🧵 summarizing of my presentation to incoming graduate students
@iitgn
.
I mostly tried to draw from my current struggles, and also distilled some of the amazing advice I received on Twitter into ten balancing acts ⚖️.
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Act I. Breadth v/s Depth
Too much breadth: may not leave you with adequate preparation for your choice of specialisation.
Too much depth: walk away without a big picture + may not fully appreciate the implications of your work outside your domain.
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This particular balance is hard because of overwhelm. With so much amazing material out there... sigh.
I've found it useful work backwards from how much time I have (c.f. time blocking), to have a realistic view of how much I can fit in.
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As for what to fit in: sometimes you're guided by your intuition and curiosity, or a need for learning a specific toolkit/skillset.
In the early days, however, I think it's more common to be confused - that's what friends and advisors are for!
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Philosophers are people who know less and less about more and more, until they know nothing about everything.
Scientists are people who know more and more about less and less, until they know everything about nothing.
– Konrad Lorenz
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Act II. Perseverence v/s Pivoting.
Sometimes perseverance is just euphemism for stubbornness.
OTOH, you might also be giving up too early.
C.f. this excellent thread on "The Dip" by
@NGKabra
.
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1. Everything that’s worth doing seems worthless and frustrating at some point. Learning about how to deal with this phase (called The Dip by
@ThisIsSethsBlog
) is something everyone should know about.
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Knowing when to give up is generally hard. I think getting this right is a combination of intuition, luck, and some guidance.
Tactical suggestion: keep track of everything you're working on. You're never quitting, only moving things around and coming back to them later.
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If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it.
– Folklore (and also attributed variously to Stephen Leacock and others.)
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Act III. Saying Yes v/s Saying No.
If you say yes too often, you're likely overcommitted.
If you say no by default, you have probably missed out on meaningful opportunities.
This bit is borrowed from
@dsivakumar
.
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@thegautamkamath
I have a slide deck called "23 things I didn't learn in grad school", consisting of nuggets of "wisdom" for early-career scientists and engineers.
#11
: "Be generous with your time"
#12
: "Be very protective of your time"
Each of us makes the choice(s) of where we spend our time.
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Develop something of a decision tree for what to say yes to and what to pass on - it helps if know your priorities well.
Some of us also struggle with the act of refusal. There's a lot of tactical advice on this front, find something that suits your temperament :)
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If you're not saying "HELL YEAH!" about something, say no.
– Derek Sivers
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c.f:
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Act IV. Perfect v/s good enough
Overdo perfection: it takes too long.
Misguided use of good-enough: you come across as careless.
Standards are subjective, too. My perfect essay could be mediocre from your perspective. 🙈
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Tactically, deadlines help with getting past perfectionism...
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...while candid feedback helps getting to a universally acceptable level of good enough.
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Perfect is the enemy of good.
– Aphorism, variously attributed and probably also widely misunderstood.
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Act V. Brooding v/s Asking.
If you struggle alone for too long with a problem/situation, it can get lonely and frustrating.
OTOH, reaching out for help too early and too often might be inconsiderate.
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I think it's good to be comfortable being stuck.
C.f. this short video by
@virtualcourtney
on being stuck, which I found to be very relatable.
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Anyway, I made a pep talk, which you can watch, although those of you who only recognize me by my bitchin' regalia and green Birkenstocks might be confused by seeing my face:
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On the other hand, also don't be shy asking for help once you have done your homework!
Do use your common sense to ask the right people and appropriate forums. When asking in unfamiliar territory, find out about the culture you're walking into.
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How would you know well if you don't ask at all?
How would you ask well if you don't know at all?
– Martin Uzochukwu Ugwu
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Act VI. Reading v/s Writing
If you wait to train yourself completely before you feel confident about tackling a problem, it's going to be a long wait.
OTOH, jumping in unprepared can be frustrating. If you already have imposter syndrome, this can intensify it.
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I believe the optimal produce:consume ratio is not constant. Adapt depending on the situation.
You'll need both skills often. It's worth learning how to assimilate information efficiently and also practice writing and presenting as you go along.
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@neeldhara
@iitgn
1. Take initiative, don't wait for advisor to assign you work.
2. Read research papers extensively, including outside your immediate area of concentration.
3. Attend talks outside the department; engage with social science and humanities folks.
4. Write. Write. Write.
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Since you'll be spending a lot of time consuming information, be comfortable with using different approaches for different scenarios.
It's okay to not understand things, especially during early encounters.
It's also okay to not know stuff - fill in your gaps on the go.
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I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in.
– Robert Louis Stevenson
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Act VII. Luck v/s Work.
It's easy to agree that nothing worthwhile can be achieved without putting in the work.
It's also generally hard to admit the non-trivial role of luck in actual outcomes.
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When you subscribe firmly to the view that hard work translates to success, I think you might be disproportionately concerned on the occasions when things don't work out.
I accept the role of luck in the outcomes that are considered traditional indicators of success...
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...so that when the various failures come around, I can blame some of it on bad luck 😅
I do believe that once you're past a baseline in terms of quality of work and effort, the rest of it is a bit of a lottery.
With this, both happy and sad outcomes remain drama-free.
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Not many people have had as much bad luck as have, but not many people have had as much good luck, either.
– Tig Notaro
C.f: Arthur Ashe and "Why Me":
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Act VIII. Organization v/s Chaos.
There's a bit of a stereotype that correlates success in creative processes with degree of real-world messiness.
OTOH, with a zillion moving parts and things to keep up with, it seems like a little organization should go a long way.
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One could be too organized, or suffer some anxiety about not being organized, or spend a disproportionate amount of time figuring out the best ways of being organized.
(I'm looking at you, the org-mode learning curve.)
OTOH, one could be completely lost in chaos too.
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If you are naturally messy but have anxiety around it, here's a podcast celebrating messiness encouraging you to embrace the chaos.
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I figure it helps to play to your natural temperament, until it gets in your way. When that happens, learn and adapt.
My natural state is fairly extreme chaos. For instance, I refused to use a calendar out of some misguided sense of pride, but gave in when I needed to 😀
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