Tag: academia

  • academic essentials list

    academic essentials list

    I am always mildly annoyed by the fact that while GQ would have a bunch of smart rappers, actors, and even artists for their 10 essentials but a writer has never really been invited to talk about their essentials. More so than ever, academics—poor souls who live most their lives stuck to their computers these days—really need listicles that do some amount of infotainment for them. So, here we are, unprompted by GQ, about the 10 essentials I (PhD candidate and caffeine lark) swear by:

    Computer
    I know this as someone who, until recently, had a computer that barely lasted a few hours, had odd quirks like not sleeping but shutting down etc., that a good computer will really change your work life. And yes, that may mean offloading your computer of all the bloatware (Reset that work PC!), using your university discounts to buy a new computer, or simply lighter apps (Foxit Reader over Adobe Reader DC!). But yes, get yourself a computer that works.

    The Stationery
    This is an easy one. But have a note-taking system. I have a friend who buys A5 paper in bulk and has a binder system that helps them stay organised, while I have become a full-on Leuchtturm1917 Notebook hoarder who notes everything down in those things because they have page numbers and I like to have that kind of order in my life. Point is, you will need a note-system that works for you. It ought to be simple and not something that you tweak with every two months. Get a reliable pen as well (a Pilot G2 can be refilled and has a great grip; or get a Kaweco Perkeo if you like fountain pens) and you are good to go.

    Hoodie + the “good” shirt
    Depending on what your pandemic work situation is, you will need a comfortable working clothes situation since you will be spending ages in front of a computer or in person. Get a comfortable hoodie. Definitely get the “good” shirt (Muji linen shirts go well) for the occasional meeting that needs a decent presentation.

    Tech Gear
    At the moment, having a computer does not mean that you have all that you need. So you need more tech gear to make sure that you have all that you need for the semester ahead. Get a second screen (a monitor if you need a big one; a tablet if you are like me and read a lot of PDFs). Some people will also go for the laptop stand and the docking station. Basically, get everything that you need for your workflow. I make do with an older tablet and a computer.

    Drinkables
    Stay hydrated. No matter what you are working on, the academic lifestyle seems to promote an unhealthy lifestyle to go with your imposter syndrome. Fight that urge, drink your water, tea, and coffee. Find the best tea that you like. On some days, the tea and your favourite blanket is all that you will have that will bring you comfort.

    Cheap Pleasures
    Have cheap pleasures. Mine is buying myself flowers before I start working on a chapter. It does not always have to be the most beautiful flowers but I like the ritual of it. Some days the rituals of things will be the nicest thing that you will do all day as you work on something difficult.

    The Right Software
    As important as getting the right computer. Use the university licenses and get Endnote or Citavi for references. Use a note-taking sofware (I wrote a whole thing about it once). I still use Standard Notes but they have raised their prices now. Bear Notes is a good alternative if you are using MacOS, if you are on Windows, Simplenote seems to be nice.
    I have also gone back to using Todoist for their better free features recently. You will be juggling quite a few things. So use something that helps you track things well.

    The Library Card
    This sounds stupid but, yes, use the library. From the city library that will scan, print, and do inter-library loans for cheap to the national library that will always have a good rate for students, libraries are great. They will sometimes also have free streaming services like Kanopy and audiobooks for free like Libby. Don’t hand all your money to Audible or Netflix. Save your monies.

    The Reads
    Read the right things. Which is basically code for, don’t stop reading. Academia is a lot of reading but reading is also a nice way to unwind and find inspiration. So make sure to get the reads in. That is also code for, always read for pleasure 🙂

    Totem
    This will sound a little esoteric but this is where I am at the moment, have a totem. Basically, have a way of doing a small thing that makes your space your own. That may include: drinking from the same coffee mug, or burning the same candle (my choice), or something small. But have a signal that tells your brain, now I am doing X, and not Y. Helps keeping me in check.

    So there it is. My grand listicle.

  • (on not being) the quiet scribe

    Previously on this show…

    Much like my favourite app, I am more a no-update person, it seems. And while Mr. Bitar of Standard Notes has a user on Slack telling him to give him more updates, mine is a silent and more creepy existence. I sit late nights at my desk and I read and write things. I wish there were a more urgent tone to things. Perhaps the toughest thing in research, much like writing, is the self-discipline of someone in a situation like mine; my programme is an extremely open and good environment for work. There is ostensibly no-one who emails me every week and tells me that time is ticking. And yet there is something of a monastic/ascetic style rigour that comes to time when we begin this journey. I do not go out nearly as much as I did before (the amount of socialising one does through university is inversely proportional to the time one has spent in academia). I definitely do not have time and carry around a Moleskine calendar to note down things. So let’s talk about time and work, or how I deal (rather inadequately) with it in my own work.

