10 best books I read in 2022
2022 has been a good year for reading. At the time of writing, I've read 74 books, and I may wrap up a few more during the Christmas break. I also enjoyed my reading: I rated 14 of the books…
10 best CDs of 2022
As every year, I'm sharing here my 10 favorite albums of the year. 10. Porcupine Tree - Closure/Continuation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l420X9T1a6E&list=PLzhfgETbPF7iOFRBTuidB_fUSw_WuIS1V 9. Stromae - Multitude https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO8NSL5Wyeg 8. A.A. Williams - As the moon rests https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Iairanjms&list=PLvsYXqtYjMYcQMdCN35knkyozco_MMZkE 7. Rosalie Cunningham - Two piece puzzle…
How to increase your understanding at conferences
Conferences can be busy times. We get overloaded with information. Maybe you find it hard to follow the talks at all, or maybe you find it hard after a certain amount of time. In this post, I share strategies I…
Nine mistakes to avoid in your literature review
As I've read a number of literature reviews over the years - from my own researchers as well as others for which I sit on their committee or go no go panel - I've come to identify common mistakes in…
Why you should learn a language during your PhD
I started writing the draft of this post 10 years ago - so yes, I also procrastinate on things... Originally, I wanted to write about how you should learn German during (or ideally, before) your PhD. In my field, a…
PhD Defenses around the world: a defense in Brazil
My first PhD candidate graduated! Besides the major milestones that this event marks in my life and academic career, it was also the first time that I attended a defense in Brazil. So, as the defense-nerd that I am, I…
Getting a task started
If you read certain productivity advice, we should be banging out work like machines throughout our workday. In reality, we ebb and flow through our day. We have times of the day when we can concentrate better, and times when…
PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: Making a research and publication plan around a new research topic
This post is part of the series PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: posts written for the Dutch academic career network AcademicTransfer, your go-to resource for all research positions in the Netherlands. These posts are sponsored by AcademicTransfer, and tailored to those…
My new boundaries around email
I'm experimenting with some new boundaries around email. In particular: I have deactivated work email from my phone. I know that this is not a major thing and a lot of people (also on the PhD Talk podcast) have mentioned…
How my authorship has changed over time
Writing is still one of my top priorities, but the way in which I write papers has changed over time. During my PhD and post-doc years, I would work on a first draft and then send this to my coauthors,…