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.

Tips for working at night

Since I have less time during the day to work, I've been experimenting with a so-called split-shift (working a few hours at night when the baby sleeps). I haven't been very successful at it though. My struggles are the following:

• sometimes baby doesn't want to fall asleep until 9pm
• I have to pack lunch and eat and unfreeze milk and all that in the kitchen
• I want to exercise after baby sleeps
• I snack too much while trying to work
• I sit on the sofa with my laptop on my lap and am not productive
• my husband comes home and I want to talk to him
• I am just tired

So I asked for some advice on Twitter, and I collected this advice in a wake. I'll keep you posted on how I've implemented this advice, and what I've learned from this:

Getting into the habit... A PhD student’s perspective on data management

Today's post is a guest post by Annemarie Hildegard Eckes. Annemarie is a PhD student in Biogeography at the department of Geography in Cambridge, working with all sorts of data and formats: Climate data in .netcdf, and .txt format. Tree growth dynamics data in .excel spreadsheets. Tree ring anatomical data as images, and later as .txt -files. Her project involves the development of a computer model that simulates how a tree stem grows in width, in response to the environment (temperature, precipitation etc..). The ultimate aim is for the final model to be used in the vegetation model HYBRID, developed by Andrew Friend, to help in projections on how vegetation will behave under climate change in the future.
All this data needed to be described and managed well, for example: who gave it to me? What did I do to it? How to make sure I don’t lose it? How do I version control and document the scripts that use the data and the model that I compare the data against? How will I make sure the data and scripts during my PhD will be shared with the community and what standards should I adhere to, to make reusability really easy? Annemarie didn’t feel that she had enough expertise in this, but wanted to do it right from the start. Before she started her PhD she worked with a database for crop data. That’s when she really learned how poorly documented and poorly organised research data can slow down a research project immensely and she did not want to make the same mistake which she has seen experienced researchers make. Her previous experience and motivation to acquire good habits right from the start got hervery interested in RDM and made me an advocate for it as Cambridge and JISC data champion.

A PhD project is a significant period in a researcher’s life. During the project, we generally must develop our own research question and methodology, generate data and publish our results in papers and as a final thesis. Such a project is meant to teach us how to conduct research. This is the crucial time in which we as early career researchers should pick up the right habits for our future as successful scientists.

Research Data Management (RDM) is an important day-to-day activity for Scientists. Research output, collaborations and productivity depend on it. No surprise, then, that the documentation of a project’s RDM has become a requirement for many grant applications. By writing a Data Management Plan as part of the PhD proposal, we students are not only confronted with the whole data lifecycle of our research data before it is even generated, but we also gain experience in how such a plan is written. Early career researchers such as us PhD students should not underestimate the importance of skills in RDM, which in my opinion are nowadays pretty essential for a good scientific career.

I think “data management” in its most basic form starts with managing your email inbox. To me, it often is simply the act of keeping all information that I deal with in order. We all do it more or less all the time. The tricky bit is how to deal with what we call research data the best way. As we may be new to the research subject of our PhD, we may not know how best to collect, document and manage the data we are dealing with.

PhD students and RDM training
The point of a PhD is to learn how to conduct research and RDM is part of that process. But sometimes it may be important to learn about good practices right from the beginning, rather than getting into bad habits that cause problems later in your research.

I think that training in RDM for us PhD students is useful for two reasons, firstly to learn the right habits and secondly to enhance productivity throughout the duration of the PhD.

Figure 1 RDM-smileys: In talks I give about research data management, I like to use these smileys in my presentations. The first row at the beginning and the second row at the end of the talk. The principle behind these smileys is based on a presentation by the Cambridge office for Scholarly communication.

I conducted a survey and interviews at our department, asking fellow PhD students about their data management practices, the data types they collected and their training needs. Participants at the end of their PhD indicated that they generally felt prepared to conduct data management in their coming research career, while they also say that they would have benefited from training at the beginning of their PhD. In one interview, this came out especially, with one interviewee stating that “the lack of training in research data management slowed me down”. This shows that while we PhD students have ourselves learned more on the aspects of data management during our PhD, early training would have made us more productive - and certainly more happy ( see figure 1)! Please check this blog entry where I discuss some of the survey results.

PhD students and the data tree training platform
An online platform that provides training on RDM for PhD students is in my opinion a much needed resource! I think that at the beginning of my PhD, I would have been happy if Data Tree had existed to provide me with a good overview of RDM.

As an online course it is accessible to all PhD students at any time. And with some of us having crazy schedules and weird working and sleeping habits, doing such training in our own time might help us remain flexible. It’s my experience that people do not spend the time to come to talks or workshops. While my survey showed clearly that PhD students do think RDM is important, the turnout to stand-alone talks, workshops and other events I have organised has been rather low. I hope that such a continuously accessible platform would decrease the barrier to learning more about RDM.

While time and timing might be a barrier to learning about and performing RDM, I wonder whether the main reason PhD for students not attending training courses is the lack of priority. For many busy PhD students, RDM never seems to be a priority- and neither does RDM training. Therefore, PhD students will probably need to be encouraged in some ways to make use of this online platform. One option could be that Universities make this online course count in their PhD training logs.

It will be interesting to see how the platform is taken up and what strategies are used to encourage us busy PhD students to do this online course. I wish this platform a good start, a lot of users and that it makes a significant contribution to PhD students’ success in RDM!

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.

Working hours in academia

I recently ran a poll on Twitter on how many hours academics work per week. As I've gone from 30(ish) hours per week for a year back to 40 hours - after always having worked 6 days a week for 8+ hours daily, I sometimes feel that I am not working enough, but I also realize that I don't have more hour that I can be in the office because of childcare constraints. I can try to put in some extra hours at night (or work on my blog at night, as I am doing now at 9pm on a Friday night), but I feel that I have to be super efficient at work and then still fall behind. I also feel guilty at times, because of the persistent myth that we all should be working 80 hours per week.

Long story short, I did a poll about working hours and very few of the respondents work more than 50 hours per week.

