By now, everyone is feeling the effects of the coronavirus outbreak lockdowns. Here what I’ve been up to (in addition to social distancing).

Paper accepted!

In my last blog post I talked about a preprint we submitted earlier in the month; the reviews came back and we were only asked to do minor revisions! We resubmitted the revisions on Saturday, and found out that the paper has been accepted on Tuesday! We submitted the final proof Wednesday morning, and here is the final paper! We’re really happy, since this was a quick turnaround (2 weeks from submission to reviews) and a really positive experience, which isn’t always the case.  

I like writing, but LOVE editing

Writing isn’t something that comes naturally for most people. For grad students, the joke is that we HATE writing. Its not hard to understand why we’re hesitant to write: we’ve spent 5 years on a project, and writing it up and sharing our results opens us up for criticism. Your project is not a reflection of who you are as a person, but it feels like it, and it takes a conscious effort to take criticism constructively.

For me, the writing part wasn’t bad; I didn’t struggle to interpret results or come up with ideas, and I dedicated Wednesdays as my work/write from home to make sure I made good/consistent progress. However, hands down the most enjoyable part for me was editing. I don’t know why but agonizing over each word, concept, and interpretation was SO MUCH FUN. To me, the editing process was like a puzzle: how do you balance being parsimonious with broad interpretation of your findings? What do your findings even really mean? You can’t over-interpret your results, but if you can’t make the audience care about your work, what was the point of anything? Its only after the experiments are done and the results written up that you can finally address these questions via the editing process, because rarely are you ever right on the first try, and even if you are, you can always make things better.

Facing these questions head on is why I love science, and why I chose to study pharmaceutical science: your goal is treating a disease, whether it be by synthesizing a new molecule, delivering a drug more efficiently, or figuring out why a disease happens in the first place.

Work outside of lab

**Allegedly** I was working enough hours in lab to violate labor laws and grad school policy. **Allegedly** Now that lab has shut down (and I’ve been physically locked out of the building) I’ve had to make adjustments to my workday, namely, I’m in writing mode from 11am-5pm every weekday. Wednesdays used to be my dedicated writing day, so its not a huge change.

The only real challenge I’ve run into is that its really hard to clear my head. When I write, I obsess over ideas and words, which is OK early in the day, but after several hours, I stop being able to see new/different ideas; think of it as creative stamina. I used to be able to clear my head with lab work, but  now that I’m focused on writing full-time, its tough.

On the other hand, if you don’t’ write, you never publish, so sometimes you have to try your best to write through the exhaustion. If I know where I want to go next, I’ll write sentences with spaces/blanks so that I can set up an idea and move on, then go back and flesh it out later, when I have the mental energy to go through the literature and look at a question with fresh eyes.

The first thing you write is never the last thing you write; own the fact that you will have to edit things so you can focus on getting a draft completed, then go through the editing process meticulously.

Thankfully, I got all the data I needed just before the shutdown, so I’m in a good position to write and publish.

Stay healthy and take care of yourself

In one of my last blog posts, I mentioned how I put my health/diet on the back burner during my PhD. With lab shutdown and Los Angeles under safer at home orders, I’ve decided to take time to make some positive changes.

For one, I walk on my treadmill every 50 minutes, which helps me clear my head. While walking, I also read books that I’ve been meaning to read but haven’t gotten around to.

I’ve also started logging food and counting calories again. Plus I’ve technically replaced lunch with vegetable smoothies (technically purees; they’re thick), something I used to do during undergrad. I’ve been doing these things everyday since last week, although I do hope that I can maintain some of these things after the quarantine is lifted.

If you’re in grad school and able, try to make the best of the situation and make positive changes with what you have. This is a pandemic, and you shouldn’t be expected to be as productive as you normally are. Put yourself first and don’t overwork yourself or stress yourself out. It’s unfortunate that some universities are expecting everyone to go on like its business as usual; don’t feel guilty for taking care of yourself.