Andrea Perino 🚢0️⃣/3️⃣0️⃣

How often have you heard that you need to learn how to say no more often?
I'm guessing probably around a gazillion times.

And how do you feel when you have to "protect" your boundaries?
To me, even the expression makes me feel closed up, tense, like I have to defend myself against whoever is asking something of me.

But here's the thing:
You can say no in a soft way.
You can protect your boundaries and still stay connected to the person who asked you to do something for them.

What if a request was just an invitation of a well-meaning friend?
An offer you are free to accept or decline?
And how you choose to respond is entirely about you and your goals.

Not about the other person.
You're not mean if you decline. You're not rejecting the other person.

You can choose what's right for you and say "no, thank you!"

How does saying "no" make you feel?

If you enjoyed this post, I'd be so happy if you followed me!
I write about support networks, strategies to make your PhD life easier and ways to grow and strengthen your professional visibility.

The most effective way to be more productive, more successful, even more happy is not by learning more strategies. Or have you ever met anyone who said they missed a deadline because nobody had told them about the pomodoro technique?

The game changer is accountability.

Have someone who checks in with you on a regular basis. Who knows what you planned to do and bugs you about it. Someone who will kick your butt (in a loving way) when they see you're procrastinating.

It works so well because of two effects:

1. It saves you the energy you would need to spend to motivate yourself.

2. It adds an additional reward to your system because you know you'll get probs from your accountability partner when you meet your milestones.

So please, if you haven't already: Find an accountability partner. Team up with a friend or colleague. Join a writing group. Get a coach. Whatever feels best.

I promise, it will change your life.

Doing a PhD is hard.

So hard that up to 20% of candidates never actually hand in their thesis. But you are probably reading this because you do want to finish your PhD, ideally without wearing yourself out in the process.

And the good news is, it doesn’t have to be (that) hard.

I finished my PhD with magna cum laude, a first author paper published in Science, and a contract for my dream job in my pocket. In the 4.5 years of my project I spent time training my young horse at least 3 times a week. I went on 4-week holidays every year and I rarely worked on evenings or weekends.

How did I do it?

• I made my private life a priority and ruthlessly organized my work around the things that make me happy.

• I developed a system (and, more importantly, an attitude) that allowed me to work efficiently and keep my supervisor happy (I think).

• I created a support network that held me accountable and offered feedback so I could improve my work faster.

• I developed a clear vision of my dream life and PhD and said “No!” to all (ok, most) opportunities that didn’t contribute to this vision.

Do you want more ease and success in your PhD but you don't know how to get there (yet)?
Let me know, I'd love to support you!

If you've been browsing the entrepreneur world for a bit you've probably come across the mantra of "niching down".

Having a clearly defined niche - i.e., a very specific set of skills or services you can offer to a very specific group of people - is the number one step to success. And it's not only helpful if you're starting a business but also when you're applying to jobs in or outside academia. Some even go so far as to say a niche (in that case often referred to as "purpose") is the key ingredient for life satisfaction and happiness.

The only issue is: it can be hard to find.

The idea of having one purpose in life can be paralyzing, at least it is for me. What if I find the "wrong" purpose? What if it sends me down the wrong (career) path? All I can come up with feels too small to be guiding the rest of my life! And what happens then is that I drop the idea of finding my niche altogether because I'm scared to "make a mistake".

If that sounds familiar, I suggest two things that helped me get closer to my niche without stressing too much about it:

1. Don't make it your life's purpose. Life is so long (hopefully) and the future unforeseeable so the idea of deciding now what you want to focus on for the rest of your life is just not helpful. Think about now and the foreseeable future instead. Maybe that's five years, maybe ten, but don't make it fifty!

2. In your skills and passions look for those that are complementary or even opposing. For example, I am a natural scientist by training but science never came easy to me. I'm much more talented at and interested into learning languages and writing. That's something that sets me apart from many natural scientists and was one reason why I landed my job in Science communication.

What's your take on niching down? Let me know in the replies!

