Podcasts about zo ayres

Can your graduate school affect your mental health? Dr. Zoe Ayres joins us to discuss what she wishes she had known before starting graduate school, including: What happens when you can't access the hidden curriculum. The myths we tell ourselves, and the systems that work against us. How the pressures of graduate school can affect our mental health. Why you need a to build a network of mentors outside your school. Today's book is: Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide, by Dr. Zoe Ayres, which investigates why mental health issues are so common among the student population. Ayres looks honestly at the experiences of PhD students, and explores environmental factors that can impact mental health. These include the PhD student-supervisor relationship, the pressure to publish, and deep systemic problems in academia, such as racism, bullying and harassment. She provides resources students, while offering ideas for improvements that universities can make to ensure that academia is a place for all to thrive. Our guest is: Dr. Zoë Ayres, who studied for a PhD in chemistry at the University of Warwick, looking at using electrochemical boron doped diamond sensors to monitor environmental contaminants, before transitioning to industry. She worked for several years as a Senior Scientist in the water industry, before becoming Head of Research and Technology for a biotechnology start-up. She has transitioned back into academia, and is Head of Laboratory Facilities at the Open University, working with her team to manage over 180 laboratories. Zoë cares passionately about creating spaces for people to thrive in research. She is the author of Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide, and of articles and peer-reviewed papers on improving research culture. She is co-Founder of Voices of Academia, an international blog designed to share the academic mental health experiences of academics from around the world. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is a historian. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: The Field Guide to Grad School podcast This podcast on protecting your wellbeing in graduate school Academic Life episode on surviving the final year of your PhD program Academic Life episode on campus mental wellness services Academic Life podcast on Leaving Academia Should I quit my PhD program? podcast The podcast on dealing with rejection so you can grow your career Academic Life episode on the benefits of learning from failure Welcome to The Academic Life! Join us here each week to learn from today's experts inside and outside the academy, and embrace the broad definition of what it truly means to live an academic life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can your graduate school affect your mental health? Dr. Zoe Ayres joins us to discuss what she wishes she had known before starting graduate school, including: What happens when you can't access the hidden curriculum. The myths we tell ourselves, and the systems that work against us. How the pressures of graduate school can affect our mental health. Why you need a to build a network of mentors outside your school. Today's book is: Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide, by Dr. Zoe Ayres, which investigates why mental health issues are so common among the student population. Ayres looks honestly at the experiences of PhD students, and explores environmental factors that can impact mental health. These include the PhD student-supervisor relationship, the pressure to publish, and deep systemic problems in academia, such as racism, bullying and harassment. She provides resources students, while offering ideas for improvements that universities can make to ensure that academia is a place for all to thrive. Our guest is: Dr. Zoë Ayres, who studied for a PhD in chemistry at the University of Warwick, looking at using electrochemical boron doped diamond sensors to monitor environmental contaminants, before transitioning to industry. She worked for several years as a Senior Scientist in the water industry, before becoming Head of Research and Technology for a biotechnology start-up. She has transitioned back into academia, and is Head of Laboratory Facilities at the Open University, working with her team to manage over 180 laboratories. Zoë cares passionately about creating spaces for people to thrive in research. She is the author of Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide, and of articles and peer-reviewed papers on improving research culture. She is co-Founder of Voices of Academia, an international blog designed to share the academic mental health experiences of academics from around the world. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is a historian. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: The Field Guide to Grad School podcast This podcast on protecting your wellbeing in graduate school Academic Life episode on surviving the final year of your PhD program Academic Life episode on campus mental wellness services Academic Life podcast on Leaving Academia Should I quit my PhD program? podcast The podcast on dealing with rejection so you can grow your career Academic Life episode on the benefits of learning from failure Welcome to The Academic Life! Join us here each week to learn from today's experts inside and outside the academy, and embrace the broad definition of what it truly means to live an academic life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Can your graduate school affect your mental health? Dr. Zoe Ayres joins us to discuss what she wishes she had known before starting graduate school, including: What happens when you can't access the hidden curriculum. The myths we tell ourselves, and the systems that work against us. How the pressures of graduate school can affect our mental health. Why you need a to build a network of mentors outside your school. Today's book is: Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide, by Dr. Zoe Ayres, which investigates why mental health issues are so common among the student population. Ayres looks honestly at the experiences of PhD students, and explores environmental factors that can impact mental health. These include the PhD student-supervisor relationship, the pressure to publish, and deep systemic problems in academia, such as racism, bullying and harassment. She provides resources students, while offering ideas for improvements that universities can make to ensure that academia is a place for all to thrive. Our guest is: Dr. Zoë Ayres, who studied for a PhD in chemistry at the University of Warwick, looking at using electrochemical boron doped diamond sensors to monitor environmental contaminants, before transitioning to industry. She worked for several years as a Senior Scientist in the water industry, before becoming Head of Research and Technology for a biotechnology start-up. She has transitioned back into academia, and is Head of Laboratory Facilities at the Open University, working with her team to manage over 180 laboratories. Zoë cares passionately about creating spaces for people to thrive in research. She is the author of Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide, and of articles and peer-reviewed papers on improving research culture. She is co-Founder of Voices of Academia, an international blog designed to share the academic mental health experiences of academics from around the world. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is a historian. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: The Field Guide to Grad School podcast This podcast on protecting your wellbeing in graduate school Academic Life episode on surviving the final year of your PhD program Academic Life episode on campus mental wellness services Academic Life podcast on Leaving Academia Should I quit my PhD program? podcast The podcast on dealing with rejection so you can grow your career Academic Life episode on the benefits of learning from failure Welcome to The Academic Life! Join us here each week to learn from today's experts inside and outside the academy, and embrace the broad definition of what it truly means to live an academic life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/academic-life

