Resources for early-career researchers
We are diverse people pursuing unique journeys. The advice we can give each other is necessarily based on our own personal experience. These resources have helped me, and continue to do so as an early-career researcher. They might help you too!
This post is intended for PhD candidates and early-career researchers. They can also benefit just about anyone interested in impactful research.
The end in sight
As professional researchers-in-the-making, we want to deliver the best insight and value. And maybe learn new things and grow personally in the process. While all the time keeps the end in sight — which for PhD students will be the VIVA, and other academic or professional projects after that.
The end might not actually be the one we envisioned in the first place. A PhD is a meandering journey that itself determines the destination. Remember how Christopher Columbus and his fleet ‘discovered’ India back in 1492? The inherent uncertainty to doing research applies to many research projects — which is actually the whole point of doing research in the first place. In the process, we ourselves may come out as a different, enriched person. Not to mention that our topic of inquiry will have continued to evolve just as we were researching it. In my VIVA experience, the actual end may actually end up determining the starting point we decide to talk about, rather than where we actually started from.
As researchers, we have a unique position. Industry practitioners often do not have room to reflect and research in the way we do. As a result, practitioners often do more of the ‘doing’, and researchers do more of the ‘thinking’, which includes analyzing the trends that affect theory, practice, and policy. But at heart, we become leaders at stepping back and coming up with new approaches or solutions. Our research outputs can bring immense value to many groups in the wider community, no matter how seemingly small our contribution to knowledge seems in the end. Intentionality and a sense of purpose matter immensely, as does mindset. Often we have to develop that sense of purpose for ourselves because the broken world we live in won’t always do it on our behalf.
At the end of the day, academia is not for all of us. We might end up pursuing a different path altogether. A PhD and a string of postdocs can be steps along the way, which itself becomes clearer as we tread along and redefines the very nature of our ongoing journey.
I now briefly describe my own PhD journey and then share three broad types of useful resources.
My PhD journey
I began my PhD in 2015 in the UK at one of many former technical colleges turned university. My PhD is about citizen participation in urban planning. I passed the VIVA in January 2020 and received the degree in the mail in the spring of 2021 a few months after submitting my thesis corrections. I had the best supervisor, who had a lax and supportive mentorship mode.
There are two main types of PhD supervisors, as I see it: 1) those who tell you everything you need to do, and get a bit cross if you don’t do as they say; and 2) those that let you do your thing, through trial and error and (self-)discovery, and gently guide you back on a reasonable track if you get lost. As I discussed above, the destination (i.e. the ‘thesis’) is a bit of a moveable feast.
I had a great time, despite the many ups and downs that a PhD journey entails. It is challenging both personally and intellectually, and for some financially as well. But is there really any work out there that’s easy-peasy?
0 — Knowing yourself
This is where everything begins and ends. This resource does not really count as separate from the others. ‘Knowing yourself’ is not a commandment, as in: “Know yourself!” Rather, it is a lifelong practice. It is a verb, a movement, an invitation. It is becoming and trusting.
To know who we are is influenced by the legacy of our ancestors, friends, families, fleeting acquaintances, and foes. The places where we were born and bred. The deepest dreams and aspirations that keep us alive, yearning for more, for better, for what’s real and true. Learning about ourselves keeps us on our toes, and looking sharp (even on a bad hair day).
The resources that lie within are the most secure and reliable to tap into at all stages of the journey. Well before, during and long after the PhD/postdoc/first lecturer position. A PhD title or fancy research collaboration grant won’t make you special as such. But what’s within you, very well might.
If you did not know yourself before pursuing a PhD, the PhD journey will invite you, or even force you, to do so. And if you came out unscathed from a PhD journey, that first permanent academic position might do you in and force you to leverage your very best from deep down within. Knowing yourself can help make you thrive, instead of just surviving. There is no ‘one size fits all’. Each to their own / Whatever works. But it pays to be true to what seems most right, deep down, and in true earnest, no matter what others think or say to the contrary. A bit like being bold enough to become an entrepreneur (see Resource 3).
“Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.”
― Benjamin Spock
1 — Knowledge Management Systems
‘Learning to know’ takes structure, method, and robust tools. As researchers, knowledge is our bread and butter. This video by YouTuber Ali Abdaal shares 10 great principles to develop a ‘second brain’ and hack your own Personal Knowledge Management System while sharing your newly acquired knowledge with others all the same time.