Here's the poll and its wake:

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.

I am Meira Kensky, and This is How I Work

Today, I have the pleasure of inviting Dr. Meira Kensky for the "How I Work" series. Meira Z. Kensky is currently the Joseph E. McCabe Associate Professor of Religion at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, IA. Kensky received her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Biblical Studies (New Testament) from the University of Chicago. Her first book, Trying Man, Trying God: The Divine Courtroom in Early Jewish and Christian Literature, was published by Mohr Siebeck in 2010, and was the inspiration for a conference on “The Divine Courtroom in Comparative Perspective” at Cordozo School of Law in New York. Currently, she is working on her second book for Mohr Siebeck, an examination of the figure of Timothy in Early Christian literature. Recent publications include articles on Romans 9-11, Tertullian of Carthage’s Apologeticum, and the figure of Timothy in the Pauline and post-Pauline epistles. Kensky has lectured widely around the Chicago and Cedar Rapids areas, and gave the 29th Annual Stone Lectureship in Judaism at Augustana College, IL and the Winter 2016 Dean’s Craft of Teaching Seminar at the University of Chicago Divinity School. She was the recipient of Coe College’s C. J. Lynch Outstanding Teacher Award in 2013. She currently serves as Coe College’s Director of First-Year Experience. In Fall 2018 she is in residence as a teaching fellow at the Newberry Library in Chicago as the co-director of the Associated College of the Midwest’s Newberry Seminar in the Humanities.

General:
Current Job: Joseph E. McCabe Associate Professor of Religion, Coe College
Current Location: Iowa City, IA
Current mobile device: iphone 6
Current computer: some sort of HP laptop

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
This fall I’m on leave from my regular job at my SLAC to teach the Associated Colleges of the Midwest’s Seminar in the Humanities at the Newberry Library in Chicago. I’m coming off of a one-semester sabbatical, where I have been working on my current project, a monograph on the figure of Timothy in Early Christian Literature. I’ve been working on this monograph for a while. During my sabbatical, I worked on two chapters, finishing the bulk of writing for a chapter on the figure of Timothy in John Chrysostom’s Homilies on 1 and 2 Timothy, which I’ll present at a conference in November, and a chapter on Timothy and the Death of Paul in the New Testament.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
My laptop, obviously, and internet connection. I don’t like to have a ton of books around me when I write, so I check references online as often as possible, and I always have an online Greek lexicon open. Other than that I don’t use a lot of apps or programs other than Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat.

I tried Zotero and hated it; I’d honestly rather type in my citations by hand one at a time. I find writing footnotes soothing.

In terms of internet sites, I don’t know what I would do without the Perseus project and the ATLA database.

What does your workspace setup look like?
I don’t have an office at home. I could have, but I really don’t like writing in an office setting so I didn’t set one up. I like to work at the dining room table or at a coffee shop. I do my best work when other things are going on around me; I think I like the noise and activity. I also really like the dining room table to be clear of all other things, but this is not usually the case since it is also, you know, our table.
I have not found myself able to work on my research in my office at work, unless it is just reading and taking notes on something. However, I just recently switched offices, so maybe that will make a difference when I get back to campus in the spring.

What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Set limited, daily goals and stop working when you reach them. Also figure out the rhythms of the academic year and be realistic about what those goals can be. I know, for example, that there’s no way I’m getting anything done on my own syllabus in October, when things really heat up in terms of classes and my administrative responsibilities (I direct Coe’s First-Year Seminar Program). Once thanksgiving is over, it’s recommendation writing and grading time. So it’s important not to do something with an unrealistic deadline, unless you’re okay missing the deadline and then feeling bad about it.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
Probably just in my head, with a wall calendar. The wall calendar is really crucial. I tried using other methods but they are just not as simple as turning your head to see what is coming up. Small projects (like grant reports or recommendations) can really disappear from your radar if you don’t put them on the calendar.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
My printer! I like to print everything and annotate it by hand. It helps me to see, also, how much I have really accomplished and feel good about it, and I also can highlight things that thematically belong together that are currently in different sections of a document.

Also my USB drive, which lives in the inside zipper pocket of my purse and goes with me everywhere. I have a note to back it up this week.

I also have a six-dollar folding travel metal bookstand that is critical apparatus. This year I did a mentorship workshop with a group of undergraduate researchers and I bought one for each of them.

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
My sense of humor, my reputation for competency and efficiency, and my bullshit detector. I’m known around campus as someone who can get shit done and is not interested in wasting anyone’s time. This really helps me be trusted by my colleagues and turned to by administrators. My students tell me that I have a scary stare in class which I use to prompt them to elaborate or to locate information in the readings.
Also I have an exceptionally good lipstick and accessories collection.

What do you listen to when you work?
Nothing. Sometimes I’ll put on pandora at home but more often it’s whatever is playing in the Panera.

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
I read constantly! I’m currently reading How to Walk Away by Katherine Center, which I started yesterday and will probably finish today. It’s great. I read in the bathtub mostly. I have a hard time relaxing and focusing so coming back to a good novel every day in a set environment is really good for me. I love having a linear plotline to return to.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
Though I’m loud and talkative, I’m actually much more of an introvert. I need quiet alone time every day. I watch tv and do cross stitch. I don’t know if this influences my working habits. I can’t immediately switch from an extrovert task like teaching or going out to working. I need to recover from the extrovert task before I can make that move.

What's your sleep routine like?
Oh, good lord. I have a really hard time turning off my mind at night. I need to get into bed several hours before I actually fall asleep. I have an anxiety disorder so I use medication to help me!

What's your work routine like?
My teaching work is pretty routine, but my research is not. I know I do my best writing in the morning, so in the summer I wake up, have coffee, write my 500 words or my three pages or whatever my goal is for the day, and then stop and do something else entirely.

What's the best advice you ever received?
End on a downhill! If you know exactly what you are going to write next, stop. That way you can get up the next day and do that, and then you’re already going and it will lead to the next thing. Starting something totally new is much more difficult than just keeping going.