Can your graduate school affect your mental health? Dr. Zoe Ayres joins us to discuss what she wishes she had known before starting graduate school, including: What happens when you can't access the hidden curriculum. The myths we tell ourselves, and the systems that work against us. How the pressures of graduate school can affect our mental health. Why you need a to build a network of mentors outside your school. Today's book is: Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide, by Dr. Zoe Ayres, which investigates why mental health issues are so common among the student population. Ayres looks honestly at the experiences of PhD students, and explores environmental factors that can impact mental health. These include the PhD student-supervisor relationship, the pressure to publish, and deep systemic problems in academia, such as racism, bullying and harassment. She provides resources students, while offering ideas for improvements that universities can make to ensure that academia is a place for all to thrive. Our guest is: Dr. Zoë Ayres, who studied for a PhD in chemistry at the University of Warwick, looking at using electrochemical boron doped diamond sensors to monitor environmental contaminants, before transitioning to industry. She worked for several years as a Senior Scientist in the water industry, before becoming Head of Research and Technology for a biotechnology start-up. She has transitioned back into academia, and is Head of Laboratory Facilities at the Open University, working with her team to manage over 180 laboratories. Zoë cares passionately about creating spaces for people to thrive in research. She is the author of Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide, and of articles and peer-reviewed papers on improving research culture. She is co-Founder of Voices of Academia, an international blog designed to share the academic mental health experiences of academics from around the world. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is a historian. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: The Field Guide to Grad School podcast This podcast on protecting your wellbeing in graduate school Academic Life episode on surviving the final year of your PhD program Academic Life episode on campus mental wellness services Academic Life podcast on Leaving Academia Should I quit my PhD program? podcast The podcast on dealing with rejection so you can grow your career Academic Life episode on the benefits of learning from failure Welcome to The Academic Life! Join us here each week to learn from today's experts inside and outside the academy, and embrace the broad definition of what it truly means to live an academic life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Can your graduate school affect your mental health? Dr. Zoe Ayres joins us to discuss what she wishes she had known before starting graduate school, including: What happens when you can't access the hidden curriculum. The myths we tell ourselves, and the systems that work against us. How the pressures of graduate school can affect our mental health. Why you need a to build a network of mentors outside your school. Today's book is: Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide, by Dr. Zoe Ayres, which investigates why mental health issues are so common among the student population. Ayres looks honestly at the experiences of PhD students, and explores environmental factors that can impact mental health. These include the PhD student-supervisor relationship, the pressure to publish, and deep systemic problems in academia, such as racism, bullying and harassment. She provides resources students, while offering ideas for improvements that universities can make to ensure that academia is a place for all to thrive. Our guest is: Dr. Zoë Ayres, who studied for a PhD in chemistry at the University of Warwick, looking at using electrochemical boron doped diamond sensors to monitor environmental contaminants, before transitioning to industry. She worked for several years as a Senior Scientist in the water industry, before becoming Head of Research and Technology for a biotechnology start-up. She has transitioned back into academia, and is Head of Laboratory Facilities at the Open University, working with her team to manage over 180 laboratories. Zoë cares passionately about creating spaces for people to thrive in research. She is the author of Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide, and of articles and peer-reviewed papers on improving research culture. She is co-Founder of Voices of Academia, an international blog designed to share the academic mental health experiences of academics from around the world. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is a historian. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: The Field Guide to Grad School podcast This podcast on protecting your wellbeing in graduate school Academic Life episode on surviving the final year of your PhD program Academic Life episode on campus mental wellness services Academic Life podcast on Leaving Academia Should I quit my PhD program? podcast The podcast on dealing with rejection so you can grow your career Academic Life episode on the benefits of learning from failure Welcome to The Academic Life! Join us here each week to learn from today's experts inside and outside the academy, and embrace the broad definition of what it truly means to live an academic life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/education

Can your graduate school affect your mental health? Dr. Zoe Ayres joins us to discuss what she wishes she had known before starting graduate school, including: What happens when you can't access the hidden curriculum. The myths we tell ourselves, and the systems that work against us. How the pressures of graduate school can affect our mental health. Why you need a to build a network of mentors outside your school. Today's book is: Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide, by Dr. Zoe Ayres, which investigates why mental health issues are so common among the student population. Ayres looks honestly at the experiences of PhD students, and explores environmental factors that can impact mental health. These include the PhD student-supervisor relationship, the pressure to publish, and deep systemic problems in academia, such as racism, bullying and harassment. She provides resources students, while offering ideas for improvements that universities can make to ensure that academia is a place for all to thrive. Our guest is: Dr. Zoë Ayres, who studied for a PhD in chemistry at the University of Warwick, looking at using electrochemical boron doped diamond sensors to monitor environmental contaminants, before transitioning to industry. She worked for several years as a Senior Scientist in the water industry, before becoming Head of Research and Technology for a biotechnology start-up. She has transitioned back into academia, and is Head of Laboratory Facilities at the Open University, working with her team to manage over 180 laboratories. Zoë cares passionately about creating spaces for people to thrive in research. She is the author of Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide, and of articles and peer-reviewed papers on improving research culture. She is co-Founder of Voices of Academia, an international blog designed to share the academic mental health experiences of academics from around the world. Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is a historian. Listeners to this episode may also be interested in: The Field Guide to Grad School podcast This podcast on protecting your wellbeing in graduate school Academic Life episode on surviving the final year of your PhD program Academic Life episode on campus mental wellness services Academic Life podcast on Leaving Academia Should I quit my PhD program? podcast The podcast on dealing with rejection so you can grow your career Academic Life episode on the benefits of learning from failure Welcome to The Academic Life! Join us here each week to learn from today's experts inside and outside the academy, and embrace the broad definition of what it truly means to live an academic life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

This chapter looks at how to get help for mental illness, based on the author's experience.The book was written by Dr Zoë Ayres, edited by Dr Petra Boynton, and narrated by Gabriella Kountourides. Cover art by Hana Ayoob."Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide" was originally published in print by Springer, and can be purchased here.This podcast is entirely free. If you are able to, you can BuyMeACoffee. This helps keep me going helps support future projects.For full early access to the podcast (ahead of the 12 week release schedule), you can purchase this through my BuyMeACoffee commission.Please find the full reference list for the book here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This chapter looks at the uncertainty of "what comes next" after PhD study, and the alternatives to academic careers.The book was written by Dr Zoë Ayres, edited by Dr Petra Boynton, and narrated by Gabriella Kountourides. Cover art by Hana Ayoob."Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide" was originally published in print by Springer, and can be purchased here.This podcast is entirely free. If you are able to, you can BuyMeACoffee. This helps keep me going helps support future projects.For full early access to the podcast (ahead of the 12 week release schedule), you can purchase this through my BuyMeACoffee commission.Please find the full reference list for the book here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This chapter explores the overwork culture in academia and the pressure to publish.The book was written by Dr Zoë Ayres, edited by Dr Petra Boynton, and narrated by Gabriella Kountourides. Cover art by Hana Ayoob."Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide" was originally published in print by Springer, and can be purchased here.This podcast is entirely free. If you are able to, you can BuyMeACoffee. This helps keep me going helps support future projects.For full early access to the podcast (ahead of the 12 week release schedule), you can purchase this through my BuyMeACoffee commission.Please find the full reference list for the book here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This chapter looks at the professional relationship between PhD students and their supervisors, and when things go wrong.The book was written by Dr Zoë Ayres, edited by Dr Petra Boynton, and narrated by Gabriella Kountourides. Cover art by Hana Ayoob."Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide" was originally published in print by Springer, and can be purchased here.This podcast is entirely free. If you are able to, you can BuyMeACoffee. This helps keep me going helps support future projects.For full early access to the podcast (ahead of the 12 week release schedule), you can purchase this through my BuyMeACoffee commission.Please find the full reference list for the book here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This chapter explores the environmental systemic issues that PhD students might face.The book was written by Dr Zoë Ayres, edited by Dr Petra Boynton, and narrated by Gabriella Kountourides. Cover art by Hana Ayoob."Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide" was originally published in print by Springer, and can be purchased here.This podcast is entirely free. If you are able to, you can BuyMeACoffee. This helps keep me going helps support future projects.For full early access to the podcast (ahead of the 12 week release schedule), you can purchase this through my BuyMeACoffee commission.Please find the full reference list for the book here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This chapter explores the impostor phenomenon, and how it can impact our studies.The book was written by Dr Zoë Ayres, edited by Dr Petra Boynton, and narrated by Gabriella Kountourides. Cover art by Hana Ayoob."Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide" was originally published in print by Springer, and can be purchased here.This podcast is entirely free. If you are able to, you can BuyMeACoffee. This helps keep me going helps support future projects.For full early access to the podcast (ahead of the 12 week release schedule), you can purchase this through my BuyMeACoffee commission.Please find the full reference list for the book here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This chapter looks at managing expectations and guilt during the PhD journey.The book was written by Dr Zoë Ayres, edited by Dr Petra Boynton, and narrated by Gabriella Kountourides. Cover art by Hana Ayoob."Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide" was originally published in print by Springer, and can be purchased here.This podcast is entirely free. If you are able to, you can BuyMeACoffee. This helps keep me going helps support future projects.For full early access to the podcast (ahead of the 12 week release schedule), you can purchase this through my BuyMeACoffee commission.Please find the full reference list for the book here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This chapter looks at university wellbeing sessions, and if they are fit for purpose.The book was written by Dr Zoë Ayres, edited by Dr Petra Boynton, and narrated by Gabriella Kountourides. Cover art by Hana Ayoob."Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide" was originally published in print by Springer, and can be purchased here.This podcast is entirely free. If you are able to, you can BuyMeACoffee. This helps keep me going helps support future projects.For full early access to the podcast (ahead of the 12 week release schedule), you can purchase this through my BuyMeACoffee commission.Please find the full reference list for the book here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This chapter looks at what we can do ourselves, through self-care, to look after our own mental health.The book was written by Dr Zoë Ayres, edited by Dr Petra Boynton, and narrated by Gabriella Kountourides. Cover art by Hana Ayoob."Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide" was originally published in print by Springer, and can be purchased here.This podcast is entirely free. If you are able to, you can BuyMeACoffee. This helps keep me going helps support future projects.For full early access to the podcast (ahead of the 12 week release schedule), you can purchase this through my BuyMeACoffee commission.Please find the full reference list for the book here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This chapter looks at the so-called "PhD mental health crisis" looking at the statistics and facts behind this.The book was written by Dr Zoë Ayres, edited by Dr Petra Boynton, and narrated by Gabriella Kountourides. Cover art by Hana Ayoob."Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide" was originally published in print by Springer, and can be purchased here.This podcast is entirely free. If you are able to, you can BuyMeACoffee. This helps keep me going helps support future projects.For full early access to the podcast (ahead of the 12 week release schedule), you can purchase this through my BuyMeACoffee commission.Please find the full reference list for the book here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This chapter explores our understanding of mental health and mental illness, and how we might recognise the signs in ourselves and others.The book was written by Dr Zoë Ayres, edited by Dr Petra Boynton, and narrated by Gabriella Kountourides. Cover art by Hana Ayoob."Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide" was originally published in print by Springer, and can be purchased here.This podcast is entirely free. If you are able to, you can BuyMeACoffee. This helps keep me going helps support future projects.For full early access to the podcast (ahead of the 12 week release schedule), you can purchase this through my BuyMeACoffee commission.Please find the full reference list for the book here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An introduction to the book, and what to expect from the guide.The book was written by Dr Zoë Ayres, edited by Dr Petra Boynton, and narrated by Gabriella Kountourides. Cover art by Hana Ayoob."Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide" was originally published in print by Springer, and can be purchased here.This podcast is entirely free. If you are able to, you can BuyMeACoffee. This helps keep me going helps support future projects.For full early access to the podcast (ahead of the 12 week release schedule), you can purchase this through my BuyMeACoffee commission.Please find the full reference list for the book here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before you start - a note from the author, Zoë Ayres, walking you through a few items you should note, before starting listening to the podcast.The book was written by Dr Zoë Ayres, edited by Dr Petra Boynton, and narrated by Gabriella Kountourides. Cover art by Hana Ayoob."Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD: A Survival Guide" was originally published in print by Springer, and can be purchased here.This podcast is entirely free. If you are able to, you can BuyMeACoffee. This helps keep me going helps support future projects.For full early access to the podcast (ahead of the 12 week release schedule), you can purchase this through my BuyMeACoffee commission.Please find the full reference list for the book here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CW: This episode contains mentions of suicidal ideation This week, we will be joined by Zoë Ayres, PhD (she/her). After spending several years in academia post-PhD, Zoë moved to industry and is now an analytical Senior Scientist in the water industry. She is also a mental health advocate in her spare time, working towards improving mental health in research settings, primarily focusing on academic mental health. She raises awareness of the common issues people face throughout academia through various campaigns, talks and initiatives, and is the author of the #academicmentalhealth poster series on Twitter. You can find her on Twitter (@ZJAyres) and find her posters on her website! A full-text transcript of this episode is available via google doc. Grad Chat episodes are posted every second Saturday at 3 pm EDT/12 pm PDT and check out the PhD Balance YouTube Channel for all the videos! Want to be a guest or know somebody we should be talking to? Fill out our google form! Follow our host Niba on Twitter: @NotesByNiba Check out the PhD Balance website for more info on Grad Chat!

