Quals incoming!

My qualifying exam is coming up, in a little over a month and a half.

The format is writing the research strategy of an R01, based on proposed research for the next few years, then presenting and defending the ideas to your committee. I've been working on mine almost daily since May, and it's changed dramatically as the direction of my project has shifted. It's been fun, interesting, challenging, and utterly terrifying.

Other students I talk to say this was one of the worst parts of their PhD, the lead up to quals. These same people say that in retrospect, it wasn't that bad, and they enjoyed the actual event, in a twisted sort of way.

I've been trying to get the last few bits of preliminary data, and it's not going well. I would have no problem with data that contradicted my hypothesis, if only the experiments would work. That frustration aside, the writing process has been enlightening. Reading papers, and putting this puzzle together has been satisfying in a way I hadn't expected. I don't mind the writing at all, but I'm dreading the studying that I should have already started. I'm also looking forward to dedicated time in the lab again, instead of random hail mary experiments.


How was your qualifying exam? Horrible? Wonderful? What do you wish you had done differently?

Onwards, and forwards!

Halfway Done! Revisiting 2015 Goals

June. It's June already. Where did 2015 go? Time is flying by at a ridiculous pace. In January I wrote a post about goals I wanted to achieve for 2015. Since 2015 is halfway over, let's revisit.

Professional:

• Publish in a policy journal again - Not even close, and maybe not something I want to focus on.
• Plan & execute DC networking trip - Went to DC, but not for this purpose. still managed to get some networking in.
• Identify & explore specific science policy careers - This is still a struggle
• Find session/panel to moderate at future conference - I'm going to a conference in October where I may look for future opportunities.
• Finish strategic outreach plan for CCH - Done! Interesting side project, glad it's over.
• Co-moderate PhD Career Conference 2015 - Currently in the final stages of setting up workshops, this event is at the end of June.

School:

• Submit F31 grant - Still writing, writing, writing. Submission deadline is in August.
• Pass qualifying exam - Committee is formed, this will be scheduled for September.
• Attend 2 conferences - Done! Going to a 3rd in October.
• First author scientific paper - Done! Submitted earlier this week, keep your fingers crossed that comments are kind, and revisions are light.
• Read at least 1 paper per week - Not quite. I've been scanning more abstracts, but need to focus on more indepth reading.

Fitness:

• 300lb deadlift - Not even close
• Gym at least 2x/week - Only for the last month or so. As this continues more of the other goals in this category will seem more attainable.
• 10 sec L-sit
• Freestanding handstand
• 5 pull-ups
  

Personal:

• Travel out of the country - Twice! Once for a conference, and once for fun.
• Complete Linux online course - Nope. This isn't a goal any more.
• Practice piano 3x/week - I don't think I've looked at my keyboard since January.
• Take singing/piano lessons - No longer a goal, but I might take lessons after I pass my Quals.
• Blog monthly - Obviously this hasn't been happening.
• Have more science-specific Twitter discussions - This has been happening periodically, and it's always enjoyable. 

Looking over the list, I'm pretty okay with my progress so far. Some goals have changed, and that's acceptable. I specifically didn't add goals to this list, but priorities have definitely shifted to focus on personal fitness, and my research project. In January, I was still in classes, and focusing on bigger picture, career orientated goals instead. This mid-year shift seems appropriate, and we'll have to see what I think looking back at the end of this year!

How are your goals coming along?

Science of Being Happy: Sleep

Building on a previous post about using basic needs as a coping mechanism, I am very interested in research on happiness. Considering some of the dark episodes I've had in my life, I get a little angry when people think my buoyant optimism comes naturally. Happiness can take effort and work, just like any other goal worth pursuing.

In the hierarchy of health, sleep is king. Like many other things in life, happiness starts with basic needs being met. It's much easier to be happy when you sleep well, eat well, and get a moderate amount of exercise. Specific needs may be different for different people. I need a fair amount of sleep, and boy howdy, everything in life is easier when I get it. Thinking is faster, and clearer, mood is better, and productivity soars.
But it takes more than going to bed at a regular hour (even though that's still important). Here are the things that work for me:

• Sticking to a schedule: We've all heard this, so why don't we stick to it? It's hard to implement, but it really does work. I get tired around the same time every night, and getting up during the week is far easier if I didn't sleep in all weekend.
• Get away from the screens: There's interesting research about the effects of light from computers and smart phones. The over-simplification is that the wavelength of light given off from these screens is similar to sunlight. This light stimulation is enough to stop all the night-time hormones from kicking in and helping you wind down for the night. Remember that we evolved to be in tune with sunlight, so by playing on the phone in bed the same as telling your body that it's daylight and not time to sleep yet. However, I'm in grad school and you might have a similar obligation that means turning off the computer hours before bed isn't an option. Instead, I got these super fashionable amber-colored glasses (About $15 in late fall of 2013):
  
  
  
  
  
  Yes, I look pretty fantastic there. Sex appeal aside, these things have been amazing. Supposedly, they block the wavelengths of light that keep you awake, and let your body send out all the sleepy-time signals. I noticed that I get drowsier earlier, and fall asleep faster.
  
• Daytime light exposure: The other side to this is getting enough light during the day. I work in a lab with no windows. During the winter it's usually dark when I'm walking in, and dark again when I'm walking home (yay, Northeast winters). This means that unless I make a conscious effort to go for a walk or get near a window during a break, I get zero light exposure. My sleep took a significant turn for the better when I started taking a 10 minute break in both the morning and afternoon to get near a window, and usually a brisk walk right after lunch. 
  

• Exercise: This is another obvious, but easy to forget item. Don't sit at a desk all day. Get up and move when you can. At least stretch once in a while if nothing else. Movement during the day always helps me sleep better at night. Even simple activities, like an afternoon walk, work well.
  

• Light while sleeping: I'm not 100% sold on this one, but experts that I generally trust say it's important. We live in a very electronic world. Clocks, phones, computers, TVs, etc all have little lights that are shining on us all night. Just for the fun of it, try covering them up or turning them all off. Every pinprick of light you can see from your bed and see how you sleep. I found some improvement.
  

• Light while waking: Once upon a time, in a land far way, I used to live somewhere that got sunlight. Waking up in the morning with a large, East-facing window was easy and felt natural. Now that I'm in the Northeast, if I waited for sunlight to wake up, I'd sleep until June. Instead, I invested in a sunrise alarm clock (about $80 in summer of 2013). This is the most expensive clock I ever bought, and it's been worth every penny. It gradually gets brighter during the 30 minutes before the alarm itself goes off, up to a final brightness that you set. The alarm is either wind chimes, or bird chirping. The gradual brightening of the room makes those gentle sounds enough to wake you up. Waking up in a brightly lit room to birds chirping is so much nicer than waking up to a pitch black room with an alarm beeping angrily at you. I can't recommend this thing enough.
  

So here are some of the things I do to make sure I'm well rested, at least some of the time. Like many of my ideas it works great in theory, but doesn't always get put into practice. However, when I'm starting to feel overtired or stressed out, sleep is one of the first things I try to focus on improving. I'd love to hear about what you tried, and what's worked and what hasn't.