Since you started your PhD have you ever felt this dilemma?
You are invested in your project and want to bring it to success. You have a clear idea of how it should look like and you have done your due diligence to know what you are planning is sound. And you know that if you don't make it happen, nobody will.

But, you aren't officially in charge.

Officially, you work for someone else who pays your salary and has the last word in any decision on your project. And to make it work you need to get them to follow your lead and give you the freedom (and support) you need to succeed.

You need to learn the skill of "lateral leadership".

Successful lateral leadership is based on three pillars: Trust, communication, and power with trust being the basic prerequisite for successful lateral leadership. It can be described by this formula:

Trust = (Credibility + Reliability + Empathy)/ Self interest

So, if you want to lead "bottom-up" , those higher up in the hierarchy need to trust you first. And as a first step to increase trust in you and your capabilities you can reflect on the following four questions:

• Which parts of the “trust formula” are easy for me?

• Which aspects should I consider more?

• Where am I in power?

• What are levels of escalation I am willing and capable of getting at?

Knowing the answers to these questions will help you understand your current level of influence and help you identify which aspects of the "trust formula" will help you improve it.

If you found these tips helpful you might also benefit from the course "Become the CEO of your PHD".
In six modules you will learn how to take ownership and control over your PhD project and shape it so it contributes to your desired career path. If you're interested, DM me and you'll be the first to know when registration opens.

Do you sometimes feel that you don't have a lot of leeway to shape their PhD project?

Well, I guess there is some truth to it. Even in a best case scenario you have to report to your advisor and maybe your funder, the amount of time and money to do things is limited and then there are also things like journal guidelines and your uni's requirements for promotion. But even if you feel you don't have any say - there's always some way to increase your influence.

A powerful step is to understand the four components of influence and learn how to use them to strengthen your position.

Positional power

Let's face it, you're not super high up in the hierarchy. You have a boss and you can't just go and do what you want if they're against it. People with positional power over others tend to talk more, to interrupt more, and to guide the conversation more, by picking the topics.

What to do:

Be proactive rather than reactive. Ask thoughtful questions. Prepare before meetings and know what you want and what the other person wants!

Emotion

Emotion can counteract positional power and passion can win over authority.

What to do:

Don't be scared to show how invested you are in your project. Make sure your passionate claims are well supported by facts.

Expertise

This component works best when leveraged together with emotion. If you can convince others of your passion and expertise you can dominate a conversation and make sure you're being heard. Again, preparation is key!

Body language

Good posture alone will not be your game changer if you don't have the other components in place. But if you do, it's incredibly important in increasing your natural authority.

What to do:

Work on your body language and your voice for example by filming yourself, by practicing in front of a mirror, or by doing "role plays" with peers.

If you found these tips helpful you might also benefit from the course "Become the CEO of your PHD".

In six modules you will learn how to take ownership and control over your PhD project and shape it so it contributes to your desired career path. If you're interested, DM me and you'll be the first to know when registration opens.

It's Monday again! Perfect time for a quick fitness check you can do for yourself to find out how happy, confident and in control you are feeling in your PhD and which aspects you might want to improve for yourself.

Here are a couple of questions for you to reflect on as you enter another week of working on your PhD. Answer each of them by giving a score of 1 (not at all true) to 10 (perfectly true).

1. I feel relaxed about my work.

2. I know what actions I need to take to move the needle and I know I'm capable of doing what is needed.

3. I can shape my project so it contributes to my greater career goals.

4. I have enough time to recharge and do the things I love doing.

5. I know what I'm good at and how to show it to the world.

6. I believe I can finish on time.

How did you score?

If you scored overall values of higher than 7 - congratulations! If you have areas that scored lower, take a closer look:

What's the reason for the lower score?

How would you want the situation to be instead?

What is one simple action that can improve the situation now?

If you found this exercise helpful you might be interested in my course "Become the CEO of your PHD". In six modules you will learn how to take ownership and control over your PhD project effortlessly, and shape it so it brings you closer to the career you want. If you're interested, DM me and you'll be the first to know when registration opens.