TW: This episode discusses sensitive topics around anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation. In this episode, we're chatting with Dr Zoë Ayres (@ZJAyres on Twitter) about her personal journey with mental health, the mental health crisis in grad school, the importance of pronouns, academia vs industry and many more! Zoë has produced numerous resources for grad students related to mental health including award-winning posters. These and other resources can be found at her personal website: www.zjayres.com If you have ideas for new podcast topics or would like to be a guest on a future episode, then please reach out to us! On Twitter: @ChemConvosPod Or email us: chemconvospod@gmail.com

In this episode Dr Bahijja Raimi-Abraham discussed academic mental health with Dr Zoë Ayres (bio. available here https://mondayscience.wixsite.com/podcast/episode21) who is an Analytical R&D scientist and mental health advocate driving for change. This is Part II of their conversation. You can follow Zoë on Twitter @zjayres! Find out more about Zoë's work www.zjayres.com Episode image credit: Scicommics https://www.instagram.com/science_commics/ Additional Information - Mental Health Resources Becoming an Independent Researcher | Dr Bahijja Raimi-Abraham | TEDxRoyalHolloway (available on YouTube) - Diversity landscape of the chemical sciences: A report by the Royal Society of Chemistry - For definitions of bullying and harassment and support National Bullying Helpline - https://www.nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk/employees.html UK Government Workplace Bullying and Harassment Citizens Advice - If you're being harassed or bullied at work Monday Science is still funding-raising for Dementia Alliance International (DAI). The aim is to raise £500. Please donate via our Just Giving Page (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/monday-science) Episode summary available MondayScience.Medium.com Let us know what you thought of the episode. Subscribe, follow, comment and get in touch! Submit your questions or send your voice note questions (up to 30 seconds) via www.mondaysciencepodcast.com e. MondayScience2020@gmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mondayscience/message

In this episode Dr Bahijja Raimi-Abraham discussed academic mental health with Dr Zoë Ayres (bio. available here https://mondayscience.wixsite.com/podcast/episode21) who is an Analytical R&D scientist and mental health advocate driving for change. You can follow Zoë on Twitter @zjayres! Find out more about Zoë's work www.zjayres.com Episode image credit: Scicommics https://www.instagram.com/science_commics/ Additional Information - Mental Health Resources Becoming an Independent Researcher | Dr Bahijja Raimi-Abraham | TEDxRoyalHolloway (available on YouTube) - Diversity landscape of the chemical sciences: A report by the Royal Society of Chemistry - For definitions of bullying and harassment and support National Bullying Helpline - https://www.nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk/employees.html UK Government Workplace Bullying and Harassment Citizens Advice - If you're being harassed or bullied at work Monday Science is funding-raising for DAI during the series. The aim is to raise £500. Please donate via our Just Giving Page (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/monday-science) Episode summary available MondayScience.Medium.com Let us know what you thought of the episode. Subscribe, follow, comment and get in touch! Submit your questions or send your voice note questions (up to 30 seconds) via www.mondaysciencepodcast.com e. MondayScience2020@gmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mondayscience/message

In the last 18 months, Dr Zoë Ayres has become a leading voice in battle to bring mental health issues to the surface of academia. The coveted '#100Voices Project', numerous awareness infographics and most recently the launch of new organisation 'Voices of Academia' - have seen Zoë's Twitter following skyrocket to over 16,000. But it's not about fame, or recognition for that matter. In this conversation we find out exactly why a Senior Scientist working in industry, would spend so much time advocating for the mental health standards of PhD students and academics. What issues are being tackled? Why is it such a big problem? What can you do to help? See more of Zoë here: https://twitter.com/ZJAyres Join the Scientistt community: www.scientistt.net

In this episode Dr Bahijja Raimi-Abraham discussed academic mental health with Dr Zoë Ayres (bio. available here https://mondayscience.wixsite.com/podcast/episode21) who is an Analytical R&D scientist and mental health advocate driving for change. This is Part II of their conversation. You can follow Zoë on Twitter @zjayres! Find out more about Zoë's work www.zjayres.com Episode image credit: Scicommics https://www.instagram.com/science_commics/ Additional Information - Mental Health Resources Becoming an Independent Researcher | Dr Bahijja Raimi-Abraham | TEDxRoyalHolloway (available on YouTube) - Diversity landscape of the chemical sciences: A report by the Royal Society of Chemistry - For definitions of bullying and harassment and support National Bullying Helpline - https://www.nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk/employees.html UK Government Workplace Bullying and Harassment Citizens Advice - If you're being harassed or bullied at work Monday Science is still funding-raising for Dementia Alliance International (DAI). The aim is to raise £500. Please donate via our Just Giving Page (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/monday-science) Subscribe, follow, comment and get in touch! Submit your questions or send your voice note questions (up to 30 seconds) via https://mondayscience.wixsite.com/podcast Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mondayscience/message e. MondayScience2020@gmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mondayscience/message

In this episode Dr Bahijja Raimi-Abraham discussed academic mental health with Dr Zoë Ayres (bio. available here https://mondayscience.wixsite.com/podcast/episode21) who is an Analytical R&D scientist and mental health advocate driving for change. You can follow Zoë on Twitter @zjayres! Find out more about Zoë's work www.zjayres.com Episode image credit: Scicommics https://www.instagram.com/science_commics/ Additional Information - Mental Health Resources Becoming an Independent Researcher | Dr Bahijja Raimi-Abraham | TEDxRoyalHolloway (available on YouTube) - Diversity landscape of the chemical sciences: A report by the Royal Society of Chemistry - For definitions of bullying and harassment and support National Bullying Helpline - https://www.nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk/employees.html UK Government Workplace Bullying and Harassment Citizens Advice - If you're being harassed or bullied at work Monday Science is funding-raising for DAI during the series. The aim is to raise £500. Please donate via our Just Giving Page (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/monday-science) Subscribe, follow, comment and get in touch! Submit your questions or send your voice note questions (up to 30 seconds) via https://mondayscience.wixsite.com/podcast Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mondayscience/message e. MondayScience2020@gmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mondayscience/message

In this episode I talk to Edward Mills, a postgraduate researcher in Modern Languages at the University of Exeter about his experience of writing up his thesis – specifically, writing up during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the podcast we discuss: CGP Gray's video Lockdon Productivity: Spaceship You How We Write: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blank Page, edited by Suzanne Conklin Akbari University of Exeter Doctoral College Supporting PGR Writing project Pat Thomson's blog Patter PhD comics on twitter and their website Academics in Quarantine conference on twitter Zoë Ayres on twitter And for anyone not familiar with our Doctor Who metaphor and jokes   You can find Edward on twitter @edward_mills, and on the University of Exeter website. Music credit: Happy Boy Theme Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/   Podcast transcript   1 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:15,000 Hello and welcome, R, D. And The Inbetweens on your host, Kelly Preece, 2 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:32,000 and every fortnight I talk to a different guest about researches, development and everything in between. 3 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,000 Hello, everyone, and welcome to the second official episode of the podcast. 4 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:42,000 Researchers development and everything in between. Before I get started with this week's guest, 5 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:47,000 I just want to say thank you to everybody who downloaded and listened to the special episode 6 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:54,000 released last week where I talked to Victoria Omotoso about being a BAME researcher. 7 00:00:54,000 --> 00:01:03,000 It's fantastic that Victoria's experience and the experiences of BAME researchers in higher education is having 8 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:09,000 traction and getting out there and that everybody is learning as much as I did from listening to Victoria. 9 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:18,000 So please do continue to share Victoria's story and the stories and experiences of other BAME researchers. 10 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:24,000 So for this episode, I'm absolutely delighted to be joined by another one of our PGRs, Edward Mills. 