A few months ago, I started keeping a monthly progress diary, and I really wish I'd thought to do this at the beginning of my PhD. But I suppose halfway through is better late than never, right? 10/10 recommend, I can already tell this is going to help loads at thesis time. #PhDSky #Science - ThreadSky

malariameg.bsky.social • 104 days ago

A few months ago, I started keeping a monthly progress diary, and I really wish I'd thought to do this at the beginning of my PhD. But I suppose halfway through is better late than never, right?

10/10 recommend, I can already tell this is going to help loads at thesis time.

#PhDSky #Science

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satanicsapphic.bsky.social•104 days ago

Totally agree, I started one halfway through my Masters by Research and it was so helpful when writing up - and fun to look back on. Now I'm in my first year of my PhD it's become a daily ritual to write up the day's work.

labiofy.bsky.social•104 days ago

It's hard to see progress in the grind of daily life, but when you zoom out, it all starts to make sense. Before you know it, you'll be wrapping up your PhD, realizing just how much you've achieved along the way.

malariameg.bsky.social•104 days ago

That has been an added benefit to this actually. Looking back on my notes at the end of the month has been really good in highlighting how much progress I've made. It's also been good for identifying things I may have overlooked or should look into a bit more.

damiepak.bsky.social•104 days ago

Oh my god, I also started keeping a daily journal! been helpful honestly for my feelings of 'I'm stuck at research and I am dumb'

now it's 'I'm stuck at research, I have tried all of this, I am dumb BUT persistent'

malariameg.bsky.social•104 days ago

While I highly doubt that you're 'dumb', I relate to this so hard 😅

davidtensen.bsky.social•104 days ago

A great practice! I started doing this - emailing myself at milestones. https://bsky.app/profile/davidtensen.bsky.social/post/3lbasfe2ymc2y

malariameg.bsky.social•104 days ago

I love this!

littlehen.bsky.social•104 days ago

Any tips on things you’re finding useful? What prompts might help? I’m just starting and would love your suggestions

malariameg.bsky.social•104 days ago

Absolutely! I think it's important to find what works for you (otherwise you won't stick with it) but I've been using OneNote, I keep it open on my laptop all the time so it's always right there and I have separate docs by month. I use sub-headings for the main things I'm doing in a given month 1/4

malariameg.bsky.social•104 days ago

I also have a section for non-project related things like committee activities and other stuff I get up to. I already keep a lab book for experimental details, so I use this more to journal my thoughts and reasoning behind WHY I did stuff or why something did/didn't work. 2/4

malariameg.bsky.social•104 days ago

I also make sure to add in keywords so it's easily 'Ctrl F' searchable later and I add dates so I can cross-check these notes with experimental details in my lab book. So I structure it something like this: 3/4

malariameg.bsky.social•104 days ago

'18112024 did western blot to detect (insert protein name here), was unsuccessful (reasons why/thoughts/hypotheses/ideas for troubleshooting').

At the end of the month I copy paste into word and export as a PDF. 4/4

littlehen.bsky.social•104 days ago

Thanks for your tips. I currently use DayOne app for my journal and notebook for field notes and fleeting notes. The keywords is a great tip. Also scheduling time to reflect back on what is written so it remains active and useful. Thanks again ☺️

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