The three secrets of PhD Success

Create a Phd that fits your lifestyle and helps you build your dream career with our personalized programs!

Doing a PhD isn't rocket science. To finish it with ease and success you just need these three things :

A goal - so you know where you're going.
A plan - to accelerate your progress without exhausting yourself.
A support system - people who stick with you when things get tough and who cheer for you when you succeed.

No matter what it is that you need most - we've got you covered with our programs!

Get in Touch!

Have a question? Send us a message!

What's the story behind the name WiSible?

It's no secret that despite all the efforts towards equality and all the small and big wins, we - women in general and women in science in particular - are still facing obstacles and hurdles that make it way harder for us to succeed than it is for (white, cis-) men. And the system that maintains all these inequalities isn't gonna change anytime soon.So, if we want to thrive, we have to find our own way through it.One that focuses on collaboration rather than competition.
Mindfulness rather than hustle culture.
Balance rather than burnout.With WiSible I want to empower women to find their way to success, in academia and beyond.Because we have a right to be here, we have a right to succeed, we have a right to be seen, and we have a right to thrive as scientists and humans.

What exactly happens in the courses?

I'll give you a typical scientist's answer: It depends.The cohort courses address the needs of PhD candidates at different points in their journey."Become the CEO of your PhD" is for graduate students who are still at the beginning of their PhD and who want to make sure they set up the project so it brings them closer to their future career goals. To make sure that happens, we cover topics such as project management, goal setting, negotiation tactics (so you can convince your supervisor to let you do the things you want to do), habits for success, mindfulness and sustainability, and strategic networking."Ph*ing Do it!" is all about finishing the PhD. It’s a 90-day challenge that you do together with other PhD candidates with the aim to submit the thesis by the end of the program. Here, we have an intensive kick-off week with calls and exercises where everyone works out their personal finisher’s roadmap. After that, we get on weekly calls where we celebrate successes and solve issues that came up along the way. It’s a mix of hands-on course, group coaching, and peer support. Individual coaching is also available for issues that can’t be solved in the group setting
The courses are a mix of theoretical input and interactive exercises during and between live calls. Every now and then there will be live hot seat coaching for some of you and there will always be room to exchange with your fellow participants.
For every course you will be assigned a buddy or a support group. The women you are connected with are your accountability partners, rooting for you and making sure you stay on track.
Most people will thrive with the resources and support provided in the group programs. But sometimes, you may run into issues that cannot be solved in the group. For those cases I reserve a limited number of slots for individual coaching.

I’m interested in joining one of your programs but I can’t afford them. What can I do?

I get it.
Getting personal PhD support is not a small investment and it can feel crazy or impossible to spend so much money on coaching or a targeted course.But, I want you to consider this: Every month that you submit the PhD sooner, is a month where you will potentially earn more than you do now. Do the maths: How long would it take you to work in your dream job post graduation before the investment pays off? Probably it’s not that long.If you still feel, you cannot afford to work with me, please do have a close look at all the options I offer. If 1:1 coaching is not affordable for you right now, I’m convinced you’d still benefit a lot from one of the courses, and those are much more affordable. Plus, you get the added value of working in a peer group and connecting to likeminded PhDs.If you still feel, the investment is too big, get in touch with me. We can arrange monthly installments, we can discuss discounts if you convince a friend to join the course, too, and maybe there’s even the option that your university sponsors your participation. Let’s talk about it!

June 17, 2025

Issue 23:  “Too emotional”? Or just misunderstood?

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”George Bernard Shaw, Nobel Prize-winning playwright

Yesterday I was in Frankfurt to give a workshop on how to write policy briefs. The group was incredible. Engaged, curious, and working on the most diverse and interesting topics, ranging from X-ray analysis of fossils and Van Gogh's paintings (what a combination) to gender violence in Mexico to ethical and political issues in the International Olympic Committee.One participant, a senior researcher who is working on security in the Arctic (i.e. how to keep Trump from occupying Greenland) told us that she repeatedly runs into problems when speaking about her research. Sometimes people mistake her stating facts as her own (controversial) opinion, sometimes she's told she cannot say certain things, sometimes colleagues or students tell her she's scary or "too emotional".Now, I haven't been in these conversations and haven't read her papers, so I can't tell where exactly those misunderstandings happen (she didn't seem overly scary or emotional to me) but it got me thinking about the way we communicate and how we can minimize the chances of being misunderstood.

