I kept a research journal as a blog while I was writing my doctoral thesis. I was teaching Masters students who were writing a thesis themselves at the time, and I was therefore interested in being accountable, authentic, to model learning in public.
In case anyone wants to go back to those distant shores and see what it was really like for me, feel free: http://reasearchdiary.blogspot.com.au
I wouldn’t go there if I were you though, I kind of terrify myself.
So one issue with trying to take a break is that we get so much advice on how to work and very little realistic advice on what to do when we rest. Most rest advice that we do get, is aspirational. Here’s my regular, realistic insider’s view.
It’s a typical piece of advice to give authors of articles and theses, that you need to explain the ‘so what?’ of your contribution. But in English you can use this phrase in two very distinct ways depending on how you say it.
My co-author was doing his final read through of our big academic book, and complained to me that it made his wrists tired and tight
