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Summer’s here. I capped off my semester with graduation. Even though I defended my dissertation last June, I was just over the deadline to graduate last Spring, so I got to graduate with two of my lab buddies, instead. Totally worth the wait.
That's me on the right, with another PhD (left) and master's candidate (center) from my grad lab.
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The last few weeks of the Spring semester leading up to graduation were rough, trying to meet deadlines for coursework and other projects. This semester I finished:
- Intro to Epidemiology (two exams, four quizzes, a final presentation and a paper)
- Grant Writing (a draft potential R03 grant)
- Biostats II (a final project)
and submitted:
- one project to IRB
- one grant proposal to a local foundation
- one application for a summer workshop
- one poster for an international conference
- one poster for the national meetings
- one poster for the departmental program annual symposium
My semester, especially towards the end, felt a bit like this
Except without the tutu.
For the last several weeks, I was jumping from one deadline to another, having just a few days between to work on the next project on the list. Not surprisingly, I’ve felt the need to have a way to keep more on top of things: projects, due dates, meetings. While I was writing my dissertation, I had used LifeBalance, but decided against upgrading because their iPhone app apparently has issues, and I had stopped using the desktop version over a year ago because it just wasn’t working for me and I didn’t want to pay for the update. I downloaded the trial version of Things, but decided it didn’t fit my current (lack of) workflow, and required adaptations that didn’t really work for me. Same for Midnight Inbox. I settled on OmniFocus instead, personal task management software based on David Allen’s Getting Things Done. ProfHacker has a nice series of posts on applying the concept as an academic, including an Introduction, Contexts and Academic Work, Mind-sweeping, and Managing Project Files.
I’ve slowly been adding projects, setting contexts and due dates. I’ve been using OmniFocus for about three weeks, but I haven’t completed a mind-sweep yet, partly due to lack of time (cleaning up from the end of semester crazy), partly because I’m still in the process of learning the system (reviewing podcasts, screencasts, and blogs about implementation), and partly because I’m a little afraid to have all of my commitments down on paper. I’m still figuring out exactly what should go on the list. Everything? Or just those out of the ordinary things that I might forget if I don’t write them down? Most of what I have set up so far are work projects, and I feel already like I have a better idea of where things are and what needs to be done next.
That’s good, because my summer is shaping up to be very busy, even without taking classes. Right now, the project list looks like this:
- resubmit proposal to IRB
- write three articles from dissertation
- write/contribute to other articles as assigned
- write book chapter
- help with PI R01 submission
- present research idea to local partner organization
- meet with biostatistics re. R03 proposal
- develop syllabus/course description for potential class
- plan analysis of samples from PI’s current R01
- create a career development plan
It feels really good to be finishing up the first year of my postdoc, despite feeling like I’m eating an apple while juggling knives balanced on a rickety table sometimes. I’m hoping GTD and OmniFocus can alleviate some of that end of semester panic in the future.
For the other postdocs out there, what strategies/tips do you have for task management?
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Image credit: Graduation photo courtesy of lab buddies. Knife juggler photo Creative Commons licensed by peter.bryant via Flickr.
Several of the items I’ve run across while surfing this week involve genomics (not surprising, given my job).
- First, from the National Human Genome Research Institute GenomicsCareers: Find Your Future, a website detailing the myriad career choices in the emerging field of genomics. With interactive videos and career profiles, a nice resource for the budding scientist. This one is on my list to share with my oldest, who has expressed an interest in forensics and neuroscience.
- Next, HuGE Navigator, “An integrated, searchable knowledge base of genetic associations and human genome epidemiology.” BiteSizeBio has a nice review of the high points here and here. I realize these posts are from over a year ago, but I was trapped in dissertation purgatory at the time.
- Finally, Genomicus, a genome browser that lets users compare genomes across species.
Here’s the Genomicus output from the FOXP2 gene,with the human gene at the bottom of the figure, and a handy demo video.