Rob Lambert at Cultivated Management suggests just 4 key steps backed with great (even funny) insight and suggestions of tools:
CAPTURE → CURATE → CRUNCH → CONTRIBUTE
I adapt his process here with some examples for research:
Listening to other productivity enthusiasts like Thomas Frank and Tiago Forte, I also like to think of the fourth step as ‘CREATE’ or even ‘CATALYSE’. Whether you do a literature review, create a new database, or build a research community, you can catalyze all the resources you have found and processed to deliver your contribution in a way that only you could have delivered. This can make your contribution not just unique but ‘world-class’ — in its own modest way, of course! The fact that you can tap into the energy from other people’s work and add your bit to it adds value to both the people who have shaped your contribution and to those who will directly benefit from your contribution. This can take ‘knowledge’ to a whole new level.
I mentioned Knowledge Management guru is Tiago Forte. See his own video about how to build a second brain, and how to choose the best note-taking app for your needs. There are many other YouTubers who took the time to investigate a whole range of tools and techniques so you don’t have to try them all yourself.
In the final analysis, knowledge arises from actually doing the work and getting your hands dirty (with data, policy problems, R&D, foundational research, etc.). No system will ever hack that for you, but it can make it a bit easier.
Also, the systems that nurture knowledge should be used wisely.
“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”
― Isaac Asimov
2 — Productivity, habits and slow growth
This is related to Resource 0. If you can learn (more) about yourself, then you can work wonders. At least some of the time. But if you don’t really know yourself, that’s fine too. You can still get lots of things done in a great way.
For Rowena Tsai, what matters most is not to manage your time, but your energy. Just as Tesla sought to tap into the energy freely available in the universe, we too can learn to tap into energy where it’s to be found (exercise, quality sleep, wholesome food, social connection, spiritual food etc.)
A number of resources can help beat procrastination, pick up new habits, and get things done:
- The 5 second rule: if you are procrastinating with anything, count from 5 to 0, and just do it! Let Mel Robbins convince you.
- The 2 minute rule: if it can be done under 2 minutes and is worth doing, just do it now.
- The 5 minute rule: if you dread anything, just try it out for 5 minutes to get into it. Past 5 minutes, the likelihood you will be at it by then. The idea is also to build habits by starting with the most embarrassingly simple time commitment.
- The 2 day rule: to build consistency in a new habit, you can commit to never missing it two days in a row (e.g. going for a HIIT workout or run, eating salad, writing one paragraph for the thesis or that journal article).
- The 66 day rule: that’s how long it takes to fully download and install a new consistent habit into your own personal operating system. This is when it has become harder and unnatural not to pursue your wholesome new habit, than to just get on with it. High-five! You have developed a new habit.
James Clear’s Atomic Habits build on the logic of the 5-minute rule, which can be upscaled and applied to anything. The idea is to commit something that is so ridiculously small so you can build a new habit and sense of self-efficacy by taking baby steps.
Slow growth, practice-based mindfulness, essentialism, and minimalism have also helped me tremendously deal with ‘stuff’ (mental health, climate ‘doomism’, the imposter syndrome, life after a PhD, publish and perish, etc.). Why run the rate race when slowing down can be the quickest route to your chosen destination? Quality trumps quantity.
Many productivity YouTubers are big fans of Notion which provides an all-in-one workspace app. There are countless other tools and methods out there for note-taking, integrating, Kanban planning, to-do lists, citations referencing and automating and simplifying just about anything in your life. I personally like to use a mix of online and desktop-only apps to manage my files, projects, and contributions. Each to their own. And the system that works today might not in two years' time.
At the end of the day, even the best system won’t make you productive. Deep work, tight focus, flow, and an essentialist mindset, as well as learning to enjoy what you do (‘fun’), will go a long way in delivering satisfactory, if not great, results.
And just in case you thought the 40 hour workweek was the golden standard of productivity and efficiency, think twice.
“Ideation without execution is delusion” — Robin Sharma
3 — Being entrepreneurial
The idea of being an entrepreneurial researcher is to research like a business’s survival (not to mention success) depended entirely on you. Except you don’t necessarily have to worry about clients (if you have a PhD stipend, scholarship, or salary).
Think value proposition (‘contribution to knowledge’), market analysis (‘state of the art’), product viability (‘project approval’), and launching that great entreprise into the world (‘defending the thesis / passing the VIVA’).
Lead by example. Academic research isn’t about locking oneself up in an ivory tower. It is about learning to provide thought leadership in such a way that can benefit many. Thought leadership is often linked to B2B communications, branding, marketing, and the like. As budding experts, we become leading thinkers in our chosen niche. It means learning to know your field of expertise so you can become an expert in your own right, as well as the general art and craft of doing high-quality research. Leading by example also means being able to demonstrate impact — through blogging, participatory action research, research dissemination, and so on. Most importantly, you don’t need a title to lead. You can just let your work do the leading for you.