    Three cues to finding academic moksh

    While this all seems like hog-wash, there is ample evidence there is a need for researchers to learn how to expend their time (or did you think all academics are just eccentric?). One does not have to be a productivity maven to gauge this; there is more to it. There is, of course, a need to become more productive with the time one is being paid for. But there is also a need to teach young professionals, especially researchers who are deciding their own schedules, that they should close the lid of that laptop and go take a walk; or better yet, take a swim, take a day off to go see the doctor and the dentist. There is a need to inculcate a routine towards work that is not a slavish drive to perishing with a doctorate degree. That they ought to think more than the next meeting they are reading an agenda for. Perhaps some of it also personal responsibility but it is also something that can be practised, taught, and nudged towards. If the magic word is “time management”, three things come to mind:

    Find time to read: so much time is lost in the emails we write, in the emails we don’t write (and leave in the Drafts pile like the pak choi I bought for a salad and never used), in the administrative slush that is academia that it becomes important to take a step back. And maybe that is not reading for most people, but finding a book to read does wonders for reclaiming time for me. In a world where the phone distracts me without a sound, it is finding readings that still calms me down. That is the one thing that still shrinks time.

    Don’t write that mail just yet: I feel like a lot of us are essentially jumping from one email to another. Emails to professors, collaborators, friends, etc. deserve more time than a Whatsapp ping. It has really helped me to put in an hour to write mails first thing in the morning. And unless I am actively going to hamper something by not writing immediately, I simply flag the mail and leave it for later. It works.

    Archive, archive, archive: I was attending a fabulous workshop on academic practices by Kyoo Lee last October when she mentioned something very surprising. Archive your own work. It sounds so simple! But it is amusing that no one has ever pointed out to me how important that is. Archive everything, dear researcher. From your notes to always going back to them. The more I go into my work, the more I find myself writing from and to myself. You are building your own database and leave more room for your future self to find connections and readings that would be impossible should you not facilitate it right now.

    And finally…

    Because if you are reading this, you are either someone who I know from university or someone who knows someone who might like this, here is a postdoc call from the RTG Minor Cosmopolitanisms.

    P.S.

    Here is hoping for a more productive 2020. I am definitely going to the GAPS conference in Frankfurt and there is one more possibility late in August. Awkward hellos from a nerd who likes your papers, here we go! And because I am a quiet and creepy scribe, I am going to offer this greeting at the end of February.

  • Of Project Managers and Academic Work

    No sooner had I realised that a doctoral degree had a lot of work than I decided to go into the strange land of project managers. I obviously did not know what counted as a good one. So I gave a few things a good try. Here goes my grand evaluation of apps and websites:

    Trello was my first attempt. I had tried it before and thought that it was one of those neat Kanban things that simply work well. Alas, it was a little too neat. I am one of those people who does need a lot more motivation. And while Trello works for a lot of people, I simply started creating cards and re-organizing them to suit my procrastinating. I did not get a lot done. My issue with Trello is that it lets you customize innumerable number of cards and keeping track of them, while adding tasks and lists and descriptions just becomes too tedious. Also, because of the neat Kanban system, it does not tell me, “WORK ON THIS FIRST, YOU DUMMY!” I realised I needed something waaay more simple… which is nice because on 14th Nov, The Verge said,

    Basecamp has a free version now.

    Basecamp made things a lot simpler. One can create To-Do lists that independently work [I often use lists like, “Reading List November” or “Reading List December”]. But what has worked for me is the limitation of things. Basecamp Personal lets you start only three projects, so there is some amount of focus that one needs. It also prompts you questions that you can customize; I have decided that I need a very basic “What are you going to do this week?”-sort of question because I get a bit lazy without stuff like that. It also has a dedicated tab for Files and Documents which is neat. Most of all, Basecamp’s site design has definitely played its part in convincing me. I have felt good about this for the last week.

    And while online things are fine, I do appreciate a good paper version of everything. The Moleskine Pro Notebook has seemed like a good idea for that. Since I will have many “projects” and tasks in my head, keeping a notebook that is separate from my other notes (German notes, notes notes, etc.) and only dedicated to research stuff has made me feel more confident that I will be able to manage my workload. It has numbered pages and to-do sections which makes my project look/seem way more organized than it is in my head anyway.

    I am curious about what do academics really use to manage projects and tasks… Turns out quite a few people use Trello. But for now, Trello has become something I use only because it is easy to create a page where everyone can contribute to a list of events, CfPs, et al. I am less certain of its productivity quotient.

    Now for the recommendations:

    Podcast

    Long Read: How liberalism became ‘the god that failed’ in eastern Europe