Better at the Bench

WELCOME TO THE SPRING PROPOSAL BOOTCAMP!

First, I just wanted to introduce myself… Hi, my name is Jenn, I’m a postdoc in the Biochemistry Department at Stanford, and I am very excited to see that so many people enrolled in the Spring proposal bootcamp. This online format is new for all of us running the bootcamp, so I hope we can make it work for all of you. My hope is that this website will function as a means to effectively share information and allow us all to better communicate with each other. So, let’s get into it!

Let’s Commit to a semester of productive and prolific writing

Congratulations! By enrolling in this proposal bootcamp you have already taken the important first step in committing to a rich quarter of writing. What do you want to accomplish this semester? Write down your writing goal, pin it to a wall where you will see it everyday, and let’s get it done!

Why should I write daily?

I don’t know about you, but working from home has completely wrecked my productivity and routines. Thus, one of my personal goals this quarter is to get my daily writing routine back up and running. Here are three reasons why I think you should also commit to writing daily:

1. Writing is important and we all have a lot to write!
   Writing is at the center of everything we do. We write to get grants, publish papers, and generally communicate our science to others. With so much writing to do, we should actively attack these writing tasks everyday.

2. Writing is difficult, but it gets easier when you write more!
   There is no magic solution to writing faster or better, but writing more frequently can help you feel more comfortable with the process. Often, progress just requires overcoming the initial hesitation to write.

3. Improving our writing requires committing more time to writing!
   Great writers don’t necessarily write better or faster… great writers just write more, get meaningful feedback, and relentlessly edit what they have.

What is a writing routine?

Simply put, a writing routine is the practice of reserving a regularly occurring time and space for writing.

Here are two papers that beautifully discuss the benefits of a writing routine and how to create your own:

1. “Ten simple rules for scientists: Improving your writing productivity” (Peterson et al., PLOS Computational Biology, 2018). A paper co-authored by our very own Grant Coach Academy Director Crystal Botham.

2. “Turbocharge your writing today” (Gardiner and Kearns, Nature Jobs, 2011)

Components for setting up your own writing routine

Developing a great writing routine that works for you requires a lot of trial and error. In a previous “Developing Writing Rituals and Routines for Academic Success” workshop we collectively came up with this long list of things that we do to maximize our writing productivity. I highly encourage you to try to incorporate some of these strategies into your personal writing routine. Find what works for you and keep at it!

1. Define a writing time. For most people, writing in the early morning works best for them, when they are awake and feeling fresh. However, for others evening writing works best, after the kids are asleep and the work emails have subsided. Find a time that works best for you.

2. Tidying up your writing area. For some people, the first step to writing is cleaning up their writing area. Obviously, don’t let the cleaning process itself be a distraction, but set yourself up for writing success by creating an environment that allows you to write productively.

3. Eradicate distractions. Major distractions shared during the workshop included cell phones and the internet (some people start reading papers and never stop). Among workshop participants, techniques to minimize distractions varied widely. Among the techniques shared: put down your cell phone, turn off your cell phone, save and then close all of the windows in your internet browser, and the most extreme… turn off your WiFi router.

4. Music vs silence. Some people require absolute silence when writing. Other people write best while listening to music. For me, I listen to Final Fantasy battle music… It sounds ridiculous, and I haven’t played Final Fantasy in years, but something about the pace of the music keeps me awake and the lack of words keep me from getting distracted. I know other people that write best while listening to EDM.

5. When you are stuck, go for a walk. Again, don’t let the exercise distract you from the actual writing... don’t go for a walk and abandon your writing! However, sometimes getting up and moving around (i.e. taking a break) can help your come up with new good ideas or simply break up long writing sessions.

6. Exercise! For many people, exercise and writing go hand in hand. Some people come up with their best ideas while jogging. Try it out!

7. Treat yourself! After you write a substantial amount text or write for a substantial amount of time, reward yourself with a snack, a drink, or some fun internet time (my personal internet treat is Buzzfeed or Facebook).