I am Signe Asberg, and This is How I Work

Today, I am interviewing Dr. Signe Asberg for the "How I Work" series. Signe is a MSc in Cell- and Molecular Biology and soon-to-be PhD in Molecular Medicine. She work at the Center of Molecular and Inflammation Research, a Center of Excellence at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. She did parts of my PhD research at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She's interested in everything biology, but antibiotic resistance and global health are her true passions. Her research focus on the interplay between the immune system, pathogenic bacteria and antibiotics. She's also a guest blogger for LifeOMICs where she writes about the immune system and how it is affected by life style choices. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Note: I interviewed Signe in August 2018.

General:
Current Job: I submitted my PhD thesis and will defend in November*.
Current Location: I’m based in Trondheim, Norway
Current mobile device: iPhone 6S
Current computer: MacBook Air from 2012 (that I’ve cared for like a baby, so it looks and feels almost new)

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I’m in that weird place between having submitted my PhD in June and preparing the dissertation in November. So I do everything from finishing papers to applying for grants and post doc positions. My PhD research was focused on the interplay between macrophages (innate immune cells), mycobacteria and antibiotics. Mycobacteria cause severe chronic infections, like tuberculosis, by setting up camp inside macrophages or other immune cells. Mycobacterial infections kill millions of people each year and most of them require months to years of antibiotic treatment. I’ve been investigating the interactions between single macrophages and single bacteria, also during treatment. There is so much we still don’t understand about these infections, especially why they survive antibiotic treatment so well.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
My phone, my Macbook and the PC at work. In addition I do a lot of reading and searching on my iPad.

I do all my writing in Google Docs and use Paperpile to handle the references. I’ve previously used Scrivener and Papers and like them a lot, but when combining Mac and Windows it’s easier to use Google Docs. Paperpile is great with references and for reading papers.

I do literature searches on all my devices because weird hidden gems tend to pop up on the phone or the iPad.

Previously I lived my life in Evernote, but now I use an «everything» notebook, that was suggested on Raul Pacheco-Vega's blog.

I also rely heavily on Twitter to interact with other scientists and it’s incredibly helpful. I’ve recently started to use Instagram for science outreach and inspiration too and there are so many awesome science ladies out there.

What does your workspace setup look like?
All my experimental work is done in a lab with only shared space. In addition I have an office at work that I share with 7 other PhD students. My office is «organized chaos» but it works out. I have a big collection of books and mascots that cheer me on. I also work a lot from home, but ever since my desk became the dumping ground for papers and random stuff I mostly work at the dinner table. We have a huge table with one half designated as work/gaming space and the other half is for eating.

University office

University office

Home office

What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Plan! Planning is everything! You need to know all your goals and the tasks required to reach them. Then you need to know the deadline for each and their priority. Then get to work! The most important first and so on. The list and the plan needs to be revised often. Plans are not holy and should be changed regularly. At some point you learn to make realistic plans, and then life gets a lot easier.

I repeatedly ask myself: is what I’m doing now the right task to do now?
Very often the answer is no. It’s what I want to do now, but not the most important or urgent task. Then switch to the right task.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
By the advice of Raul Pacheco-Vega I keep an «everything notebook» where I write everything down, including overviews of projects and lists of tasks.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
I use a confocal microscope and iPad for work. I use an electric bike to get to work in the summer.

At home we have Google home and Homey. My partner is really into home automation and I try to keep up, or I’ll soon don’t know how to open the front door. It’s so weird that my toddler thinks it’s normal for her parents to talk to a device and a window opens, music turns on or a movie starts. Occasionally she will stand below it and yell at it!

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
I guess my planning, organizing and writing skills. Also the fact that I enjoy them, which is probably not so common (judging by the comments I get).

What do you listen to when you work?
My partner created a playlist in Google music with all kinds of songs he thinks I should listen to. That playlist definitely got me through the last month of writing my thesis. Other than that I prefer silence when I work or else I mess up my pipetting. When I do image analysis I listen to podcasts, mostly science or parenting content.

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
I didn’t do any reading outside work for years. But I discovered during the most stressful months of my PhD that reading helps me sleep, so lack of sleep is my main reason for reading. My brain needs to be shut down in the evenings and reading an actual, physical book (just about 10 minutes) is the best way to do it. That’s also why I go for positive books, or books where «nothing» happens. I just read Hans Rosling latest book «Factfullness» and it’s probably the best book I’ve ever read, at least the most positive. I strongly encourage everyone to read it to get a thorough walkthrough of the state of the world. It’s a LOT better than you’d think. Now I alternate between parenting books, «No is not enough» by Naomi Klein and «Radiation: what it is and what you need to know» by Robert Peter Gale.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert?
I’m very much an introvert and need quiet time to focus. I need at least 10 minutes a day for no talk, quiet alone time or else I’m completely overloaded. That is surprisingly hard to get if you dont make an effort. But I also need friends and colleagues. I have regular coffee with a friend, or escape the lab with a colleague to go for a walk. I also enjoy to collaborate on projects, especially when we combine different expertise and methods. It’s a great way to learn.

What's your sleep routine like?
 I haven’t slept much for the past two years, but the toddler just started sleeping around 11 hours a night, mostly quiet. I should go to bed around 9 pm, but usually it’s around 11 pm and I get up at 6 am. I sleep very lightly, dream and wake up a lot. This is especially difficult in the summer when it never gets dark in Norway.

What's your work routine like?
Since daycare opens at 7.15 and close at 4.30 (most) work has to fit within those hours. The first goal is getting the toddler to daycare around 7.30, and my partner picks up at 4-ish. I plan out my week on Sunday evening or Monday morning. I try to get lab work done as early as possible because it always takes longer than expected. I also designate time for writing and reading, but I don’t do whole days for each anymore. When you have kids and/or can’t work all the time (like everyone else seems to do) you need to fit reading and writing into the lab intensive days too. I no longer believe it when people claim they can’t shift their focus from an experiment to writing on the same day. You can when you have to.