This week’s spotlight: How to communicate better

We've all been there. We say something and the second the words leave our mouths, we realize they won't land right. Or we have this colleague who is the sweetest guy in real life but his emails are incredibly rude. We communicate all the time, yet we're remarkably bad at it. And that leads to all kinds of problems we wouldn't have if we just figured out how to do better.
The German Psychologist Fritz Schulz von Thun started studying interpersonal communication in the 70ies and his work is still among the most widely used in training, consulting, team building and leadership around the world. He has developed several models to support the perception and diagnosis of interpersonal processes and conflicts, and to trigger personal development.The following two are particularly helpful in understanding and improving communication:1. The communication square:This model, also known as the "Four-Ears-Model” or "Four-sides Model” assumes that whenever you communicate you do so in four different ways. Everything you say contains four messages whether you want that, or not:• a factual information (the matter you inform about)
• a self-disclosure (what you reveal about yourself)
• the relationship layer (what you think about the other person and how you get along)
• the appeal (what you want to achieve with your message)
These four layers, uttered by the "sender" reach the receiver via four different "ears".The four layers of communicationThe factual layer - focus on data and facts.
There are three important criteria on this level:
Is the information
• true or false
• relevant or irrelevant
• sufficient or deficient (does it provide enough context or are there other factors that need to be considered)?Here, the sender needs to make an effort to communicate the facts as clearly as possible. The receiver, listening with their "facts-ear" can use the three criteria to react adequately to the message.Self-disclosure - who's there?
Every time we communicate we share something about our personality - feelings, values, quirks or needs. This can happen explicitly in the form of an "I-message" or implicitly.While the sender, implicitly or explicitly, deliberately or unconsciously, shares information about themselves, the listener perceives: "What type of person are they?", "What mood are they in?", "What's going on with them?"The relationship layer
Here, the sender shares how they feel about the other person by choosing a particular formulation, tone, facial impression and body language. The receiver perceives those messages with their "relationship ear" and feels valued, dismissed, respected or disrespected, seen or ignored.The appeal layer
When someone decides to speak they usually want to achieve something. They share a wish, a request, an advice or an order. These appeals can be sent openly or explicitly. The receiver needs to decide: What should I (not) do, think or feel now?Misunderstandings can happen on each of those layers. Here's an example:A couple are eating a home-cooked meal together. The one who didn't cook says: "There is something green in the soup."Factual level: There is something green.
Self-revealing layer: I don't know what it is.
Relationship layer: You should know what it is.
Appeal layer: Tell me what it is!
Here's what the one who cooked might hear:Factual level: There is something green.
Self-revealing layer: You do not know what the green item is, and that makes you feel uncomfortable.
Relationship layer: You think my cooking is questionable.
Appeal layer: I should only cook what you know in the future!
They answer: "If you don't like the taste, you can cook it yourself."What can we learn from this?
As the sender: If you realize your message didn't land right, try to analyze where things went wrong. Your conversation partner's answer might give you clues. In the example, they make their response about themselves. That's a hint that the misunderstanding happened on the relationship level.As the receiver: Do the same. Before reacting ask a follow up question to find out what the real intention was and how to respond adequately.2. The Situation model:The situation model helps to better understand and shape conversations and meetings by analyzing four central areas:Entry channel (what led to the meeting):Meetings rarely happen by chance. It is important to clarify what preceded the meeting (invitations, preliminary discussions, assignments) and what prompted it.Topic structure:
This is about the content orientation: what topics are on the agenda? What is the aim and purpose of the meeting? The topic must fit the occasion and objective.Interpersonal structure:
Who is present, in what role, with what interest? The composition should match the objective in a meaningful way. Unclear roles or missing people can cause irritation.Output channel (goals):
What should the meeting achieve? There are usually different objectives. Clarity about the common objective - including what is not the objective - facilitates communication.What can we learn from this?When you prepare a meeting make sure you consider all of the above aspects. An agenda with a clear objective and topics are a great first step towards more effective meetings.

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

Think of a conversation that didn't go as well as planned. Where do you think things went wrong. What could you do differently next time?Talk soon,Andrea

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June 3, 2025

Issue 21: Wanna know yourself? Build a business

Building a business (or doing a PhD) is the fastest path to self-discovery

This week one year ago I delivered my first workshop as a self-employed trainer and coach for PhDs. And let me tell you, what followed was and still is a real rollercoaster.Countless learnings, unexpected successes, but also some failures, all kinds of emotions, often all at the same time - let's say, the past 12 months weren't exactly boring 😅!One of my greatest learnings is that, in many respects, starting a business is not too different from doing a PhD (or science in general)!So for today's newsletter, I decided to do things a little differently and share with you my learnings from 1 year as an entrepreneur.Things I would have liked to know before I embarked on this adventure, things the PhD prepared me for, and things I learned that would have helped me in my PhD.