11 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:30,000 Edward is a PGR in modern languages and is just on the cusp or almost at the point of submission. 12 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:36,000 So for this episode, Edward and I are going to talk about all things writing up, 13 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:43,000 writing procrastination, and then just at the end, a little bit of Doctor Who. 14 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:50,000 For those of you that have been looking forward to my promise of bad jokes, this is an episode where you're going to get a lot of them. 15 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:56,000 Prepare yourselves. So, Edward, are you happy to introduce yourself? 16 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:05,000 Yes. Hello. Thanks for having me. I noticed in last week's podcast you said you're going to be joined by someone else. 17 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:09,000 So, hello. I'm someone else specifically. My name is Edward 18 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:19,000 I am a final year, hopefully post grad student here at the University of Exeter where I am dangerously close to finishing my PhD in French, 19 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:23,000 specifically in all things medieval French. Fabulous. 20 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,000 So we're going to be talking today about the process of writing up, 21 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:33,000 but specifically given the current situation writing up in the time of Corona virus. 22 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:38,000 So, Edward, how has writing up been for you in the time coronavirus? It's a good question, actually, 23 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:47,000 that it's a difficult one because I'm not sure there was actually a single moment anyway when I realised that I'd started writing up. 24 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:55,000 I've been writing up for a few months now. I really started, I would say, around this time last year with the wriiting up process. 25 00:02:55,000 --> 00:03:04,000 But for reasons I'm sure we'll talk about in a minute. The distinction between writing up and researching is a bit more blurred in the humanities. 26 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:12,000 Corona virus has definitely changed things and it's changed things in ways that I didn't think any of us could have expected. 27 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:16,000 But hopefully we'd like to point out today, if we can take one thing away from it, 28 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:23,000 is that if it's an isolating process, certainly with everything that's going on at the moment, 29 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,000 obviously writing up already has a reputation for being quite isolating and then adding, 30 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:35,000 coronavirus on top of that, it doesn't have to be isolated. And there were several ways that you can go about making sure that doesn't happen. 31 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:41,000 So if you sort of started the process pretty much a year ago and we'll come back to kind of the start of that bit later, 32 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:48,000 how before we got into this isolate, particularly isolating situation. 33 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:56,000 How were you managing the isolating aspects of writing up your thesis so that you didn't become isolated? 34 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:04,000 I think the main thing was to maintain and cultivate the networks that I had already built up during the PhD. 35 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:14,000 So the networks amongst supervisors networks, amongst other members of the department and networks amongst PGRs as well. 36 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:20,000 So we built up some very supportive postgraduate networks. 37 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:26,000 And I was even though I was on my own in an office because I juggling the writing up with a different job, 38 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:31,000 and even though I was on my own in that office that was given to me as part of the  job, 39 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:40,000 I was still very, very keen on having people over on invite people to work, for periods of time in that office when there was a space in there. 40 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:46,000 It was all about setting up the interaction with people to make sure that you didn't 41 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:52,000 lose the friendship gains that you'd already made during the first part of your thesis, 42 00:04:52,000 --> 00:05:01,000 I think. So were they kind of inviting people to just come and work in the office with you, or was it a more social kind of arrangement? 43 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,000 A bit of both, really, a lot of a lot of this will come back. 44 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:09,000 We'll come back to you in a minute, I'm sure, when we talk about how COVID changes things. 45 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,000 But it was a bit of both. You know, 46 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:18,000 I had a big desk in the office so if someone wanted to come and work up there for a bit or we could go work together in in a different space. 47 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:23,000 The important thing really is togetherness, whether you're working or you're not working. 48 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:30,000 Being able to maintain the friendships that you've built up through the isolating process of writing up and breaking up the day, 49 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:37,000 which might otherwise feel like seven or eight hours of sitting at a desk, generally just mashing keyboard. 50 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:41,000 Breaking that up is an absolutely crucial thing to do. 51 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:47,000 And friends, these mythical creatures called friends are one way of doing that. 52 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:53,000 And that would be the best way of doing it as well, I think. Absolutely. And I think people who. 53 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:57,000 There's a there's the interesting benefit of people who are going through the same thing, 54 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:04,000 who are also doing their research, we are writing up and so have that very particular kind of empathy for your situation, 55 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:11,000 but also then people who know nothing about it and have got nothing to do with it and can be an absolute and total distraction from the whole thing. 56 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:18,000 Yes, absolutely. And on that front as well, I've been very fortunate over the PhD to be involved in a lot of other things. 57 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,000 My my supervisor, if he's listening. Hi. 58 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:29,000 Tom has described his job in the past as being the guy who stopped me doing other things, which is an exaggeration, 59 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:33,000 obviously, but it is a valid point in that I have a tendency to get involved in all the things. 60 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:40,000 Many of them, though, do actually help, as I'm sure we would all agree in getting away from the writing. 61 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:48,000 So if you need if you need a day off of Headspace going on a bike ride with the local cycling club is great. 62 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:57,000 Going to going to play chess for the university and get destroyed by people half your age is great. 63 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:02,000 I'm not saying they both happen. I'm just heavily implying it. This is really important. 64 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:04,000 I mean, you already know that I'm a big, 65 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:11,000 big advocate for these sorts of things because the impact that they have on your mental health and wellbeing is huge. 66 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:17,000 And I know that from my own experience of not doing that and not having those extra things. 67 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:21,000 But also, you know, it's it's think it's thinking space. 68 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:25,000 It's thinking time. But away from that. Away from the computer screen. 69 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:29,000 Do you find you have moments of inspiration when you're on a bike ride or something? 70 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:35,000 Yeah, I do. I very often talk to myself on bike rides. 71 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:39,000 I feel like this is gonna be used in some kind of therapy session 20 years from now by. 72 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:43,000 I very often chat to myself. Okay. Right. 73 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:47,000 Just getting the getting the heart rate up now. So what's the plan for today? 74 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:53,000 Well, I guess to start off just by processing what you began yesterday is picture this with 75 00:07:53,000 --> 00:08:02,000 the kind of the countryside rolling gently by and you've got a you've got a notion. So you need to start by finishing off that paragraph. 76 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:04,000 You left a sentence over from yesterday. Good. 77 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:10,000 And then just before lunch, you can move on and you can you can see if you can crack the back of the next one. 78 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:18,000 No, absolutely. Getting out and doing enough exercise is good. There was an excellent video, which I'm sure will be in the show notes. 79 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:25,000 This is a a more moving toward a slightly more corona specific point, but it's also good advice before before all of this hit. 80 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:31,000 This next one video by YouTube called CGP Grey. It's called Spaceship U. 81 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:35,000 And it's basically a lock down productivity guide. 82 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:43,000 I know you've seen this because I sent it to you. It's. If you're sick of if you're sick of hearing how to be productive. 83 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:47,000 Watch this one instead because it frames it in the context of you in a spaceship and spaceships. 84 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,000 Cool. Why? 85 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:58,000 What I really like about that video is it does reinforce the things we're talking about, about the importance of your wider network of self care. 86 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:03,000 And I know that self care is a kind of overly used term in a lot of ways in our culture. 87 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:09,000 But those things that you do to look after your mental and physical health are incredibly important 88 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:17,000 because those are the things that are going to sustain you to do this really complex and intense. 89 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:24,000 And, you know, inevitably, I think at some point is quite stressful work of writing up the thesis. 90 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:29,000 Oh, yeah. Jumping, jumping, jumping ahead to what I'm doing after we finish recording this podcast. 91 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:38,000 I'm going to go out for the bike ride. And I haven't actually got as much done today as I would probably have hoped. 92 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:44,000 To have got done. That's not saying I was completely unproductive, honestly, supervisor, I promise. 93 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:50,000 But I do think that the idea of having this built were built in is a non-negotiable, is quite important. 94 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:54,000 It is my way of decompressing, if you like it, doesn't it? 95 00:09:54,000 --> 00:10:02,000 One of the things that the CGP Grey video stresses is that if your if your meant if you'll core, if you'd like has two half the physical and mental. 96 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:11,000 It's much easier to start by priming the physical half of your your proverbial spaceship's core because the brains can't think themselves better. 97 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:20,000 But exercise is a great leveller. We also know that, you know, from research the positive impacts. 98 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:28,000 Exercise has on mental health in terms of the hormones and endorphins that get produced as a result of doing exercise. 99 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:32,000 So, you know, there's a kind of a one feeds the other. 100 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:35,000 I can. That's exactly what CGP Grey says. 101 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:42,000 And I can I can personally attest to the mental health benefits of going wiiiii zoom down the one hill in my local area. 102 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:52,000 So how did you start writing up? Like did did you make a conscious decision, like you got to a point in the research and went, okay. 103 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:56,000 I am now writing up? Or was it a more kind of fluid organic process? 104 00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:01,000 For me at least, it's a much more fluid organic process. A bit of context. 105 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:09,000 I'm I'm now in my fourth year and my PhD required a little bit of rethinking after an upgrade. 106 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:21,000 Viva, which was a really useful experience, probably the most enriching hour that I'd spent on the PhD up to that point, if that makes sense. 107 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:26,000 So it was a difficult one because I found myself after that having to reframe a few questions. 108 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:33,000 And what that meant was it wasn't really until the end of my second year that I had an idea of how my PhD would be structured. 109 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:38,000 I then spent the most of my third year on a chapter of my thesis that would sit somewhat apart from the other sections. 110 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:47,000 So to an extent, I'd say that the writing up process started over the summer of my third to fourth year, 111 00:11:47,000 --> 00:12:00,000 which basically has involved me over the last year taking ideas and plans for chapters and outlines that existed mostly as conference papers actually, 112 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:04,000 and fleshing them out one by one into full chapters. 113 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:13,000 That's now done. And I'm paradoxically back at Chapter one, which I'm just finishing up now before I turn to the conclusion and the introduction. 114 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:17,000 So you mentioned there that those sort of chapters actually were conference papers. 115 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:20,000 Yes. That then became fleshing out. 116 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:28,000 So when when you came to sort of thinking about that structure and actually starting to to to draft chapters and chapters, 117 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:34,000 if you see what I mean, rather than as other pieces of writing. What did that feel like? 118 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:40,000 Was that a really intimidating process? It was a bit of both, really. 119 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:47,000 As a as a general rule, I'm a fan of using conferences to present stuff that you're not certain about 120 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:52,000 rather than using them as as as ways of presenting work that you've already done, 121 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:59,000 because they're a great way to basically get feedback and to hear people who work in that field. 122 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:02,000 And get a sense of what they think and what you're doing, so in that sense, 123 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:11,000 it was slightly reassuring because I had already road tested quite a lot of what I was what I was going to be developing. 124 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:18,000 The main the main process really for me for that was saying, OK, in this chapter, what's more, they say in this conference paper. 125 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:22,000 What's the what's the main point that you're getting across? And that's another thing I say. 126 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:26,000 You can only have one big idea in a conference paper. Yes, absolutely. 127 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:31,000 And then I was going through and I was thinking, OK, will this hold up as a whole chapter? 128 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:40,000 Sometimes it would. So my my third chapter, I did actually hold up more or less. 129 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:47,000 Sometimes it wouldn't. So the second chapter required a little bit more extension and a bit more development with 130 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:53,000 something that I hadn't spoken about in the conference paper way back in summer 2017. 131 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:58,000 So how do you manage your time throughout this process and and how so you said, you know, 132 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:03,000 you you you book or likely book in the bike rides and things which are non-negotiable. 133 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:13,000 But how do you actually manage your writing time and has that changed at all because of the change in environment, but also, 134 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:23,000 you know, the inevitable change in work habits and productivity that's come through the COVID 19 pandemic and being in lockdown? 135 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:30,000 I don't necessarily think I am the most reliable worker. 136 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:35,000 There's a very good book, is a very good book on this called How We Write Ways of Looking at a Blank Page, 137 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:43,000 which is put together by a group of a group of mediaevalist. So I very much my field and they point out that there is no. 138 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:51,000 Single right way to write. And I have been experimenting with different things for. 139 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:57,000 Yes. And I probably will expand with different things for years. The main thing I think is, is not to go into your office, 140 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:01,000 whether that's a home office or work office and say, right, I'm going to do this for seven hours. 141 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:07,000 Because that never works. YouTube is usually open by the end of the first hour. 142 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:14,000 You're going to have some. At the moment, for me, it's it's it's German Schlager music going after 90 minutes. 143 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:18,000 You're going to be dancing around the place by two hours. And maybe that's just me. 144 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:22,000 I don't know. But you're going to get distracted if you break it down into. If you don't break it down. 145 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:28,000 Well, then if you say, OK. Seven hours. Here we go. So there are different ways of dealing with that. 146 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:35,000 Some of them were things I had tried before and brought up brought up again while watching up some of them. 147 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:42,000 Some of them weren't so. Obvious ways of structuring your time, the first one is through deadlines 148 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:47,000 Kind of goes is a given. you Know you use them with your supervisors and use them with yourself. 149 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,000 You can also work collaboratively with other people. 150 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:58,000 And I'm sure that those of you who are involved in this will expect the plug for shut up and write groups, which is definitely coming later. 151 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:05,000 When it comes to structuring your day, though, those that kind of activity shut up and write remote retreats. 152 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:13,000 All of these things and more, which I'm sure we'll talk about in a minute, are the best way I think of structuring your time on a day to day basis. 153 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:23,000 One of the one of the books I use when I'm doing academic writing teaching is a book by Eric Hyot called Elements of Academic Style. 154 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,000 And he points out that you need to set aside time to write. 155 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:32,000 Otherwise, you genuinely have a risk of the tail wagging the dog, which has happened to me on a fair few occasions in the past. 156 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:39,000 Absolutely. And I think these kind of different ways of structuring time, particularly the collaborative stuff, as you know. 157 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:46,000 And as anyone that knows me in real life or even on Twitter knows is is one of my things 158 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:50,000 that I think is quite important about making sure that you take that pressure off, 159 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:56,000 making sure that you're structuring your time into small chunks, because that is just how we work best. 160 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:03,000 And so we do quite a lot of that at Exeter through when we were on campus, we did longer kind of write clubs. 161 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:08,000 So four hours of of kind of pomodoro technique blocks and various different things. 162 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:16,000 But we've migrated that online. So we were already running online sharp and write sessions as part of our webinar programme, 163 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:22,000 and we've just expanded that quite considerably to be running. 164 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:28,000 shut up and write sessions either once or twice a day. But you know about this because you're one of my PGR volunteers. 165 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:35,000 Yes. Yes, this is true. Yes. So this is one of the one of the ways, I think, structuring my time during lockdown. 166 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:44,000 It's it's a great way to meet people, to focus your work in and to say, OK, this morning I'm going to be spending two hours doing this. 167 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:53,000 I want to achieve this. There are other ways as structuring my time during lockdown, which have kind of developed out of a lot of stuff I did beforehand, 168 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:57,000 as I say, was about maintaining the networks are built up. 169 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:06,000 The most obvious one for me, apart from the shut up and write sessions, is I'm very lucky actually, in that I have a group of office buddies. 170 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:11,000 We basically run a virtual office. So we will we will use the Pomodoro technique sometimes. 171 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:19,000 Not always, but we will. We will we'll have kind of five hour epic teams sessions, which makes it sound like we're where we're procrastinating. 172 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:25,000 But actually what we do is we just turn off our audio and video and then just work for 25 minutes off now or whatever, 173 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:29,000 and then come back and chat for five and share some strange YouTube videos and then go again. 174 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:33,000 Come back again, go then come back again. So that's one way of doing it. 175 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:42,000 The other thing that I do is a lot of the. More social aspects have moved on line as well. 176 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:47,000 So that's sort of outside the extra curricular, I suppose, is the word. 177 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:55,000 They're my main ways of working around what is a very isolating but hopefully not isolated process. 178 00:18:55,000 --> 00:19:02,000 You've got to challenge the impulse towards isolation that comes from writing up, especially lwriting up in the time of COVID 179 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:11,000 So in the work that I do on doctoral writing and academic writing and research, writing or whatever it is that you want to call it. 180 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:15,000 There is quite a lot of contention about this term writing up, 181 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:21,000 and particularly Pat Thompson is somebody that I've talked to you about many times 182 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:25,000 and I always talk about in Sessions and is at the University of Nottingham. 183 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:30,000 I'll put a link to her blog in the show notes and she in her books on doctoral writing problematises 184 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:41,000 this idea of writing up that;s based on the idea that writing up assumes that writing isn't something or doing throughout the research process. 185 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:45,000 And particularly as she's a social scientist, she talks about how actually in the humanities, 186 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:50,000 arts and social sciences, that more traditional notion of. 187 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:56,000 Sitting down and starting doing the writing doesn't really fit. 188 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:59,000 And actually the argument she makes is that we shouldn't be doing that for the 189 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:04,000 sciences either because we're not practising or writing and and developing, 190 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:11,000 you know. You said it yourself, your working from materials you've already got. 191 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:17,000 Yes, absolutely, and I think of the production of those conference papers as part of my doctoral writing. 192 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:29,000 It's exactly what that was. The I think the reason that it might not work in some of the humanities is that when when you look 193 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:36,000 at something like to give a kind of a common example of the images of doctoral life PhD comics, 194 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:39,000 that's written from a primarily scientific perspective. 195 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:46,000 And in that sense, there is something of a distinction between the data gathering process and the production of research outputs. 196 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:53,000 Obviously, a lot of our listeners will know that that distinction falls apart a bit in the humanities where your data might be present from the start. 197 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:58,000 Technically speaking, if you are. 198 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:06,000 If you are looking at that in a published literature, for example, it might not be if you doing archival research and that's been the case for me. 199 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:18,000 But the analysis results, creation vs. lighting up process has always, for me being quite blurred one. 200 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:28,000 I think. I describe it. I'm writing up in the sense that because of how I spent my first chapter. 201 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:36,000 There was something of a gap between writing those conference papers and writing up. 202 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:40,000 The chapters, so I produced the conference papers for sort of summer 2018, 203 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:44,000 and then it was it was the best part of a year working on something that was not connected to 204 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:55,000 either of those papers before I went back to them and redevelop them into full papers themselves. 205 00:21:55,000 --> 00:22:05,000 All three of my my main chapters, weirdly, have existed at one point or another as conference papers. 206 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:13,000 And I found a very useful way to do it, for what it's worth. There are still a lot of conferences which are either moving online or have moved online. 207 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:21,000 I've done one myself. This was for the other project that I'm working on alongside finishing up the PhD 208 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:27,000 But I would very much recommend that you look into them. So that's one one that is general purpose. 209 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:33,000 called academics in isolation. I'm sure we'll put that in the show and that's OK. 210 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:41,000 There are plenty of others to do a bit more discipline specific, and it's worth just taking a little bit of time to look through those. 211 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:44,000 I'm sure a future episode of this podcast will talk about Twitter. 212 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:50,000 But one of the one of the best places to find information about all of these is Twitter. 213 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:56,000 Definitely worth going on there. If you don't have an account looking for opportunities to present your research. 214 00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:00,000 And of course, here in Exeter, we've got things like the research showcase as well. 215 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:08,000 The doctoral college blog and various ways of writing in both the kind of a more conventional academic and a less conventional style. 216 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:13,000 I think these are the ways in which. 217 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:19,000 COVID 19, has disrupted that writing process for people in the sciences. 218 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:26,000 You know, I'm talking from the perspective of PGRs that have spoken to me about this is quite interesting because it's for 219 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:34,000 a lot of them forced them into that writing part of their work much earlier than they ever would have predicted, 220 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:40,000 because they've because they can't be collecting data if they're not in labs or if they're not able to do fieldwork. 221 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:50,000 And so they have the thing that they can do at this point in time in a remote, isolated, locked down environment is writing. 222 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:54,000 And so there's this. Dr. Zoe Ayres on Twitter. 223 00:23:54,000 --> 00:24:00,000 She does these great infographics or posters. A lot of the ones that she does are about mental health and wellbeing and research. 224 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:06,000 But she's done this kind of like scientist without a lab. These are the things that you can do. 225 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:13,000 And there's all sorts of things that she talks about, including things like writing journal articles, drafting chapters, visualising data. 226 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:21,000 And it really highlights, I think. Yeah, the way that that traditional process for the sciences has been massively disrupted. 227 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:30,000 But, you know, I talk to a lot of academics in like bio sciences, for instance, where we talk about the need to get. 228 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:36,000 People in the sciences writing much earlier, because when you do start the quote unquote, 229 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:43,000 writing up six months before the end and you haven't really done any of that writing work beforehand. 230 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:49,000 You've got a mammoth near impossible task in summing up. 231 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:54,000 I want to talk about kind of key advice and things that you advice you would give yourselves. 232 00:24:54,000 --> 00:25:02,000 So i magine I am the doctor from BBC's Doctor Who and I have a TARDIS and I say, Edward, come back in time with me. 233 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:06,000 One year ago to prewriting up Edward. 234 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,000 What piece of advice would you give past Edward? 235 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:16,000 What would you what kind of key thing have you learnt throughout this process that you wish you knew a year go. Like a TARDIS 236 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:25,000 The writing process encompasses more on the inside than you'd expect from looking at it from outside. 237 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,000 And what that means is you need to be ready for it. 238 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:37,000 This goes for corona virus specific cases like mine or people who hopefully will not be in the same position in a couple of years time from now, 239 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:44,000 you will have built up networks over the course of the PhD friends, colleagues, supervisors. 240 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:49,000 The really important thing is even if the means of keeping up those networks have changed. 241 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:55,000 Now. For those of us who are watching right now. 242 00:25:55,000 --> 00:26:03,000 Keep those networks. Do not let yourself retreat into a wririnf bubble or tell yourself or let anyone else tell you that you are writing up, 243 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:10,000 therefore you should not be meeting other people or talking about research or anything like that. 244 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:15,000 Writing a PhD is really hard. Speaking from experience here, 245 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:24,000 but you can make it a lot easier by allowing yourself to be with other people in remote circumstances to, you know, through 246 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:30,000 Zoom rooms or you know Actual physical rooms. Once once things start opening up again, that's the important thing. 247 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:36,000 I think it's that you trust the networks that you've already built. And you. 248 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,000 Milk them for all they're worth. 249 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:45,000 I've certainly I'm certainly very grateful to the people who have tolerated my whitterings and they know who they are. 250 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:52,000 Over the over the last couple of months. And I think this made me made my thesis a lot better. 251 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,000 I think it's also made my acknowledgements a lot longer than they probably will be allowed to be. 252 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:59,000 But that's That's a story today. What a fabulous note to end on. 253 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:06,000 And you heard it here first, folks. Edward Mills writing up is like a TARDIS bigger on the inside. 254 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:13,000 Thank you very much for having me. Thank you. Thank you so much to Edward for taking the time out with a very important thesis writing 255 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:22,000 process to talk to me about that process and also for indulging my doctor who jokes and puns. 256 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:27,000 You can find information about all the different things Edward and I discussed in the show notes, 257 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:33,000 as well as where to find Edward on Twitter and online. And that's it for this episode. 258 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:37,000 Don't forget to like rate and Subscribe and join me next time. 259 00:27:37,000 --> 00:28:03,574 We'll be talking to somebody else about researchers development and everything in between.