We have meetings almost every day and they really break up the workflow, so I don’t always attend all of them. Wednesday is my «long day» where I work until I feel done, while my partner has his long day on Mondays. I occasionally work in the evenings, but that is not the norm.

What's the best advice you ever received?
«It’s your PhD, own it. You make the decisions».
I struggled a lot during my PhD, and I mean a lot, with work and life related problems. Whatever I did at work would fail. Eventually I burned out and got depressed, followed by a pregnancy with non-stop nausea that ended abruptly in week 32 due to preeclampsia. We’re all fine today, but my point is that is was incredibly though. After coming back from maternity leave I had only one year to finish. My mentor had been pushing for a while that I could in fact make the decisions about my PhD. Finally I «got it» and took charge of things. In stead of asking I made the decisions: I set the deadlines, I informed my supervisors when they would receive my drafts and together we scheduled when they would read them and give me feedback. Looking back, the final year of my PhD was definitely the best and I wish I had learnt this sooner.

* Note that this interview was done in August 2018.

I am Brian Sigmon, and This is How I Work

Today, I am interviewing Dr. Brian Sigmon for the "How I Work" series. Brian O. Sigmon is acquisitions editor at The United Methodist Publishing House, where he edits books, Bible studies, and official resources for The United Methodist Church. In this role, Brian is editor of the Daily Christian Advocate and managing editor of the Book of Discipline and Book of Resolutions. He has a Ph.D. in Old Testament Studies from Marquette University, where he taught courses in the Bible and theology. Brian finds great joy in thinking deeply about the Christian faith and helping people of all backgrounds deepen their understanding of Scripture. He blogs about the Bible, theology, and the universe at Starstruck Christian. Brian lives in Kingston Springs, Tennessee with his wife Amy and their two children.

General:
Current Job: Acquisitions Editor at The United Methodist Publishing House
Current Location: Nashville, TN

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I currently work outside academia as a book editor at The United Methodist Publishing House, a Christian publishing company based in Nashville, Tennessee. My Ph.D. is in biblical studies, with a focus on the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. I became an editor out of a desire to reach and teach people in churches rather than in college and university classrooms. In my current role, I edit books and Bible studies that help people grow in faith. That includes working with videos, which I’ve had to learn entirely on the job. I also edit our official denominational resources for The United Methodist Church, a role I didn’t anticipate when I began working here, but which I very much enjoy. The United Methodist Church is a worldwide Christian denomination of 12 million members, as well as the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States. I oversee the production of materials that support our General Conference, the denomination’s legislative body that meets once every four years to shape official teaching, policies, and practices. I am currently involved in a project that will move these support materials (about 3,000 printed pages in 2016) into an all-digital publication. So I’m having to learn about web design and user interface in addition to my work in books and videos. My work involves a little bit of everything, from writing and editing to theology and project management.

I have also recently started a side project, totally unrelated to work, where I’m writing about the intersection of theology and space exploration, to understand the theological implications of space exploration and what it means for human life and faith. This is just getting off the ground in the form of a blog, but I hope eventually to publish academic papers and start some conversations with others about these topics, which are important and timely, and which people of faith don’t seem to be talking about very much.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
Most of my day-to-day work is in Microsoft Word, which creates documents that feed into Adobe InDesign, an industry standard in terms of publication software. I also do a fair amount of proof review using PDFs in Adobe Acrobat. We have specialized software unique to our company for content management and project workflow. I also use Frame IO and Vimeo to interact with our producers on video projects. Finally, I use a proprietary legislative management program designed for The United Methodist Church in my official church work, to track delegates and legislation in our denomination’s legislative process that creates policies for our Church.

What does your workspace setup look like?
I have a small but efficient and well-organized cubicle at my company’s headquarters, together with the rest of our publishing unit. I have a laptop and 2 monitors, a small filing cabinet which mostly goes unused (we’re largely paper-free), and some shelf space for books I use frequently.
We have a beautiful patio overlooking a pond, and I usually work there for a few hours a week just to change the scenery. I do not have a dedicated home office, but do work from home about once per week at my kitchen table.

What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Find a routine that works for you and stick to it. I wasn’t the best at this during my Ph.D. program, and I probably would’ve been more efficient and productive if I’d had more of a daily and weekly routine. In my work now, I have a routine that works very well, and it helps me get a lot done and also balance my work with home life and hobbies. Routines and habits, if they are good ones, take a lot of the thought and work out of scheduling and planning your day, freeing your mental and physical energy for the work you truly care about and need to get done.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
Old-fashioned paper and pen! I keep a running to-do list for today and the next 2-3 days, which I update as new projects and tasks arise, tasks are completed, and priorities shift. This has always worked well for me—I’ve been able to adapt some version of this for my work throughout college, my master’s program, my Ph.D. program, and now my work. We also have a weekly production meeting with my team, where we talk about current and upcoming projects. That weekly get-together is critical to assure that we’re all up to date and know the most urgent tasks.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
Not really, unless you count a television and DVD player to review videos.

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
I a high-level thinker who prefers to address the big picture rather than get bogged down in minutiae. That helps me set ambitious goals and develop projects with end results in mind. I am also drawn to ideas and positions that differ from those of others—I like to “zig” when everybody else “zags.” That often leads me to creative interpretations or deeper insight that I wouldn’t have come to otherwise.

What do you listen to when you work?
I usually work in silence, which I find very relaxing and centering—it’s really hard for me to focus when there’s any sound other than background noise. When I was writing my dissertation, I used to listen to classical music some, but even then I worked in silence as often as not.

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
I am always reading! Lately I’ve been reading a lot about physics and space exploration, popular books as well as textbooks, all of which is deeply fascinating. I love the way these fields stretch my mind and force me to think in different ways from how I typically do.

I also continue to read theology, though at a much lower rate than I did when I was completing my Ph.D. And, of course, I read the books I edit! My coworkers laugh at me because I’ll edit books all morning, then read for fun during my lunch hour, then back to book editing in the afternoon. I just love learning, and books are a great way to do that.