This week’s spotlight: 12 learnings from 12 months of building a business

1. FOMO is a thing:
Choosing the entrepreneurial path (or any path really) means saying no to all the other options you might have, at least for now. Most days I love it, I'm proud of it and wouldn't want it any other way. But some days are different: I see an ad for a prestigious position and wonder if I would get it if I applied. I see former colleagues climbing up the career ladder in- or outside academia and feel like they're way more successful than me.What helps:Reminding myself that I deliberately said no to this type of career.
Comparing my situation to where I was a few years ago.
Reminding myself of the many people who tell me that they would never dare to do what I do - go solo.
And sometimes it's also just shrugging it off and focusing on the next thing ahead of me.2. Input is more important than outcome:
This is something I already learned in the PhD.
Lofty goals are great and can keep us motivated but often they don't get us through a slump. On the contrary, it can be super frustrating when you'r working your butt off but you can't really see yourself getting closer to your goal.
During my PhD it was the months and months of trying to get my code to run. Now, as an entrepreneur it's things like consistently showing up on social media, reaching out to potential customers (and yes, sometimes also writing this newsletter). You pour in a lot of energy and love (into the newsletter - not the code) without getting too much back. In those times, it is way more satisfying to look at what you've put in than to focus on the outcome. Because the outcome will come. But it may take more time than you were hoping.3. Ask for more than you think you deserve!
I wish I had realized this already during my PhD. You can't lose anything by asking too much (you don't really have anything to lose in the first place). And more often than not, you will get what you're asking for. Asking a big creator to promote my newsletter gave me exposure to more than 100.000 people. I didn't think she would do it. But she did. And even if she hadn't, all it would have cost me would have been 5 minutes of my time.4. Repeat yourself often!
We tend to think that if we keep saying the same thing again and again, people will think we don't have much to say (or that we're awkward weirdos). The opposite is true! People are way too busy thinking about their own lives to pay close attention to what you have to say.So if you have a message you want to bring across talk about it whenever you get a chance! Talk about your project in different conferences, even if you don't have new results! Make your point twice in a workshop if you feel it wasn't picked up!In marketing there's a rule of thumb that it needs at least seven contact points between a product and a potential customer before that person is ready to buy. So, if you want to "sell" something (an idea, your project, yourself as a future employee) make sure you make yourself seen!5. You don’t always notice the impact you have
Most of us are out there because we want to make a positive change in the world.
As researchers want to do research that expands human knowledge or helps making the world a better place, as an entrepreneur I want to create services that improve the lives of people. But impact is not an easy thing to measure. In research it often takes years before a discovery is mainstreamed into application. In business it takes a lot of upfront effort before you see any tangible results.But sometimes, if you put yourself out there, if you share your journey, your struggles, your learnings, your failures and successes, someone will be inspired. And sometimes, if you're lucky, they will tell you.I had PhD students and PostDocs approaching me in conferences telling me how useful they find my posts (I had only just started with social media). I have people asking me how I manage to do it all (I don't) and what steps are needed to start a business (no clue, I'm only just figuring it out). I'm not saying this to brag. My point is, no matter how much you may be struggling or how loud your impostor is yelling at you, there will be someone who is inspired by your journey and who can learn from you. You don't need a Nobel Prize to have an impact.6. Role models are important and dangerous
When we set out to do something new, we often have someone we're somehow chasing. Someone who's already achieved what we're trying to aaccomplish. Maybe it's our supervisor, maybe a PhD colleague who is a step or two ahead of us. This can be great. A role model shows us what's possible and we can learn a lot from their journey. At the same time, role models are incredibly dangerous.Why? Because we tend to only see the successes.We see 8 published papers in a year. We don't see the night shifts, the burn out and the fear of dropping out of the leaky pipeline of academia. We see huge business revenues. We don't see the broken relationship, the sleepless nights worrying about "the economy", the missed parties or family trips.
Role models are great. But they're not the measuring stick you should use to estimate your worth.7. Everything is a muscle you can train
As researchers we are used to things coming relatively easy to us (otherwise we wouldn't have made it into a PhD). What we're less used to is having to put in the work to get good at something. At the same time, that is an incredibly important success factor whether you're doing the PhD or building a business (or attempting anything that is "hard"). And while I'm a huge advocate of leveraging your strengths, the PhD and the business building have taught me time and again that you can learn anything (even coding as someone who almost failed maths)!
All it takes is commitment and a good strategy.8. It’s impossible to have it all figured out from the start.
Learning how to learn, or even more importantly, knowing you can learn is vital. And if there's anything to take away from a PhD it's that!9. Investing in mentors can be a real game changer
This is one thing I wish I had realized already during the PhD. A PhD can be lonely, building a business certainly, too. But there are mentors out there and it's ok to lean on them. Maybe you find them in your network and that's great. If not, it is also ok and a good investment in yourself and in your future to pay for them!But this advice comes with a cautionary note:Not every mentor, every course, every book works for everyone. And there are also a lot of scammers out there (trust me, I've paid some of them). When choosing to get support, do your due diligence and find the right person (or thing) for you.
Also, and even more importantly, don’t mistake buying courses or mentorship for progress. It’s only worth it when it leads to implementation (which is why I love implementation challenges).10. You won’t always love every step of the way but it’s ok if you love where you’re going.
Who hasn't experienced it: You think you want the PhD, the career, the business but then you find yourself dreading going to work. The monotony of lab trials. The physical pain during field work. The throwbacks during data analysis. Even the dreamiest of all dream jobs will sometimes suck. That's ok. But only if you know what you're doing it for.You don't? Well then it's about time for some serious reconsideration!11. Not having immediate results or successes does not mean the path is wrong.
In science and business it is the rule, not the exception that stuff goes wrong. You could almost say, it's a built-in design feature. Failing is an important part of the process because it helps you pinpoint where exactly the problem lies. And sometimes it requires a couple of attempts to realize where the bottleneck is and how it can be dissolved.12. It’s a journey to yourself
This is so cliché but it's true. There is no more effective way to face your fears, your areas for growth, your insecurities but also to discover your courage and your strength than attempting to do something as hard and unforeseeable as a PhD (or building a business).And regardless of the outcome that alone is worth the journey!