8. Gamify your writing. Keep track of how many words you write each day and try to write as much or more each subsequent day. Gamify the situation by challenging yourself to match or beat your daily writing score. An alternative is to use a program/app like Habitica, which tries to encourage good habits and increase productivity using a role-player game format.

9. Use productivity apps. When writing my own grant, one thing that really helped me was a Pomodoro Timer App. The Pomodoro Technique promotes the idea of focused uninterrupted writing for 25 minutes, followed by a 5 minute break, and then an additional 25 minutes of writing, followed by an additional 5 minute break, and onward… until you are done with your writing task. Some apps allow you to adjust the time for work, if you feel like you cannot focus for the full 25 minutes, or alternatively want to extend your focus time for more than 25 minutes.

10. Non-science writing before science writing. One workshop participant “warmed up” by writing about non-science topics prior to writing about science. I’m personally going to try this, since I love writing for this blog, but dread writing my paper.

11. Read to inspire. Other workshop participants noted that they like to read an inspiring paper or grant before they get started with their writing. I love this idea too! Just don’t get stuck in an endless cycle of reading papers that prevents you from writing.

12. Write now, edit later. Write freely and then edit (or add citations) later.

13. Form a Ulysses Pact/Contract. I learned about the concept of a Ulysses Pact from a workshop participant. The long story, Ulysses wanted to hear the song of the Sirens, so while the rest of his crew stuffed their ears with wax, Ulysses had his crew tie him to the mast of the ship and promise not to release him. A Ulysses pact is thus a strategy that acknowledges we are human and thus will likely cave to temptation, so in preparation for failing we create a condition that encourages us to “stay the course.” This could be as simple as telling friends that we are starting a writing routine, and then ask these fiends to ask us about the writing routine in the future to make sure we stick with it.

14. Write with others. Similarly, you can form a remote writing team. Commit to a time and write together over Zoom. Alternatively, check in with each other to make sure everyone is adhering to weekly writing practices. Encourage each other to “stay the course.”

15. Force yourself to write by creating artificial deadlines. Promise to send a draft to a friend or your PI and adhere to this promise. This is very similar to forming a Ulysses Pact. By promising you will send a draft to others, you are more likely to complete the writing task.

16. Quiet that inner negative voice. After you write, don’t get discouraged and toss out what you just wrote. First, acknowledge that you are writing a first draft and it won’t be perfect from the very beginning. Second, figure out exactly what you don’t like about it and work to make it better. Third, seek feedback from others if you cannot figure out what you don’t like about what you wrote (sometimes you just need a set of fresh eyes).

17. Coffee? Tea? Sparkling water? Wine? To write sometimes people need a stimulant. Caffeine in the form of coffee and tea can help. The ritual of preparing a cup of coffee or tea can also function as trigger to start the writing process. One workshop participant writes while drinking sparkling water in a wine glass. While you probably shouldn’t drink too much while writing, some participants also noted that a little wine helped them to write freely (especially when starting a new writing project).

18. Break it down. Break up your large (seemingly impossible) writing task into smaller digestible pieces.

19. Build writing bridges. At the end of your writing time, make a note about what you want to write next. This will not only help you get started writing again, but will excite you to continue.

20. Tie yourself to your desk. While not literal, make yourself sit there and write. If you are having a bad writing day, try to write something that you find easier to approach… like your materials and methods (for a paper) or your personal statement (for a grant).

21. Get out of the lab. On par with the topic of avoiding distractions, for me it is absolutely necessary that I get out of the lab when I write. Between people asking me stuff and the desire to do small tasks (like running a PCR) while writing, I cannot get any productive writing accomplished in lab.

22. Snack writing. Acknowledge that you cannot set aside large swaths of time for writing and begin writing in small snack-like pieces. Write while eating lunch. Write down notes while waiting for a spin or a reaction to occur.

23. Outline it! If you don’t know where to start, begin with an rough outline and gradually begin to expand on areas until you have a coherent first draft.

On a final note I just wanted to say, “You got this!” Let’s make this a productive writing quarter!
I’ll keep posting at least one entry a week — hopefully you will find it helpful. Feel free to email me at jennkong@stanford.edu if you have any topics or questions you want me to address and I will do my best to answer them! Stay well!