Learn to know your networks. These resources about academia can be really helpful, from finding a PhD and defending your VIVA to becoming a superstar in your field. Any other post on Researchers’ Hub is also highly topical. Know the major research and professional networks in your field, and take an active role in shaping the future of your discipline — by applying to the board, hosting events/ special conference sessions, etc. For engineers, this will be IEEE. For computer and information scientists: the CHI conference (among others). In spatial planning, it will be: AESOP, ISOCARP, the RGS-IBG, the Regional Studies Association, and (inter)national professional associations of subject-experts (e.g. transport planners, community engagement professionals, urban designers, GIS analysts).
But at the end of the day, becoming an impactful academic is also about mindset, persistence, and learning the craft of execution (See Resource 2).
The following entrepreneurial skills can also be valuable:
Be proactive — Habit 1 of the Habits of highly effective people by Stephen Covey. Identify, connect with and actively contribute to an academic or professional community within your field. Be proactive and take responsibility, don’t just consume others’ work. If there is no community you feel you can belong to, build one. Gain experience whichever way you can. Publish. Blog. Teach (at university, or to others in your community, even on Youtube). Start a podcast. Share creative work. Host sessions at conferences. Look for small, manageable consultancy projects or community partnerships as part of the PhD.
Use your time wisely and fruitfully. Invest in learning skills, learning about entrepreneurship as a mindset if not as a craft. Doubt takes so much energy, time and money it is almost embarrassing to admit.
Steal like an Artist. Picasso said so. And so does Austin Kleon in this highly engaging talk (read also his books). There is nothing new under the sun — whether you are an engineer, anthropologist, graphic designer or an architect. Innovation and contribution to knowledge about all about mashing things up in a useful, impactful way for any given context or emerging situation. In fact, we ourselves are a ‘mash-up’ — a composed, continuously evolving part of a much bigger web of researchers, not to mention the universe.
Take risks. Entrepreneurs can teach researchers how to fail epically and turn what would seem to be wasted time into a new opportunity. For any research project, you can either: 1) Take a tried-and-tested route and hope for the best that you will finish within a reasonable amount of time, OR 2) Decide to learn new things, go out of your comfort zone, get out into the community to first see what kind of contribution would benefit others, and pray you won’t have to extend your thesis submission too many times. Of course, funders and PhD supervisors must have their say, but you can always try to fail to learn something new, and contribute very interesting insight in the process.
Researchers face a good deal of uncertainty a good part of the time, if not all the time. That is the nature of the beast. But at least failing small won’t cost what it would, were one an entrepreneur.
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”— T. S. Eliot
“Stop waiting to feel ‘ready.’ That’s actually a sign that you waited too long to start”— Matt D’Avella
Summing up
We looked at three main types of resources. They can help you manifest the ‘end’ you had in sight at the beginning of that big research project. And learn to know yourself better in the process.
- Knowledge Management Systems
2. Productivity and self-growth hacks
3. Being entrepreneurial
The resources build on each other. Because we are all wired differently, some resources may fit you more than others, or not at all. What matters is to learn to do more of what works, which you can’t do without discovering what doesn’t. It takes practice, persistence, and trial-and-error. The true test is to bring your ideas to life and see what happens! Some things work out sometimes, other things work out all the time, and yet others never work out, ever. But all of it is a valuable experience.
Making mistakes and getting lost is part of the fun and challenge of being an early career researcher. You can’t wait to be ready to start. For mistakes to become a lesson, they normally lead back to learning to know yourself. This, to me, was really the untold story. To enjoy and feel proud of making mistakes. Because this is where learning, growing a thick skin, and transformation really takes place. ‘Success’ is only in the eyes of the beholder — it’s not something that’s intrinsically reliable. Wise entrepreneurs and researchers alike probably know the bitter-sweet taste of ‘success’ better than those who constantly crave the idea of success.
As a recovering perfectionist, perhaps the biggest ‘productivity’ hack for me was to discover that perfection actually does not exist. It feels like waking up from the Matrix. ‘Good enough’ is all there ever was, and ever shall be. In fact, always reaching for perfection will turn decent outputs into outputs that are… not great at all (see the work by Greg McKeown). Perfectionism can prevent you from starting anything out of fear of failing and making mistakes. In fact, ‘perfect’ will never be good enough, even objectively. Because things can only get better if you accept that they can fail.
And finally, for all those writing a thesis:
A good thesis is a finished thesis.
A great thesis is a published thesis.
A perfect thesis is neither.
— Hugh Kearns