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

Take a few minutes to reflect. What are the greatest learnings you take away from your PhD experience so far?Talk soon,Andrea

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May 27, 2025

Issue 20:  Everything is better with a friend (even a PhD!)

To go fast, go alone. To go far, go together. (African proverb)

my past week was all about connecting to others. The first half of the week I was lucky to work with PhD students on their networking strategies and LinkedIn appearance.The long weekend was one of the highlights of my year so far:I got to meet up with the six amazing women who are part of what started as my PhD support group. And as I’m writing to you on the train home from Paris, recharged and happy that I got to catch up with six friends and that couldn’t be more different in their personalities and journeys and who have each been a huge inspiration for me for more than 7 years now, I want to share with you 4 myths, 4 truths and 4 tips for building and growing your own inner circle.

This week’s spotlight: 4 myths, 4 truths and 4 tips for effortless networking.

Myth: To network, you need to be great at small talking.Truth: Your first contact to new people is more effective, more memorable and less awkward if you take the first convo beyond small talk.Tip: People love it if you connect to them on a personal level. And the more you are aware of all your own quirks the easier it gets to find surprising commonalities with others that help you to connect on a deeper level. If you think you don't have anything interesting to tell, challenge yourself to come up with 50 facts about yourself. You'll be surprised how ideas start flowing when you start to get beyond the typical "I was born in X and my favorite food is Y"!Myth: Networking takes a lot of time and effort.Truth: You don’t have to become a professional influencer or join every conference to grow your network. You also don’t need to keep in touch with hundreds of people. It’s more important to be connected to the right people: those who share your goals (or struggles), those who are on a similar journey, those that like you (and that you like), those that can teach you something, or can learn something from you.Tip: Connecting with one person is enough to start! Our group started because one person asked me if I wanted to team up and support each other! Now, she’s here with me on the train, one of my closest friends and most loyal supporters! ❤️. If you're feeling alone and don't know how to start your network, offer support to one person.Myth: Networking is exploiting people if you don’t have anything to offer.Truth: Networking might be exploiting people if you didn’t have anything to offer. But you do! Everyone has something to offer, and you never know just how much the person you’re reaching out to needs your contribution. Maybe it’s something as small as a like on social media or a compliment on a conference talk. Maybe it’s a thoughtful question that helps them see their work in a different angle. Maybe your ask is a gift in and of itself because it shows the person that they're seen and that they matter. So yes, you do have to give something back. But that thing can be tiny and still make a huge difference!Tip: Think of one person you'd like to connect to and show them a small act of kindness. A "like" under one of their social media posts can be enough.Myth: When you don’t have a network, you have to build it from scratch.Truth: First, you do have a network! Everyone does! Maybe not everyone you need is there yet, but you certainly have friends, family, lab mates, colleagues, bosses etc.**Tip: **If you don’t know where to start, start with a brain dump of all the people you know that could help you on your journey. You’ll be surprised how many people you know who know people you could get to know.Second, there are tons of professional networks you can tap into and become part of. Think professional societies or associations, alumni groups, interest groups on LinkedIn or other social media.Tip: Do your research, join groups that resonate and start contributing (again, baby steps are fine – say hi, write a short introduction and explain what you’re up to and take it from there).

