Andrew Wood plans for a career-defining 12 months ahead, and what he needs to focus on.
of workers across several sectors in the United States, released in July last year, found that having friends at work made people happier, more creative and more productive in their job. My aim for this year is to mitigate the extra final-year stress by focusing on strengthening, maintaining and developing connections with those around me, be those at home or at work.
But going into my final PhD year is not the time for juggling commitments. My New Year’s resolution is to assess each activity I do, and ascertain its true value in making me happier. It’s been documented that highly social activities, at least for extroverts, make people considerably happier. I’ve been thinking about the wild swimming I do, as well as the tennis and hockey I play, and whether these activities are productive or problematic.
I write daily lists of things to do, and make longer-term schedules of what I want to achieve and by when. My biggest work-based resolution this year is to take this list-making habit and use it to plan my thesis. Not just in terms of the chapter headings and the topic questions, but for planning the figures, methods and expected results. Although this will not be a quick process, it should be useful.
For me, this best ensures equitable distribution of my time across projects, and helps me to make adequate progress. Thesis planning also provides the structure for my career and social calendars, too. Timings from my PhD work have points that make natural pauses.
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