Most scientists aren't very intentional about crafting their personal brand.

Maybe they think it's something only influencers or business people need. Maybe they feel their research speaks itself and they don't need more than a Google Scholar profile to boost their visibility. Maybe they haven't even heard of the concept.

But the truth is, everyone has a personal brand.

It's what others see in you. And if you don't craft this image of yourself, others will. So, it's advisable to reflect on who you want to be in the eyes of others and how you can show these parts of yourself to the world.

Here are three ways your PhD journey can help you with that:

1. Your topic. No brainer. You are the expert of your PhD topic and nobody is better equipped to talk about it.

2. Your network. The PhD is also a time where you make many professional contacts. Carefully choose which networks you want to become part of depending on where you're headed with your career.

3. Your unique set of hard and soft skills. In your PhD you'll learn a ton of new skills. Not only scientific methods but also stuff like project management, writing, public outreach, data management, etc. Combined with your personal talents and interests they most likely make up a suite of skills that not many others have to offer.

Take home message: Your value to future employers is not only defined by the usefulness of your topic. It's the combination of assets that become your personal brand. Find ways to showcase them!

What's your personal brand?

Maybe you know the feeling. You've long waited for your advisor to give you feedback on your manuscript. You've worked hard on it and when you sent it to them you thought it was in pretty good shape. You even allowed yourself to dream of submission.

And then you got it back. All marked up. The structure you've crafted so carefully messed up. And you want to just close the doc and never look at it again, ever.

Well, that sucks. And your desire to just dump the whole thing is totally valid.

But, chances are, you have to go back at it and deal with those comments and changes at some point. So, when you do, you might as well make it a little easier for yourself using one little trick:

Forbid yourself to edit!

Yes, you've read that right. When you first open the document you are only allowed to do two things:

Read. And group all the comments in three buckets:

1. Easy to fix.

2. Harder but can be fixed without consulting advisor (or whoever messed up your draft ;) )

3. Can only be fixed in collaboration with your advisor.

This approach does three things:

It'll "detox" the experience. No heavy lifting to be done, all you need to do is read.

As you read, you'll probably find that things are not as catastrophic as you first thought.

With the comments grouped into buckets you get a bird eye's view and what needs to be done AND you get to choose what to do first, depending on your level of energy and motivation.

How does that feel?

If you enjoyed this post, you might enjoy my free three-day email course "Three steps to finish the PhD with ease".
DM me if you'd like to receive it, too.

Most people who do a PhD leave academia at some point. Chances are, you will, too.

If you already know you want to transition into an industry role or even start your own business it is worth starting to think about two things already now:

1. What is the niche you want to get into?

2. How can your PhD become a "product" that showcases your fit to that specific niche?

Here's a three-step framework to figure that out (inspired by a lesson in Justin Welsh's Creator MBA):

Step 1 helps you find your niche by answering the following 4 questions:

1. What's something you learned well at work?

2. What are you completely obsessed with? This doesn't have to be related to your work (but it can be)!

3. What do other people ask you for advice on?

4. What problem have you solved for yourself?

Maybe you come up with the same thing for several of these questions. Or there's one thing that you feel is worth digging into more deeply.

Take that thing in step 2 and try to relate it to one or several of the three larger areas that people are generally willing to pay money for: Wealth - Health - Relationships.

How does your "thing" relate to those buckets?

For example, maybe you learned in your PhD how to write efficient code. That's an asset that can increase people's wealth.

In step 3 identify how you can prove your relevant skills with your PhD

The first place to look is probably your methods section. Coding, data analysis, experiment design are all sought-after skills. But it's not the only place. Maybe you're an incredible writer. Maybe you've been featured in news outlets and have shown your talent communicating complicated stuff to non-expert audiences. Maybe you've managed people in field campaigns.

Take these skills and link them back to step 2 and you'll hopefully not only know where to start searching for your dream job but also have a list of skills for your applications ready.