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

Choose one of the tips I shared above and commit to trying it this week. Hit reply and let me know what you chose and how it felt for extra accountability.Talk soon,Andrea

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May 20, 2025

Issue 19:  I almost didn't write this email

No-one's more dangerous than the person who keeps showing up.

This week I almost skipped writing this newsletter.Not because I don't enjoy writing it (on the contrary!)
Not because it isn't important to me.But because other things that are both urgent and important came up, obviously completely unexpected, like the 2-day networking workshop I'm holding this week, and I simply didn't make the time to come up with an interesting topic and write a valuable newsletter.I would have been in good company.95% of the people who start a newsletter quit after 2 months. I think similar stats are true for many areas that require consistency. For example, people who sign up for the gym on New Year's Day stop going on January 12. The trend is so prevalent the fitness industry calls this day "Quitter's day".It would have been easy to cut myself some slack, skip this week and reassure myself I'd be back on track next week. The reason why I'm still sitting here, writing to you right now is that I reminded myself of a simple truth: The single most important factor for success is consistency.Not talent. Not luck. Just showing up.So, let's talk about consistency.

This week’s spotlight: There are two types of priorities in life: The priorities you say you have. And the priorities your actions show you have

Author, entrepreneur and investor Sahil Bloom calls this the Say-Do Gap.
We say we have all those exciting goals - finishing the PhD, starting a business, spending more time with loved ones...
But for most of them we pay more lip-service than actually taking steps towards them.Not because we don't want to reach them. But because we fall back into routines, we realize that the daily actions we need to take to make our dreams come true are actually quite boring and way unsexier than we thought, or we simply didn't make space in our lives in the first place.
Honestly, I think that's ok. We should normalize dreaming big, but still enjoy our current life and not burn ourselves out chasing lofty goals.But I bet you too have a dream or two that are worth showing up for.So, mostly for myself, but also for you if you can relate to how I'm feeling today, I'm sharing 7 tips to help you stay consistent (also curated by Sahil, because making consistency as easy as possible would be my very own bonus tip):1. Showing up every day is easier than showing up most days.
You probably didn't think about whether or not you should brush your teeth this morning. It's an action that is so second nature for most of us that we do it on autopilot.You want that for as many of your needle-moving tasks as possible!
What helps: Doing them every day at the same time or place, or linking them to another routine you have already established ("everyday, I sit down with my coffee at my desk and write for an hour").2. Touch the home trainer
This metaphor is not by Sahil Bloom but by life coach Martha Beck. It basically means that you should focus on starting much more than on what you achieve. In other words, make sure you do the thing, but don't worry about how much of the thing you do. Remember, even the smallest actions compound.3. The early bird catches the worm (or at least tries to catch it)
Willpower fades with energy, so the better rested and energized you are by the time you have the task planned, the better. Maybe that's the morning for you, but you will know best. Just identify your "good hours" and block them for the things that are important to you.4. Build the muscle slowly
Don't expect new habits to be easy to stick to from day 1. Allow yourself to get used to it, by making the action easier or shorter (not less frequent though!) in the beginning and build more stamina as you go. Remember it's more important to keep going than to achieve great results early on.5. Don't make up for missed days
Yes, it's easy to tell yourself "I'll just do twice as much tomorrow". If you've ever read a medical instruction leaflet you know that's not a good idea. If you miss a day, don't punish yourself. Just stoically go back to the routine.6. Focus on the trend, not on the position
Ambitious people that we are, we like to compare ourselves to others. But that's not helpful or motivating. What is is to look at your trend. Where are you compared to a last month, six months ago, 5 years ago? That's what's important. That's what you should focus on.7. Don't do it alone'
Consistency is hard. Looking away when we let our goals slip is easy. The best (and most enjoyable) way to avoid this is to outsource the policing to someone who does it for us. Find a friend or someone who's on a similar journey as you and become an accountability team. Share your commitments and your goals and check in on each other. It takes off some of the burden of having to discipline yourself, it's less lonely and hence more fun and more likely to work out.

