Summary: It has happened to all of us: you finish a solid day of work at the bench, and as you head out the door to your well-earned R&R, the PI catches you and lays on a speech about how you need to spend more time in lab.<br> Everyone’s a critic<br> In one instant, all that confidence and satisfaction you felt goes up in flames like Parafilm in a Bunsen burner.<br> In this week’s episode, we tackle a tough question from a second-year grad student who is tired of colleagues, mentors, and family members sharing their opinions about how she should spend her time. How can she, and YOU, deflect the criticism and stop the haters from stealing your joy?<br> Susie asks:<br> It seems like everyone, especially in a lab setting, has an opinion about how I should spend my time and resources. It shouldn’t bother me so much, but even after a great and busy day, an offhand comment about how I should be doing more/better/faster can make me feel kind of useless. How have you each learned to rise above questioning and perceived condescension from the people you work with, or even friends and family?<br> Before you even start that battle, we talk about how to make sure you can win it. We’ll also give you tips about how to manage your PI’s expectations and find a work-life-balance that actually works for your life.<br> <br> Make time for the things you love<br> Next, we hear from a grad student who wants to make time for science outreach and education opportunities, but doesn’t think his faculty mentor will support his time outside of the lab. It’s another great example of finding the time to do the work you love while still pursuing solid laboratory training.<br> Shawn writes:<br> One of the many things I want to continue to do during grad school is to volunteer and become part of outreach programs. I acknowledge I am going to have a lot on my plate very soon , but I still want to volunteer and continue doing some form of work that likens the after-school teaching I was doing [during my undergrad]. Is it feasible to find time for outreach while in graduate school?<br> <br> Getting smart<br> Finally, Daniel gets some <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074959781500076X" target="_blank">scientific support for his acerbic sense of humor</a>, and we put another punch on our “Frequent Hipster” cards with the <a href="http://brew.oskarblues.com/ob-beers/year-round/pinner-throwback-ipa/" target="_blank">Pinner Throwback IPA from Oskar Blues</a>. It’s a healthy dose of hops with a side of sarcasm. Delicious!<br> <br> This week’s resources and references:<br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrographia" target="_blank">Micrographia on Wikipedia</a><br><br> <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15491" target="_blank">Gutenberg Project Ebook of Micrographia</a><br> 2002 Letter from Mu-ming Poo to his lab:<br> To all lab members:<br> Over the past several months, it has become clear to me that if there is no drastic change in the lab, Poo lab will soon cease to be a productive, first-rate lab that you chose to join in the first place. Lab progress reports over the past six months have clearly shown the lack of progress in most projects. One year ago, when we first moved to Berkeley, I expressed clearly to everyone my expectation from each one in the lab. The most important thing is what I consider to be sufficient amount of time and effort in the lab work. I mentioned that about 60 hr working time per week is what I consider the minimal time an average successful young scientist in these days has to put into the lab work. There may be a few rare lucky fellows like Florian, who had two Nature papers in his sleeve already, can enjoy life for a while and still get a job offer from Harvard. No one else in the lab has Florian’s luxury to play around.<br> Thus I am imposing strict rules in the lab from now on:<br> <br>
