Hello everyone,
I have not posted for quite a while. This does not mean nothing happened, but I was simply not motivated to post every week. Writing a text from scratch without limiting factors is quite challenging for me. I had to rethink why I started this blog and what motivated me in the first place. So, how come I decided to start writing again?
Last Friday, I attended a seminar about time management during your time as a PhD student. This seminar reopened my eyes to why I wanted to create this blog. The reason I started writing was to store my stories along a unique path. In the beginning, I focused too much on trying to post informative content and somewhat educate with my posts. Now, I aim to create something I can look back on and remember the path I took. So, I will probably end up sharing more about my time outside of work while still trying to create helpful posts about doing a PhD in Germany. The seminar was less about how to create a perfect timeline for a PhD and more about how to be productive while enjoying the process.
So, what happened in the last months of my absence? At work, I conducted a lot of literature research, delving deeper into various topics to create an overview that will help me decide which direction to take later in the process. Also, all the tools are finally done, and the first materials have arrived. This means I was able to start working on the injection molding machine and learning all the steps and various possibilities. Producing the first parts really helped me understand the machine and the overall process. Of course, I had some challenges from the start, which I found fun to solve. We also finalized the experimental setup with my project partner, which is currently being built. All in all, the project has kicked off, and I feel motivated to delve deeper into the subject and work. Since the time management seminar, I also have the motivation to start writing my thesis. It doesn't matter in the beginning if every sentence is scientifically perfect or if it will be changed or deleted later on. The main point is to start and get into a flow of continuous progress.
Outside of work, I spent a lot of time training for my first-ever sprint distance triathlon in August, consisting of 400m of swimming, 20km of cycling, and 5km of running. During the training period, I also participated in the 10km Eßlinger Zeitung Lauf, which I finished in 48min and 52s, achieving my goal of finishing under 50min. I also planned the first summer vacation of the year. My girlfriend and I will cycle from Venice, Italy, to Milan. Getting to Italy with our bikes by train was a bit of a hassle, as finding the optimal train connections was difficult due to the limited possibilities and flexibility when traveling with a bike.
See you soon,
Robin