The course "Become the CEO of your PHD" will launch in spring. In six modules you will learn how to take ownership and control over your PhD project and shape it so it contributes to your desired career path. If you're interested, DM me and you'll be the first to know when registration opens.

If you're anything like me you chose to do a PhD not only because you like research but also for the prospect of having a lot of freedom in deciding what you do and how you do it. And maybe you were even lucky enough to find an advisor who gives you that freedom. But now that you're a couple of months or years in you don't feel so free at all.

Instead, you feel overwhelmed and unfocused. The pile of work in front of you is so huge you don't know where to start.

If you are in this place right now, let me suggest you start with something counterintuitive:

Reduce your freedom!

Yes, you wanted freedom. And you can still have it. But at the same time, being able to do everything often results in - nothing. So, you need to set constraints. And here is an approach to help you finding the right constraints to your project.

Maybe you've heard of the SMART model to make your goals achievable. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Reachable and Time-bound. If chosen right constraints help you make your project smarter.

Here are a few questions that can help you find the right constraints:

Specific: Exactly what gap do you want to close with your research? Your overall topic is probably too broad. Figure out one specific problem you can solve. The more specific you can get, the better!

Measurable: How will the research you're planning to do contribute to the open questions in your field? Again, be as specific as possible.

Actionable: How are you going to solve your question? Choose one method to address your question. (Maybe you need more than one method sometimes. But aim for as few as possible).

Reachable: Given the resources (time, equipment, skills,...) you have what seems easily doable? No project ever goes as smoothly as planned so better to be a bit less ambitious at first.

Time-bound: no-brainer. You only have so many years to do the project. BUT: some day several years from now is not a helpful deadline. Break down your project into smaller milestones and set deadlines for those.

Important disclaimer:

• Your plan, maybe even your topic, will change. That's normal and totally ok!

• The questions I suggest may be hard to answer when you're relatively new to research. Your PI can help!

• If they are unavailable ask more senior colleagues for support. They probably remember their own PhD very vividly and will be able to tell you if your plan sounds realistic, or not.

If you enjoyed this post, you might enjoy my free three-day email course "Three steps to finish the PhD with ease".
DM me if you'd like to receive it, too.

It seems to be a common understanding that if you wanna get anywhere in life you sometimes need to do stuff that is uncomfortable, scary even.

"Growth happens outside the comfort zone", "If it doesn't challenge you it doesn't change you", or even "No pain, no gain!"

Everyone has heard these sayings. And they're true, I guess. But do they put you in the mood to really dare more? I'd argue those quotes can be quite intimidating in and of themselves.

Here's a little story that made me realize there is a better reason to do the scary stuff sometimes:

Last Sunday, I was in charge of taking care of the horses in the little barn where I keep my pony. When I got there at 7am, my heart sank - Fuchur, a tall brown gelding was not wearing his blanket. The temperature was -4 degrees Celsius.

I knew I had to get that blanket on him.

Now, with most other horses I wouldn't spend a second worrying about it. But Fuchur has learned early in life that humans are not to be trusted and has developed a sophisticated suite of methods to scare them off if they come too close.

Immediately my brain started racing.

"I can't risk being kicked or bitten, I have a small baby at home!" "I just tell the owner, I tried but he wouldn't let me close to him!" and so on.

But then, I decided to just give it a try. I took him out of his box, tied him up really closely, armed myself with carrots and gave it a try. And he did...

...nothing.

Sweetest pony on the planet (ok, the carrots helped).

And there was my lesson: Daring is fun!

Even three days later I still start smiling when I think of this situation. I feel Fuchur and I are partners in crime now. I see him in a different light. I'm proud. And all of that immediately lifts my mood.

What's a reason for you to dare something?

When I don't write about grumpy horses, I write about strategies to make your work life easier - especially during the last months before finishing your PhD - and ways to (re-)design your project so it serves your bigger career goals.

Please follow if that's something you want to achieve.

When I had just started my PhD, my friend Laetitia gave me an unforgettable piece of advice.