I find time to read mostly because I enjoy it. I’ve found that we are able to make time for things we enjoy and find important.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
I’m most definitely an introvert, which goes well with the nature of my job because it’s a lot of time working on your own. That allows me to engage with people productively when it matters, such as in meetings and interacting with my authors. So it’s a balance that works well with my personality.

What's your sleep routine like?
I usually get around 6.5-7 hours—lights out around 10 or 10:30 and awake at 5 am. Naps are extremely rare.

What's your work routine like?
Pretty much 9-5 every day, though I put in extra time at home as needed when a project is in the works. That’s almost always after 8 pm when my wife and I put our kids to bed. I start each day with a workout, because physical health is important to me and I’ve found that unless I do it first thing, it’s too easy to skip. When I’m at work, I prefer working on editing and anything that requires a high level of concentration in the morning, and I do my best to respond to emails at set times during the day. At the end of every day, I spend a few minutes planning for the next day so that I can be productive right away. I find that spending a little time addressing emails in the evening is a great way to ensure that I don’t get off track the next day, but can start right away on the work that’s most important and urgent for me.

What's the best advice you ever received?
It’s not about how little you can get by with. It’s about how much you can do.

I am Dave Shriberg, and This is How I Work

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Dave Shriberg. Dr. Shriberg has been a professor for the past fifteen years. Starting on August 1, 2018, he will be a Professor of Education and Program Chair for School Psychology Programs at Indiana University. Dr. Shriberg has authored or edited six books and dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. He is the Editor of Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, and has chaired 24 completed dissertations. A founder of a national (US) network of social justice advocates, Dr. Shriberg's research focuses on the application of social justice principles to educational and psychological practice. He can be reached via Twitter at @DrDaveShriberg.

Current Job: Professor of Education, and Program Chair, School Psychology Programs, Indiana University (start on 8/1/18. Before that I was a Professor of Education at Loyola University Chicago.
Current Location: Bloomington, Indiana
Current mobile device: iPhone
Current computer: MacBook Air

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I am entering my sixteenth year as a professor after obtaining my PhD in school/counseling psychology in 2003. My main research focus is the application of social justice principles to education. I have authored or edited six books, and approximately 60 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters (around 30 of each). I am also a journal editor (Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation). I have chaired approximately 25 completed dissertations and typically have a research team of 8-12 students. I love both conducting research and mentoring/supporting graduate students in their research areas of passion.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
I tend to rely a lot on Dropbox and Google docs to stay organized and to facilitate working together on writing. I also do a lot of video calls.

What does your workspace setup look like?
I work approximately half-time from home and half from my university office. I do very little academic writing in my office and when writing from "home" this often means going to a cafe so I don't have as many distractions. My work environment I think is fairly standard. Lots of pictures of family at my office and space to meet with students, but otherwise my office is not super-cluttered. At home I have a decided space to work, but I often move around a lot with my laptop.

What is your best advice for productive academic work?
For academic writing, carve out time and protect this time fiercely. I believe the literature says that the most productive writers work for shorter periods of time every day. I actually have done better when I protect whole days and half-days for this purpose.

For teaching and service tasks, I prioritize being really thoughtful about your syllabi and prioritizing giving students high quality feedback. I used to obsess over every possible question a student might ask in class and in this sense "over-prepare". Now I find that I do best when I have a tight outline for each class with a few extra options depending on how things are going (my classes are usually once a week for 2.5 hours, so I have some time) so I can adapt, but I don't try to micromanage every minute or stress if I don't give intense coverage to EVERY reading. I think about the 2-3 main things I want to make sure gets done well in every class session and work from that.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
I used to keep this mostly in my head and calendar, but either I got older and/or busier because now there are too many things to work that way. So, I rely a lot on lists keeper in google docs to keep me organized. I also take a lot of notes/logs from my meetings with students so I can look at a glance as to where they are with things. For dissertation students, I keep a more detailed google sheet of where they stand, key milestones and deadlines, what we covered in our last discussion, etc.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
I'm sure I'm forgetting somethings, but these are the main ones. I do a lot of video calls via my computer. I'm pretty attached to my laptop, most things flow from there.

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
It is hard to answer this without coming across as immodest. I think my greatest strength as an advisor is that I am not trying to turn my students into miniature versions of myself. Only I can be me, you do you. My goal is for students to become the best versions of themselves, whatever that looks like. In this regard, I think I am pretty flexible and am not upset at all when students pursue their own interests, even if they are not my interests. I also try to be very generous about sharing my professional network with my students and facilitating opportunity for collaboration in this way.

What do you listen to when you work?
Usually my Pandora stations. It's forever the 1980's/early 1990s with my music as I was born the 1970s so grew up with this. For some reason, I feel like I write really well to Jack Johnson songs, which I would not ordinarily admit, but his music seems to put me in a good headspace. When I'm tired and need a "push", I will listen to fast and loud music to get myself going.

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
At the moment I am reading "Little Women" because it's one of my daughter's favorites and I promised her I would read it. I have to admit that I like this book a lot--halfway done--but in general I tend to read non-fiction. I like biographies--I get inspired by people who have lived remarkable lives. I find people's stories really fascinating. I find that if I do enough "fun" reading like this not only am I happier overall, but also more productive with academic reading.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
I am very much an introvert. I like public speaking so teaching does not drain my energies, but being in a lot of social situations with people I don't know well or otherwise do not have comfort with drains my energy a lot. Being able to work from home or somewhat anonymously in cafes really helps an introvert like me stay productive. If I were in the office every day, I know that this will take a toll in this regard, no matter how nice my colleagues are, as I need and value alone and family time.

What's your sleep routine like?
I'm not sure if I really have a formal sleep routine. I have two teenage children so evenings pre-sleep are usually spent catching up with my wife. I do try to do mindfulness techniques to relax right before falling asleep, but not nearly as regularly as I should.

