By Alexis Newton
I sat down several times to write this blog post. At home, at a friend’s place, and now in a coffee shop with my buddy Max sitting across from me. I had come up with a compelling title, but still the words seemed to escape me. I was stuck – stuck in writing; stuck in research; stuck in life. Maybe, I thought, I could write my way into being unstuck.
Research
Research being difficult is not a new concept. My advisor once described his math research as making negative progress on most days. A “one step forward, two steps back” kind of thing.
How might we fix this?
Step 1: Break it Down
We can always ask an easier question. If you’re stuck on a problem that you don’t understand, break it down. Start with some practice computations and work those out in intricate detail, then start building up from there. It’s often worth it to go back to the basics of the problem in order to see it in a new light.
Step 2: Change Tracks
It could be true that the path you are on is not the one that will lead you to success. That’s okay! Sometimes we need to try something new. My advice here is to return to the literature. Maybe there is an idea relevant to your work that you just haven’t considered yet. Or maybe you need to consult someone with more knowledge. For me, that looks like turning to my PhD advisor, but it could take the form of a cold email to an expert to start a new connection.
Step 3: Writing
If you are stuck in the middle of a project, then that means you almost definitely have something to write about. There are two approaches you can take here:
- You can write about the problem you are facing. For me, writing brings clarity, and I really get to dig deep into what I know or don’t know with this tactic. It can be quite illuminating.
- You could write up a different section of the paper entirely. I like to call this productive procrastination. You are technically still doing something, but you’re giving your brain a break from the issue.
Life
This, of course, is a harder subject to tackle. Lately, I feel like maybe I’ve lost track of my sense of permanency. With graduating (and job applications) comes the unfortunate reality that this place in which I have spent five years of my life is about to no longer be my home. However, I still have a few months where I need to lock in to guarantee my future, and for that I need to make some changes.
Step 1: Movement
Let’s get physical. If I want to unstick my mind, I figure maybe unsticking my body is a good step in the right direction. Over the past few months my general activity levels have dropped, and what was once a good workout routine has died in the cruel winter months. Best to pick that up first I think. Intentional workouts twice a week is the idea. I’m not running a marathon or anything, I’m just trying to get my steps in. Exercise promotes better brain activity and improves your body’s overall functionality, so exercise should impact that rest of my life pretty positively.
Step 2: Schedule
Right now, my schedule is quite nomadic. Sometimes I work in the graduate student offices, sometimes at my dining room table, and many days at a coffee shop. It’s a toss-up on any given day, but it’s also a mental weight to have to set a plan for the day every morning. I need to make a schedule. On gym days, work from home. Otherwise, go into the office for the sake of consistency (except for a coffee shop treat on Fridays!). This will hopefully provide some structure to my schedule.
Step 3: Mental Wellness
I hadn’t attended a therapy appointment in about six months until last week. Some people might say this is detrimental to my success. (I am one of those people.) As a strong advocate for mental health support, and as someone who has been seeing a therapist for most of my graduate career, I know that this lapse in active mental wellness is likely setting me back. I need to know that somebody I can’t avoid is going to start by asking me, “So, Alexis, how have you really been feeling this week?” This intentional attention to my own feelings will help me navigate the changes that are bound to come in the near future.
In the end, I know that a large part of the reason I feel stuck or frozen in place is the changes that are forthcoming. But I also know that I have a plan to attack that now. If I want to do better, I need to be taking active steps to do so. Getting unstuck is not done through stagnation, but rather forced locomotion. After all, how am I meant to get unstuck if I’m not moving?
Alexis Newton is a PhD candidate at Emory University studying computational number theory. Outside of the math department, Alexis enjoys reading, writing, and playing with her cat Alfie.