6 Quick Ways to Get Your Research Project Holiday Ready
Are you lucky enough to be able to take a break this Christmas to head home to your family or fly off to some exotic locale? Well great, but before you go you have some business to take care of.
Breaking the news to your PI may be tricky, but letting them know that you have all your ducks in row before you go will help smooth it over. Start with our top 6 ways to get your research project holiday ready:
1. Get that last minute experiment or time point done.
Don’t put it off. You will feel better leaving when you don’t have something looming over you.
2. Organize and back-up your data.
I cannot stress this enough. If you do not currently have a back-up drive for your computer, get one today. And use it. Computers really do just up and die all the time. You do not want to lose all your data, abstracts, posters, presentations, or your thesis!
3. Analyze that data you have been putting off.
It will help put your project into perspective, and give you a good feeling (hopefully!) before you head out.
4. Show your PI your newly analyzed data before you go.
This will help satiate the ever hungry data monster. This will also buy you a few goodwill days, where hopefully they will grumble about someone else not working hard enough.
5. Make a list of things that need to get done when you get back.
Vacations have a way of wiping your short-term memory, so write down any important notes, so you can pick-up right where you left off.
6. Finally clean up your desk.
This is an excellent time to wipe down your grubby keyboard and clean-up those coffee cup rings. Your future self will thank you when they can return to a nice clean work station.
Bon-voyage!
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