What's your work routine like?
It really varies. As the parents of two teenagers (one in 7th grade, the other in 10th grade), I try to match their schedules as much as possible by working like crazy as much as I can when they are not at home. But, invariably I end up working some nights and weekends too. Each week I figure out with my wife as we coordinate a lot of logistics, so I don't end up with an exact work schedule. I also work a fair bit in the field and also do a fair amount of speaking engagements, so my schedule really varies a lot.

What's the best advice you ever received?
Tough question! I think things related to not personalizing setbacks. I have not always been perfect in following that kind of advice, but the more years I am in academia, the more I see how, which no one is perfect (least of all me), everyone has setbacks. And, academia can be a really competitive and petty place--don't personalize and internalize when others resent your success and/or happiness. Finally, the idea of paying it forward is really big for me. Don't be kind to graduate students for your own gain, but because it is the right thing to do and is what you want them to be doing when they are in your role. My graduate mentor was incredibly generous and kind. She passed in 2012, but I feel like anything I do something that is helpful to a student, I'm carrying out her legacy.

I am Paul Hanstedt, and This is How I Work

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Paul Hanstedt. He holds a Ph.D. in Victorain Literature and is currently the Director of Pedagogical Innovation and the Teaching Collaborative at Roanoke College, where he led the revision of a campus-wide general education program, developed an innovative writing-across-the-curriculum program, and coordinated the implementation of the college’s ePortfolio system. He is the recipient of several teaching awards, received a Fulbright to aid general education curricular revision in Hong Kong, and is co-recipient of a FIPSE grant for sustainable faculty development. He is the author of several books on faculty and curricular development, including General Education Essentials (Jossey-Bass, 2012) and Creating Wicked Students (Stylus, 2018).

Current Job: Professor of English at Roanoke College; Director of Pedagogical Innovation and the Teaching Collaborative; Consultant in Higher Education, specializing in General Education/Liberal Arts, Curricular Reform, and Pedagogical Development (I usually visit between 8-12 different schools a year)
Current Location: Roanoke, Virginia, though I live in Lexington, VA, home of the now famous Red Hen restaurant
Current mobile device: iPhone 9
Current computer: MacBook Air (but also an old old PC desktop that I use to write longer documents)

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I've been a professor at Roanoke College for 22 years. RC is a small liberal arts college of about 2000 students. For the last 14 years or so I've also taken on some mid-level administrative work, largely in the realm of curricular and faculty development. This coming year, for instance, I'll teach three courses, admin for the equivalent of 2, and use a sixth to pursue my own projects.

In addition, I visit between 8-12 schools a year, helping them with curricular reform and pedagogical development.

My current research is on developing course designs and pedagogical approaches to enhance student authority--that is, their sense of their ability to step into the world as thoughtful agents of change. This has nothing to do with my dissertation. In fact, I haven't used my dissertation work directly in the last 14 years.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
Honestly? I use an old PC desktop for all of my longer writing. I just like sitting at the desk, having that big keyboard clacking in front of me. I write on Microsoft Office Word (365). I don't use any other apps other than, occasionally, Safari to look up some random fact. I try and keep my phone away from my desk when I'm writing.

What does your workspace setup look like?
I have a fixed workspace in my home. It's the only place I do major writing. It's on the top floor, at the back of the house, facing over an old cemetery and some distant mountains. It gets the morning light. My desk is a huge old door set up on two filing cabinets. It's very cluttered, which is funny, since I used to be very tidy. Now I don't care any more.



What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Several things come to mind:
1) When writing, imagine a gracious and loving audience. That helps deal with anxiety about not "getting it right."
2) Allow yourself, in Anne Lamott's words, a "shitty first draft." Let it suck. Just turn off the editor/critic and get the words down. Then you have something you can revise.
3) Go for a run or do some form of exercise before you sit down to write. This will lower anxiety and stress.
4) Sometimes light music helps distract that critical nasty questioning part of your brain. I listen to CDs by The National when I write.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
I keep a jotted list on my desk. I take great pleasure in crossing things off.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
Nope.

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
Hmmmmm . . . I guess I'm a communicator? I take pleasure in taking complex ideas and finding ways to make them meaningful/understandable for various audiences--be they students or the resistant faculty member at the back of the room.

What do you listen to when you work?
I love that you ask this! Anything by The National, including SLEEP WELL BEAST, HIGH VIOLET, TROUBLE WILL FIND ME, and BOXER. I also listen to GIVE UP, by the Postal Service

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?

I am currently reading Rory Stewart's THE PLACES IN BETWEEN.

Until this last sabbatical (that I'm currently coming off of), I did a terrible job of finding time to read. But this year I've read probably more books than in the last 22 years! I'm hoping to keep this going as the school year begins by: a) reminding myself how healthy reading is, that it slows down the heart rate and relaxes the breathing, focusing the mind (much like meditation); and b) putting down books that don't grab my interest. I'm getting older now. I don't feel obliged to read through something that doesn't interest me anymore.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
I appear to be an extrovert, but really am an introvert. I need time by myself to clear my head, read, mull, daydream, write. I can face out and perform, but it is a performance.

Realizing that much of my public work is performative has actually been freeing. I've learned to turn it on and be public when I'm in public, being gracious and out-going, knowing that, eventually, I'll retreat to my lair and recoup.

What's your sleep routine like?
Shoot for eight hours. Take more if I can get it. Try and avoid less if possible. Naps are lovely.

What's your work routine like?
Two to four hours in the morning of writing. But that only happens when I'm not teaching. When I'm teaching, all bets are off and life just becomes task task task.

What's the best advice you ever received?
Be gracious to yourself. Forgive your flaws and mistakes and errors of judgment. Once you do that, it's easier to be gracious to others.

I am Andrew Watson, and This is How I Work

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Andrew Watson for the "How I Work" series. Andrew is a second year Doctorial Researcher at the University of Glasgow. By day Andrew is a Data Analyst for an Insurance Provider and by night is researching peoples bodily and sensorial engagement with Neolithic funerary monuments.

