It’s such an itch-inducing word: networking. Immediately, I’m reminded of networking events where you don’t know anyone and have to pretend you’re having a good time, and of forced introductory rounds with games. Yuck… Maybe I’m projecting my own discomfort onto you, but I know few people who say, ‘Great, networking!’. Yet, a good network is incredibly important. And I’m not just talking about an academic network, including mentors, fellow PhD candidates, peers in your field, but also about relationships outside of the university: friends, family, professionals from other sectors. A network in ..read more

Suppose you want to learn how to bake bread. You look for someone to teach you and find Charles, a wiry, enthusiastic master baker with traditional checkered baker’s trousers who is eager to get started with you. He has won various awards, been featured in professional magazines, and presents at baking conferences. You couldn’t ask for a better mentor, right? You visit him at the agreed time, full of expectation, and ask, “Baker Charles, what’s the first step?” “Just bake a loaf.” What? “But Baker Charles, how do I do that?” Charles places flour, a jug of water, yeast, and salt on the baker’s ..read more

Regularly, I am asked why I organise writing courses, “…after all, there are academic writing courses available, and if I’ve taken those, why would I need another writing course?” Good question. Academic Writing Academic writing courses focus on theoretical and analytical aspects; they cover topics such as the structure of a scientific article, correct use of sources, and specific conventions of academic writing in various disciplines, verb tense usage, grammatical structures, and so forth. They teach you what does and doesn’t belong in a scientific article. Incredibly important and very usefu ..read more

I’m not really into New Year’s resolutions because they don’t tend to work. I’m more about learning from the past and applying that knowledge to the present. Or focusing on how you want to feel first, and then setting your goals accordingly. And I can certainly attest that there’s a lot to learn over the course of a year… I’ll tell you all about it in this video (in Dutch, English subtitles available via the wheel):   Here you’ll find the link to the two gifts I mentioned: Secrets to Thesis Succes – guaranteed to provide fresh inspiration – and a personal catalyst session with me. Perhap ..read more

A cliché, but true: researchers and scientists experience stress. It has various causes: competition for research funds and the race to be the first with publications, financial pressure to secure sufficient resources, the pressure to regularly publish in renowned journals, time pressure due to various deadlines, no proper work-life balance, uncertainty, and teaching obligations. I’m not telling you anything new.     Where I might be telling you something new is that the chronic stress resulting from these factors can lead to a plethora of health problems. From a decreased functioni ..read more

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” Julia indicates with this world-famous line that a name is just a label and that a name, in itself, means nothing. Are names important? In the context of Romeo and Juliet, Julia expresses her frustration and laments the societal importance placed on names and family ties. The love between her and Romeo is sincere, regardless of their family names. That is also what the play is about: the feud between the Montague family – Juliet being a Montague – and the Capulet family to which Romeo belongs. The love ..read more

Do you live in a house with an alleyway? An alleyway is a path at the back of blocks of houses to get to the garden or shed. The reason such a path is called an alleyway is that the fire brigade uses that path to reach difficult places and roll out hoses, and alleyways help ensure that fire does not spread from one block of houses to another. It works as a buffer. In forests you have alleyways as well: here, too, they are intended to make life easier for the fire brigade and to slow down the fire. Because of the width of such a firebreak, the fire is less likely to spread easily: they are buff ..read more

“We would appreciate it if you could stay for a few days. That way, we can better monitor how you respond to the medication.” And so, what I thought would be a half-hour appointment turned into the beginning of a four-and-a-half-week hospital stay. During my time in the hospital, it became increasingly clear that my heart was in very bad shape, and without surgery, I would likely not survive for long. The operation they could offer me came with no guarantees. The cause of all this, according to the doctors? Just plain bad luck. Two weeks after the open-heart surgery, I was allowed to go home ..read more

Recently I read the blog of The Thesis Whisperer. In this blog, Inger Mewburn ponders why we are all so tired. And how she noticed that more PhD students don’t show up at training sessions or courses. That it seems that the social aspect of PhD life seems to deteriorate. Life seems to be difficult with so many existing crises. I also notice the lack of reactions to my emails and the diminished numbers of PhD students that enrol for training or courses. Many of the PhD students I am in contact with, are quite confused. Life can be more difficult at times. What could help is to focus on the smal ..read more

Not long ago I received an email from Paul. He is very enthusiastic about the Zettelkasten method. This method allows you to make your own database in which can you organize and collect your ideas, file your literature, connect different aspects and draw conclusions. All the above is not always easy to do and you often tend to abandon lots of ideas, notes, doodles, open tabs or post-its. Marjolein offered me a while back some useful suggestions on how to make notes with Zettelkasten as a starting point. Notion is one of the tools you could use for this. Paul suggested an extensive addition to ..read more