Pzizz
After my recent nights of insomnia, I discovered Pzizz. If you go to "Try Pzizz free" on the website and leave your email address, you can receive two free tracks in your mailbox: one for a 20-minute nap, and one…
The benefits of 750 words
I've now been using 750words for two months, and I've made some interesting observations which I would like to share.1. CoherenceI've noticed that my entries have become much less random. I now can pick a topic (sometimes two topics) and…
How to make meditation a habit
We all know about the beneficial effects on our health and lives of meditation. Just yesterday, I came across this article, which shows that mindful meditation is also one of the unexpected treatments for depression.I've been practicing meditation on and…
Twitter and scientists
About 2 years ago, I joined Twitter, partially motivated by a workshop on personal branding organized by NWO, partially because I was curious for a longer time already. After dabbling around for a while, following news accounts and my favorite…
At the beginning of the road…
I recently was asked in a comment if I'd have some advice for someone who is going to start her PhD in September.Here's a list of 5 important first steps:1. The paperworkThere might be a whole set of different institutions…
How to write a paper in two days
On my most popular post "How to write an abstract in 30 minutes" I was asked if I could come up with something similar for writing a paper.Recently, I've noticed that I need to hack my way through getting a…
Getting your message through on Twitter
Recently, my fiancé asked me how to reach people with his message on Twitter. He tried by using the same message over and over, and just adding other people or hashtags to it - something which only made him get…
Slideshare
Do you use Slideshare already?If you answers this with "no", here is a list of reasons why you might like to consider sharing your presentations online:1. Easy to shareSlideshare is to me the easiest way of having my content uploaded,…
Gaining confidence in your research
I remember how terrified I was feeling when I presented my research work for the first time to an audience. Over the past years though, and after many presentations, I feel that I have gained a certain level of confidence,…
On perseverance
One of the challenges of the PhD journey, is to hold on tight and plow through the mud when necessary. These days, I'm re-analyzing the experimental data of my first series of experiments, and it's at least, a tedious task.…