Week 4 - McKellar

Because of the holiday this past week (and my battling the flu that seems to have hit several members of our group), I didn’t get as much time in the lab/clinic. I do have some results coming up from my single-cell RNA sequencing analysis project (perhaps will discuss next week). Here, I’m going to talk briefly about another topic that I have given quite a bit of thought to over the past few years- the proper work habits of a great scientist (or really any professional).

Since I decided to pursue science, I have read several memoirs, biographies, and autobiographies written by and about famous scientists. Spending most of my efforts reading about big names in physics (Richard Feynman, Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein, etc.) and some of the founders of molecular biology (Francis Crick, James Watson, Max Delbruck, etc.), I have devoted a lot of time to trying to understand the habits of successful scientists. One of the themes I have come across, is that becoming great is incredibly boring (note that I said becoming great, not being great). Mastering any skill or subject matter requires a lot of time and a lot of repetition.

Consider one elite class that I think we can all agree are “great” in their own respects: Olympians. Home many hours a day do you think Simone Douglas devotes to being a gymnast? She is the best in the world. At his peak, do you think Michael Phelps ever really thought about anything other than swimming? Bringing that ideology back to the world of science, how many hours per day should we spend? To be the best scientist I can, do I need to work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week? Should I do that? Can I physically do that?

Maybe, but probably not (my answer to each of those questions). The more time I spend doing science, the more it seems to me that great success ends up going to the well-prepared, well-rested, and the luckiest. Since I can control the first two, I’ll start by focusing on those.

Another important point to make (one backed up by many from whom I’ve sought advice), is that everyone is different. Maybe some people would reap great benefits from working 80 hour weeks. Maybe they don’t need to sleep that much and don’t have as many commitments outside the lab. But my guess is that group is a small bunch.

Finally, the most important question that I think needs to be answered is what I actually want out of my PhD. What do I want to do in the end? Once I have a goal in mind, I can assess my current habits and adjust along the way. I suppose that’s what PIs are for, right?