A subject that’s been on my mind quite a bit this week, and coincidentally, several related things have popped up on my radar. First, a video from SciVee, intended for high school girls who might be considering a career in science.
The best advice? Just do it. If that’s what your passion is, go for it.
When I was a very little girl, I remember my father coming to pick me up from daycare one day. I was in tears, and when he asked me what was wrong, I told him that my teacher had asked all of us to tell what we wanted to be when we grew up. When I said that I wanted to be an astronaut, my teacher said I couldn’t because I was a girl (this was pre-Sally Ride). My father confronted the teacher, and informed her that his daughter could be anything she wanted to be. Knowing that a trusted adult believed in me gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams. Just one of the reasons I adore my dad.
Sally Ride - First American Woman in Space
My high school biology class turned my attention from outer space to DNA. After those Punnett squares, I never looked back. But that confidence in my abilities never wavered.
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Also, the National Postdoctoral Association posted their 6 Core Competencies for postdocs:
to offer guidance to individual postdoctoral scholars who must seek out relevant training experiences, in collaboration with mentors, institutions, and other advisors who provide this training…These competencies are meant to serve primarily as: (1) a basis for self-evaluation by postdoctoral scholars and (2) a basis for developing training opportunities that can be evaluated by mentors, institutions, and other advisors.
Postdocs can use the checklist to identify areas for future development, and as a springboard for discussion with their mentors.
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Finally, an article from Science Careers – Reaching gender equity in science: The importance of role models and mentors.
One of the factors that has inspired more women to pursue scientific careers has been having examples of successful women who have done the same.
I feel very fortunate to have a team of mentors, one of whom is a very prolific and successful scientist, woman, and mother. When I started graduate school, my concern was mostly with the academics. Completing my courses, making sure I had enough time in the lab to get my research done, writing. I hadn’t really considered the importance of mentoring in establishing my career. I can see now that it is essential, and especially beneficial to have a group of senior researchers interested in your professional development, even if their advice seems sometimes contradictory. And while this may not be the case for some postdocs, I know that they all genuinely have my best interests in mind. I’m beginning to see my graduate training, and by extension my postdoc, as an apprenticeship. A position where I learn how to be a scientist, with all the core competencies that entails.
We need to do a better job advertising this, because I’m a scientist and this is the first I’ve heard of it. In the spirit of science literacy, here are a few links to explore.
- Scitable – “a free science library and personal learning tool” from Nature. The current focus is genetics (my favorite topic).
- Women in Science – from the Smithsonian Institution Archives, a collection of “images documenting women scientists and engineers from around the world, most of whom were pioneers in their respective fields, or were the first women to receive advanced graduate degrees in their discipline.” The photo below is of Dr. Mary N. Crawford, who discovered the rare Lutheran a-b- blood type.
Mary N. Crawford
The entire photo collection is an inspiration to women in science.
- Lifeworks E-Mentoring – from the National Institutes of Health Office of Science Education, “a free e-mentoring program that helps high school and college students who are interested in behavioral and social science, biomedical science, dental, and healthcare careers find a mentor.” Sounds like a great place to volunteer if you’re so inclined. What better way to improve science literacy than to help mentor the next generation of scientists?
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Speaking of science literacy: On the book club front, I’m about 2/3 of the way through January’s book. It’s interesting but dense reading, and I haven’t had as much time to read while nursing as I thought. Baby keeps grabbing the book. It’s easier to read while pumping, but that gives me roughly 30 minutes a day. I have had a couple of long waits at the car shop over the last week, so I’m making good progress. Maybe I’ll be finished by this weekend.
2010 Science Book Club
July Picks:
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The Natural History of Unicorns by Chris Lavers
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Plastic Fantastic: How the Biggest Fraud in Physics Shook the Scientific World by Eugenie Samuel Reich
Recent books:
- Remarkable Creatures by Dr. Sean B. Carroll
- The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet by Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Alex & Me by Irene M. Pepperberg
- Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson
- Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach