[Mitch]

Research is hard, but we all have our favorite hack to make it easier. What are your favorite tricks to be more productive in lab?

[kamiyu]

Actually, although this question is not a scientific one, it is a good one, and also very relevant.

Here are my several points:

1. live close to your lab, within 5-10 min walk is good.

2. build good relationship with your peer, especially the experienced one. Chat with them routinely

3. Read tons of papers, with the aim of fundamentally understanding the science, not just know what has been done and the results only. Read critically, and come up with your own ideas/judgement if you can

4. Conferences/seminars are excellent. Talk to others with a modest heart and learn. Travelling for a conference is definitely a bonus, I love this.

5. Stay calm no matter when you have positive and negative results. Do not only hear what you want to hear. Do not only see what you want to see.

6. Hard-working. Will as hard as steel (to cope with failures in your research)

[kriggy]

1) have your notes ordered

2) dont drink too much cofee

3) dont drink cofee alone, its much better to drink it with someone and talk about stuff (got many ideas from my friends at cofee breaks)

[kamiyu]

1) have your notes ordered

2) dont drink too much cofee

3) dont drink cofee alone, its much better to drink it with someone and talk about stuff (got many ideas from my friends at cofee breaks)

For me it is really hard to do points 2 and 3!!

[kriggy]

Well then which one are you? :-D

anyway, since I cant edit my previous post I realized one more "trick": Dont start anything before you finish previous task. Its not 100% possible but Im trying to obey this one. I didnt before and my hood was full of beakers containing something that I might recrystalize one day. It was just a big mess

[kamiyu]

Well, in general I drink 2-3 cups of coffee everyday, which seems not affecting my doing science at all.

Interestingly, I am allergic to coffee.. (i.e. will cough after drinking)