Current Job: I work full time as a Data Analyst and study part time for my PhD in Archaeology
Current Location: Somerset, UK
Current mobile device: LG K8
Current computer: Dell Inspiron

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I’m a part time PhD student in archaeology using a phenomenological approach to understand peoples bodily and sensorial engagement with Neolithic long barrows. I’m interested in how much of our experiences today could be similar to that of people in the Neolithic.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
I don’t use any fancy tools, apps or software. I have a word document that I update whenever I study and start a new one weekly. It has numerous headers including things to be done this week, things to be done in the future, what I plan to do, what I actually did, upcoming deadlines and things to work on when I have spare time(!).

What does your workspace setup look like?
I’m a distance learning student so I study at home primarily and sometimes visit a local university library. With the arrival of my son my workspace has diminished somewhat from a big desk in my spare room, to a smaller desk in the living room, to one in the bedroom, to now using my laptop with a second monitor on the dining room table and tidying it away each time.



What is your best advice for productive academic work?
Break tasks down into smaller chunks and work towards these first. Ultimately for me if what I’m working on will not help me finish my thesis then is it a priority? Do I have time to be working on a side project? Sometimes the answer is yes, and this is fine, but other times you need to say no to things or put them to one side until the key deadline is met.
Managing time well is key for a part time and distance learning student.

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
My trusty notebook and weekly to-do list!

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
Not that I can think of.

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
While I wouldn’t class myself as an academic yet, as I don’t have my PhD, I believe I am self-motivated, determined and have good time management. As I’ve studied from my Undergraduate degree via distance learning I’ve had to find ways of keeping myself motivated and focused over the almost 10 years!

What do you listen to when you work?
While not my usual cup of tea, dubstep is quite good when I need to focus. I think this is because it’s quite repetitive. Rock music too like Iron Maiden or AC/DC is good too!

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
You can’t write before you’ve read… well at least for your literature review. Reading is important, not just books or papers written previously but it’s also important to keep on top of new papers being published. There are many journal notification emails that I’ve signed up to but it’s important to set some time aside each week to read and keep on top of things.
What am I reading now? Numerous things on qualitative and phenomenological research as my fieldwork is due to take place in a few months!

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
While I potentially come across as an extrovert, I believe I have become an introvert over the years. I’m confident in my research but sometimes wonder if my ideas are quite abstract and fear negative peer-feedback and how that may knock my confidence.

What's your sleep routine like?
Sleep is important. As a dad, full time employee and part time student it is important to get enough rest! I tend to aim for around six hours a night. Any more and I feel less productive the following day, any less and it usually catches up with me a day or so later.

What's your work routine like?
Since the birth of my son I’ve struggled to motivate myself at the end of a busy day either being a dad or working in my (sometimes) mentally draining job. The thought of sitting down to a few hours of work was not appealing. Equally, if my son had a bad evening, didn’t settle or woke up late into the evening I couldn’t get things done. Instead I’ve found getting up around 4:30am allows me two hours to work while everyone else is asleep and then I can get ready at 6:30am to get into the office to start my day. This then allows me the luxury of sitting down some evenings and having time to myself!

What's the best advice you ever received?
Pace yourself and set realistic goals. I’ve previously agreed to take on too much or set very ambitious targets and not reached them. This can be most disheartening. Setting realistic goals, which only you know what you can achieve, will help you have a more positive experience!
Oh… and share your ideas at an early stage! I’ve mulled over and stressed about ideas wondering if they are worth sharing and when I finally do they are usually well received and supported by colleagues.

I am Joni Gilissen, and This is How I Work

Today, I am interviewing Joni Gilissen in the "How I Work" series. Joni (°1990) holds a degree in Social Work, a master’s degree in Social Policy and a postgraduate degree in Social Profit and Public Management. She is working for 4 years within the inter-university and interdisciplinary End-of-life Care Research Group (Belgium) on a project in which she will develop and evaluate an Advance Care Planning intervention in the nursing home setting. Furthermore, she co-coordinates the Twitter page of the research group and is responsible for the monthly newsletter.

Current Job: Joint PhD Candidate in Social Health Sciences and Biomedical Sciences
Current Location: Brussels, Belgium
Current mobile device: iPhone 6S
Current computer: Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Azerty)

Can you briefly explain your current situation and research to us?
I am a fourth year PhD candidate in a joint PhD program in Social Health Sciences at the Vrije University Brussels and Biomedical Sciences at the Catholic University Leuven. I currently carry out a large study within the End-of-Life Care Research Group of which the focus is on advance care planning for people in nursing homes, including residents living with dementia. Advance care planning focuses on one central question: “What type of health care would you want if you became too sick to tell the doctor or the involved healthcare professionals yourself?”. Advance care planning provides the opportunity to define goals and preferences for future medical treatment and care, to discuss these goals and preferences with family and healthcare providers, and to record and review these preferences in documents such as a ‘living will’ (or advance directive).

To this respect I am evaluating the effects of such a process of advance care planning in a cluster randomized controlled trial in a large number of nursing home settings in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium. My current situation involves running this trial (eg. making sure advance care planning is implemented according to protocol, planning meetings, observing practice, doing interviews), preparing for final follow-up measurement of the primary outcome to evaluate effectiveness, applying for follow up funding and hoping to publish my work before the term of my PhD trajectory ends.

What tools, apps and software are essential to your workflow?
To schedule my day and meetings I use Google Agenda. Evernote keeps track of my to do lists and ideas, which are synced on my phone and computers, so I’m always able to follow-up wherever I am. Same with my Dropbox files and Zotero. Running the trial, I spend a lot of time in my car and such apps make it possible to follow up work, even if I don’t have my computer with me. For my writing I started using Outliner and InDesign to graphically outline my PhD thesis. To draw diagrams for my papers, I use Lucidchart, an online program which I really love. When I work from home I Skype or Zoom a lot with colleagues or supervisors. And then you have the regulars in research, such as SPSS, Nvivo and LimeSurvey. I also use Google Forms a lot to help me schedule workshops and send out short training surveys or attendance lists.