I was lucky to have a lot of freedom to design my own project. The only request my advisor had given me was "You should be using the camera traps and your field work will be in Portugal!" (the lab had bought camera traps worth 500k and nobody was using them). Unexperienced and excited as I was I got to the task right away.

About three months later I proudly presented my plan to Laetitia who was a post doc in the lab at the time:

"The study site will be 16 square kilometers [i.e. HUGE in the type of terrain we're talking]. I defined 64 spots where I'll not only record large mammals, but also sample EVERYTHING else!"

She looked at me flatly and responded: "Great! You have a plan for the rest of your life."

The lesson she gave me here and that I remembered every time I was hauling cameras through thorny shrub and up steep hills and every time I opened files with the hundreds of thousands of camera trap images I had to analyze was this one:

You need constraints on your plans otherwise you'll never be done!

Especially when you're just starting out it is sooo easy to just get carried away. You're excited and you want to do a great job and that's awesome. But the clearer you can be about all the things you're NOT going to do the more likely you are to create something meaningful without destroying yourself in the process.

What was a great advice you were given in your PhD?

I believe that doing a PhD should be a good experience but way too often, it's not.

That's why, for the past months, I've been working on a course to teach natural science PhD candidates strategies to design and manage their PhD project so it becomes a step towards their longer term goals.

Inspired by a podcast with the great @thejustinwelsh I fed my course outline to ChatGPT and asked what I could do to make the course even more helpful.

Here are my favorite suggestions:

1. Case Studies or guest speakers: Integrate case studies or invite successful individuals who navigated their PhDs strategically, showcasing diverse paths and emphasizing that there's no one-size-fits-all approach.

2. Role-Playing Exercise: Simulate challenging situations, enabling participants to practice taking responsibility and effective leadership in a safe environment.

3. Emotional Intelligence: Dedicate a section to emotional intelligence, helping participants navigate interpersonal dynamics and build strong, collaborative relationships with their supervisors and peers.

4. Role Reversal Exercise: Have participants step into the shoes of their supervisors, understanding their perspectives and goals, fostering empathy and better communication.

5. Negotiation Workshop: Introduce negotiation techniques specific to academia, equipping participants with skills to align their goals with those of their supervisors more effectively.

6. Leadership Development Plan: Guide participants in developing a personalized leadership development plan, outlining specific habits, actions, and networking strategies to implement in their everyday research life.

7. Personalized Self-Care Plans: Guide participants in creating personalized self-care plans based on their preferences, ensuring that the plans align with their individual needs and schedules.

The course "Become the CEO of your PHD" will launch in spring. In six modules you will learn how to take ownership and control over your PhD project and shape it so it contributes to your desired career path. If you're interested, DM me and you'll be the first to know when registration opens.

Finishing a PhD is hard.

So hard up to 20% of candidates never actually hand in their thesis. You are probably reading because you do want to finish, ideally without wearing yourself out in the process. And the good news are, it doesn’t have to be (that) hard.

Here are three steps you can take to make the process easier for yourself:

Step 1: Stop calling yourself a student!

Yes, you are learning every but you’ll do that till the end of time. You’re goal is to submit so you should start seeing yourself as a finisher.

Step 2: Shift from scarcity to abundance!

Stop dwelling on what is still missing and celebrate yourself for all the things you‘ve got done already.

Step 3: Make a plan and beat procrastination!

Now that you know where you stand and where you wanna go, map out how you’ll get there as clearly as possible. Decide on milestones and when you want to meet them.

If you enjoyed this post, you might enjoy my free three-day email course.

DM me if you'd like to receive it, too.

Doing my PhD taught me more than "just" how to be a researcher.

Taking a long time to complete it was also full of challenges, experiences and learnings that impact my life even five years after graduating.

Here are three life lessons I took away from this time:

Don't wait to share ideas and seek advice when you're stuck.

I can't count how often I got stuck trying to figure out stuff on my own and literally every time I discussed my ideas or problems with someone else my progress was sooo much faster.

It doesn't matter if you’re done a day earlier or later but there are personal things that can't wait.

