that´s not a requirement in my job seeking 😊 )

What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Work exclusively on what you love and with the people you like. Rest enough and have some workout every week.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
Checking email and the daily task list written on my phone’s calendar.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
A smart plug to schedule the time my home office fan is working when i´m abroad, in order to avoid computer overheating in hot days (air conditioning is much better, but mine cannot be accessed remotely)

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
Analytical, hard-worker, ambitious and passionate (all in one 😊)

What do you listen to when you work?
None, some American hiphop (50 cent, Ryan Leslie), TV news in the background, classical music

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
I don’t like reading….never did…only news in social media and job-related reading!

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
Introvert. I am more productive when alone, but sometimes it feels good working at relatively quiet public places (libraries, coffee shops)

What's your sleep routine like?
When i´m employed, I like starting the day quite early. I try to sleep at least 7 h every night (if I cant some night, I compensate in other night). I´m a night owl when i´m not employed (2-6 am).

What's your work routine like?
I don´t have a fixed routine. I work whenever i´m not doing basic tasks or hanging out. Every single day is a working day for me (as long as I work on what i´m passionate about).

What's the best advice you ever received?
Be happy, follow your dreams, follow your inner voice.

I am Steven Shaw, and This is How I Work

Today, I am interviewing Dr. Steven R. Shaw in the "How I Work" series. Steven is associate professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University in Montreal. Before entering academia, he had 17 years of experience as a practicing school psychologist. From 1997 to 2004, he served as lead psychologist and associate professor of pediatrics at The Children's Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina and Medical University of South Carolina. In 2000, the South Carolina Association of School Psychologists recognized him for "Outstanding Contributions to Education" for his work on addressing overrepresentation of minority groups in special education and development of teaching techniques for children with borderline intelligence. In 2010, he received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the Faculty of Education at McGill University. In 2012, he received the President’s Award from NASP for his innovative research-to-practice efforts. He has published a few papers, chapters, and such; talked to many groups of folks; and has also published four books. His fifth book, Applying recent advances in the science of intellectual disabilities to classroom and clinical practice will be published by Springer in early 2019. He is on the editorial board of six international scholarly journals, former editor of School Psychology Forum, and current editor of the Canadian Journal of School Psychology.

Current Job: Associate professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology
Current Location: McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada
Current mobile device: iPhone 6 (in the market for an upgrade because a friend just made fun of me for my old phone)
Current computer: SurfacePro III

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I tend to work on a specific area of research for a while, feel a pull to move on to something else, and then make a change. In some cases, I write a book to create closure on the topic. My new research concepts involve exploring the intersection among implementation science, open science, and evidence-based practices for the profession of school psychology. I am in the process of converting all my student-conducted research to entirely open science techniques that include registered reports, data sharing, and transparent analyses.
I have also completed 6 years of significant administrative responsibilities and am very excited to return to some decent levels of research productivity.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
I use Slack for communication with students and project organization, a Pomodoro timer, and Dragon naturally speaking because I dictate all manuscripts and emails to improve speed and flow of thought.
I use RescueTime to troubleshoot my work habits if I find that I am falling behind. I use sheets on Google Docs to keep track of my major tasks in the day, writing productivity, and status of projects.

What does your workspace setup look like?
I prefer working from home whenever possible because it is about a 90-minute commute to the office. So working from home saves me about three hours in the day. I do all my creative work standing and have a standing desk situation in my office and at home. I find that the standing desk increases energy and mental alertness. I do sit to read. I have a yoga mat in both workplaces to do a quick stretch during the five-minute Pomodoro breaks.



What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Always have a big picture and purpose in mind. What am I trying to accomplish? Where do I want these ideas to be in five years? When I have these questions answered, then the only work I do supports those big picture ideas. At that point, the work is satisfying, fun, and has a purpose.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
I have several files and tabs on Google sheets. My students have access to all these so that they can see what project I am giving attention to at any given moment.
I also have a notebook in which I write meeting notes and tasks for the day. I do this during my train commute to and from work. When I get to the office or return home, then I transcribe action items into a calendar or to do list.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
I have a nice pen (it is old technology). I have had the same Waterman rollerball pen for 11 years. Usually it is used only to sign my name. Yet, I still use it to make notes at meetings.

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
Consistency. I am a bit of a grinder. I do some work every single day.
Also, I try my best to ensure that no matter how many tasks have deadlines or how far behind I am on my work that I always have time for people who are important to me or otherwise need my time and energy. I am always busy, but I always have time for you.
Finally, I have a mantra that I try to meet every day: read 100 pages, write 1000 words, laugh often, and support others.

What do you listen to when you work?
Classic jazz, hard rock/metal, or silence.

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
I read three or four journal articles every morning before I get started. Some are part of my duties as a journal editor, some are from links supplied by Twitter people, and some are papers discovered by my students.
I usually read nonacademic books in the late afternoon or evening. I tend to read about one book per week. Currently, I am rereading: Kodokan Judo: Throwing Techniques by Sensei Daigo. My favourite book that I read this summer is I Fight for a Living by Louis Moore.
Time is not something that you find it is something you prioritize. So I never really understand that question. It is like asking if I can find the time to breathe or eat.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
Extremely introverted. Although I am social and have friends and family, I enjoy being alone. I have no difficulty working for days or weeks on end without seeing anyone but family.

What's your sleep routine like?
I go to bed between 10 and 11 PM and wake up at 5:50 AM. Morning routine consists of five-minute meditation, 15-minute brief stretching, walking the dog, shower, coffee, and on my way.

What's your work routine like?
I tend to read the news and be silly on Twitter for an hour every morning. Then I read journal articles and answer emails. After that, it is time to take on the first scheduled task of the day. I just do as much as I can as fast as I can and try not to suck (a paraphrase from @chuckwendig).

What's the best advice you ever received?
Just do what you do. If that is not appreciated in your current work environment, then go find a place that is a better fit. I know that will not work for everyone, but I have already had a career before I became an academic. So I do not take the world of academia too seriously. I prefer to think that I am still school psychologist who works in knowledge generation and translation, and is preparing the next group of professionals. That works better in my head than thinking of myself as a professor or academic.