What does your workspace setup look like?
I tell everyone I am really into the clean desk policy but after four years I still don’t manage to keep my desk spotless. However, besides my daily fruit, some photographs from parties with colleagues or from travels and the papers I am actively reading or working on, I manage quite well. We just got new offices in Brussels, where I am sharing an office with five other PhD candidates. When I don’t need my two screens and I have to write, I love working from home. At home, I am trying to only use my laptop and I usually sit at the dinner table. The year that passed was a bit chaotic and inferior for my work place environment but it also has its perks. Because I spend a lot of my time on the road, traveling between nursing home facilities, I have these short blocks of time between meetings, providing me with just enough time to write a short paragraph or check up with my e-mails in a coffee shop nearby. A bit of coffee bar hopping didn’t hurt anyone! And I have the benefit I like working in crowded places. When I was a grad student I always studied in the overcrowded student library. There are even studies that have proven that a moderate level of ambient noise is conductive and stimulates creativity, and I even found an app that recreates coffee shop background noise. I haven’t used it yet though.

Workplace 1 (End-of-Life Care Research Group offices in Brussels):

Workplace 2 (Our house, currently being renovated):


What is your best advice for productive academic work?
After four years of working as a researcher, I found out that it depends on the kind of task you need to do. It helps me a lot to block out shucks of my agenda (eg. one afternoon) for a specific task and reorganize my working environment and schedule depending on the task. It took some time before I figured this out and my advice is to try several things to find out what suits you best. For my writing I usually block the whole day, if possible two, to come into the workflow. However, I have to force myself to stop writing which can be tempting at some point. I’ve learned I always have new insights after a day or two of writing-rest. The same with data analysis and protocol writing. The tasks that I don’t like, such as folding envelopes, arranging meetings, doing the necessary telephone calls I usually do in the mornings so that after lunch I can move on to the things I like, ending the day with a good temper.
Two more advices: don’t schedule important work meetings after 3pm, people will be tired, and keep the Friday afternoons for long-term “important but not urgent tasks” (such as arranging your folders, organizing your agenda, follow-up on e-mails, etc.).

How do you keep an overview of projects and tasks?
On Friday afternoon I check my Google Agenda to get an overview of the week that is ahead, so I have a clear idea of what the upcoming week will look like and how I can optimize it. If it is really busy, even my sport activities and social life will be scheduled around my PhD work. In three main Excel files I keep track of 1) the trial I am running, 2) my publication record (the papers I am working on, for which I haven’t received feedback, for which data analysis will start, etc.) and 3) my PhD trajectory (which provides me with an overview of when funding ends, important calls and deadlines for grant applications for future research, etc). For each work package within the trial (such as ‘recruitment’, ‘baseline measurement’, ‘first training of healthcare professionals’) I use Evernote. One note tab, for each work package. Both in my Google Agenda and Microsoft Outlook, all work packages have different colors or folders.

Besides phone and computer, do you use other technological tools in work and daily life?
My coffee machine or hot water boiler for lots of tea or coffee? No, seriously, I use an extra monitor (BenQ) for when I am writing papers or performing data analysis. I use Bluetooth to listen to music on the wireless speakers at home. I am saving up money to buy a Garmin watch so I can follow-up my sport activities like swimming, biking and running. I’m almost there.

Which skill makes you stand out as an academic?
I can manage a lot of pressure and a busy life. Because I am really dedicated to the research I am performing, I have never seen my PhD as ‘working’ but as an opportunity to learn and I have clear goals for this and future research. In addition, I am quite sociable and I like to believe I am a team player that strives to a cohesive working environment. Every first Thursday of the month I try to organize an ‘out-of-office’ lunch at a restaurant nearby, with the other PhD students (we are 20 PhD’s btw) or a ‘potluck’ at which every PhD student brings one dish we eventually share.

What do you listen to when you work?
I only listen to music when I am writing the discussion section of a paper. I don’t know why but that is the only time I feel it can be helpful. When I’m driving to the nursing home facilities that are involved in my research, I use Spotify to listen to music in my car. Currently I listen to Luluc, an Australian band I recently discovered on Spotify, and all kinds of Jazz. Always Jazz.

What are you currently reading? How do you find time for reading?
I am reading Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami, which I borrowed from one of my colleagues. So good! I don’t have that much time to read though. I read mostly while I am travelling, on rare quite Sundays or on the scarce moments I take the train.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert? How does this influence your working habits?
I am definitely an extrovert. Ask my colleagues or my friends. I do believe it has its advantages in presenting my work to others, recruitment participants or involving partners for my research and in networking on conferences.

What's your sleep routine like?
I have a normal sleep routine. I sleep from 10 or 11 pm to 6 or 7 am. Unless I have a deadline or at times I struggle with work, I tend to get slightly nervous and this always affects my sleep quality. I love to wake up early for a morning swim or end the day with some ‘Yoga with Adriene’ on Youtube. Try it! It’s really nice!

What's your work routine like?
Your work routine should not focus on the number of hours you spend working but on the productive ones. That is why my work routine really changes depending on the week and the task I scheduled. This week for example, I am working until 7 pm because I am following up on my publications, at the same time I am applying for a grant and during the day I have to run the trial and prepare the online database for data-entry. Other weeks I work from 8am to 5pm because my work is well scheduled and I make sure I have time to spend with my friends or doing sports. There are even weeks I work from 10am to 3pm, stop early to take a swim or work on the house and start working again at 7pm. I also work in the weekend sometimes if I have a free Saturday and I feel inspired or if I want to start fresh on Mondays and I feel I haven’t finished all the tasks from the week before. My advice? If you feel like nothing relevant is coming out of you sitting behind your computer, take a walk or go running and start over. Don’t feel bad against your colleagues. It is not a competition about who can work the most.

What's the best advice you ever received?
“Search for a job that combines something you love to do, something you are good at and something that adds value to society” (Toon, my boyfriend)