A few years ago, my best friend's father died completely unexpected. I was supposed to attend a conference at the date of his funeral but cancelled to be able to be there for her. I can't even remember which conference it was but I'll never forget the sound of her voice when she called me to tell me about her loss.

Knowing what helps you recharge is vital!

I bought a young horse one year into my PhD and although it was for sure not my most rational decision I am convinced it saved me from burning out during the most stressful times of my PhD - and still does today as I'm trying to manage life as a new mom.

What life lessons have you learned during your PhD?

Most PhDs don't think of their project as a business.

That's a mistake.

Here's why you - if you want your PhD to contribute positively to your career - should treat your project like a business and behave like you're the CEO:

Building a business and doing science are not that different:

Both aim at adding something new to what's already out there. Both involve a lot of try and error. Both require operating at a high level of uncertainty. In both cases there are external factors (e.g., "the market", investors, capital, and journal publication standards, promotion requirements, the supervisor, respectively) that influence what can be done and what can't.

Your PhD is essentially a product (i.e, "knowledge") you're trying to sell to a customer (i.e., "the scientific community"). And to do that well you should become the CEO of your project.

Now, what does that mean?

As CEO you need to

• develop ownership of your PhD (always keeping in mind that it should serve you)

• take action rather than assuming someone els is responsible

• understand your areas of influence

• identify your constraints

• acknowledge the influence and experience of your advisor and work with them, not against them when shaping your project (you're still responsible!)

• develop a project plan and daily routines that allow you to work effectively and sustainably. This will look different for everyone, important to figure out what works best for YOU!

Thinking about your project like a business that needs to fit a certain market but first and foremost should serve you, will help you keep focus, make sound decisions that really move the needle, and have a productive relationship with your advisor.

What does "being the CEO of your PhD" mean to you? Hit reply and let me know!

My horse is in love with another human.

He whinnies and runs towards her when she arrives at his paddock. He scratches her when she brushes him. He follows her through the scariest places.

He rarely behaves like that with me.

When I found out about this love story I inevitably had to ask myself the question every lover asks themselves when they are replaced:

What does she have that I don't?

And the answers to this question teach me a little bit about friendship:

Every time she works with him she tries to figure out what he needs that day and give that to him first before she asks him to do stuff she wants.

She always assumes good intentions. She told me "I know he would never turn against me so I stay relaxed even when things get a little heated."

Her behavior is consistent, predictable and calm. She's the rock he can rely on when he gets scared.

They started from a clean slate. The two of us have been together for more than eight years and as in every long-term relationship there have been fights, crises and disappointments. Sometimes the memories of such unpleasant events can make it hard to see the things that are truly great in the other person (or pony, in this case). Even more important to look at them with fresh eyes, and focus on the lovable quirks and particularity that made you wanna be their friend in the first place.

This is about a relationship between a human and a beloved pet. But the lessons I'm learning teach me something about my relationships with the people around me, too.

Sometimes PhD life just sucks.

And when it does it can be easy to just sit there and feel sorry for yourself. Energy is low and it seems completely unrealistic that anything is ever gonna change for the better. And when stuff is really bad, you might even come believe there isn't a way out of this situation.

If you feel this way I want to invite you to try something counterintuitive:

Indulge in the shit!

Get out a piece of paper and jot down everything that annoys you, scares you, makes you feel bad. When you're done, put the list away and take a break to recharge.

When you're ready come back for the important second part of the exercise:

Go through your list and ask yourself:

How do I want it instead?

If you don't like what you have right now, what or how would you like it instead? Answer that question for every bullet on your list. Write down whatever comes to mind. It doesn't matter how crazy or unrealistic your answers may seem (nobody will see them). The more ideas you come up with the better.

You'll be surprised how many options you actually have!

(Important note: Depression and burnout are real and pretty common among early career researchers!

If you are feeling low, stuck in negative thoughts or experience anxiety for an extended period of time, please seek professional help. Many universities offer counseling or can provide contacts of mental health care professionals.)