• Question: if you started to get bored in the lab would you leave or do some experoments

    Asked by RugRat28 to Elliot, Hazel on 10 Jun 2016. This question was also asked by 474bsmf44.
    • Photo: Elliot Jokl

      Elliot Jokl answered on 10 Jun 2016:

      That’s a good question!

      My PhD is four years long, which means I am working on the same things for a very long time. It can be hard to stay motivated, especially if my experiments are not working well.

      To help keep me motivated, I usually try to have several different experiments running at the same time. This means if I get bored of one experiment, I can focus on another one to keep me busy.

      I am also lucky because I am allowed to go into the lab whenever I want. This means sometimes I will just go home early and come in at a different time when I am feeling more motivated. So I might go home early on a Friday, but go in on the weekend for a bit to make up for it.

      So the answer to your question is that I do both! Sometimes it is important to just take a break and relax. It helps me to think more clearly, and I sometimes have some good ideas when I spend a bit of time away from the lab. But it is also important to keep trying and work hard when I can.

    • Photo: Hazel Garvie-Cook

      Hazel Garvie-Cook answered on 14 Jun 2016:

      It depends on the experiments. If the experiments were boring because they were repetitive, I’d put some music on, relax a bit and just get on with it. Then it feels worth it when it’s finished and you have the results you need.
      If I was doing something that really required a lot of thought, it’s sometimes better to leave it for a while and come back to it later. Very often approaching a problem with a fresh mind really helps!

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