Andreas Blaafladt

Last week I attended a short presentation given by Mark Burgess entitled “How to get research done”. While I’ve heard most of the advices before, it still seems valuable to repeat them from time to time. So without further introduction, here’s some key elements:

Just do it!

• It’s better to try and fail, at least you will learn something
• Don’t wait until you think you are sure

Time management

• Plan for the next day while your head is still focused on your work
• Stop when you believe you know how to proceed the following day
• Avoid interrupting progress by taking unnecessary breaks.

How to make progress

• Dream of your long term ambitions but focus on immediate goals
• Always have a TODO list
• Set aside whole days for research and postpone trivia
• Give priority to things that move you forward

Interruption management

• Protect yourself from interruptions or you will exhaust yourself doing nothing
• Consider shutting down applications and devices that provides email, sms, IM and music

Read, read, read

• Read about anything, not just things you think are relevant
• Your brain needs all kinds of food, not just specific nutrients — don’t be a vitamin freak
• You don’t have to understand everything to get something out of it

Write, write, write

• Always have a notebook in range
• Write down thoughts and ideas, it’s never as clear as you think it is when it’s in your head only

Optimise work and rest

• Make sure you sleep and eat properly
• Exercise