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

Think of one small but powerful action that will take you closer to a big goal of yours and commit to doing it every day. If you want you can reply to this email and share it for extra accountabilityTalk soon,Andrea

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May 13, 2025

Issue 18:  How much is too much to ask?

Do me a favor. Ask for my help!

Last week, during one of our Save Your Sanity sessions, a participant shared something that struck a chord:“I feel uncomfortable asking for help. I worry that I’m asking too much - or that I’ll be a nuisance.”
I get it. I've taken not asking for help to such lengths I once ended up in Italy while trying to go to Austria (too embarrassed to ask for directions). Although this approach can lead to surprising and fun experiences it is of course far from a winning strategy.But a little change in perspective can help make asking for help feel a lot less awkward.

This week’s spotlight: Asking for help isn't annoying - quite the opposite!

We all know the feeling: We need help, or at least it would make our lives a lot easier. But we're scared to ask. We think that by asking, we put a burden on others, create more work for them or even worse, put them in the unpleasant position of having to decline our request. All things that don't exactly make us more likable. At least that's what our cute little ego is telling us.T But our ego is wrong. What really happens is quite the opposite of what our inner voice is telling us:We like people who ask us for help. What sounds surprising is rooted in cognitive dissonance: when we help someone, our mind reconciles the action by assuming we must like them - increasing our positive feelings toward them. This phenomenon is so strong it even has its own name - the Ben Franklin Effect. In addition, being asked for help (and actually helping) can make us feel valued, competent, and trusted.It's flattering when someone reaches out for help!And that's the other thought I want to leave you with this week: What's the worst thing that can happen? The person you asked says "no" (most likely not because they don't want to help but for some good reason can't). But, they feel seen, valued and important - maybe your request is making their day.

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

Think of one small thing that’s been on your mind - something where getting a little help would make your week easier.It could be:
• a question about a method you’re stuck on
• feedback on a paragraph
•wanting someone to co-work with for a deadlineThen:
✨ Identify the right person
✨ Write a short, specific ask (bonus points for warmth and clarity!)
✨ Send itJust once.
Then, notice what happens.And if you want extra credit: reflect on what you love about being asked for help. You might be surprised how often the answer is “actually… I kind of like it.”Talk soon,Andrea

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May 6, 2025

Issue 17: When will you finish your PhD?

The question isn’t when you will finish your PhD - the question is how!

When will you finish your PhD? Who hasn’t heard that question before? Instant mood killer, don’t you think?I used to hate it when people asked me this question. It made me feel bad, stressed and cranky all at the same time.
But today, as I’m sitting in my kitchen, drinking coffee and procrastinating from something with a very definite deadline (preparing the networking course I’ll teach in two weeks) I was wondering if having a good answer to this dreaded question was actually helping our progress - or just another thing that blocks us from doing the work. So, I dug into insights from organizational psychology, motivation science, management science and productivity research to find out if we should find an answer to this question - or start owning the fact that we don’t have an answer to this annoying question.Spoiler: the answer is a delight for any scientist - it’s complex.Let’s dive in:

This week's spotlight: The question isn’t when you will finish your PhD - the question is how!

What the science says:

Yes, deadlines, or more generally speaking, time constraints can help you finish on time. For example an Australian study investigating completion times of several thousand PhD students surprisingly found that part-time PhDs (i.e. people with severe time-constraints) and internationals who were tied to a fixed-term visa (a.k.a a rock-solid deadline) finished their PhD way more quickly than their peers who were residents and/or had full-time contracts.But deadlines are not the single most important predictor of success.And the studies also didn’t ask their subjects how stressed they were and when last they had taken a day off. So, what are the factors that help us make progress and succeed in our PhD without stressing the f* out?First out: Of course a lot of the factors that determine whether or not we get done in time are out of our control: take positive and supportive supervision, frequent meetings with your PI, adequate funding, and resources and support for preparing the research.But, I like to focus on the things we can change, so let’s have a look at those:Goals: American Psychologist Edwin Locke, a pioneer in goal-setting theory showed already in the 60es, **that goals increase productivity and success if they are clear and come with just the right level of challenge - easy ones don’t motivate us to do good work but they also can’t be so hard we stop believing that we can actually achieve them!If what we’re attempting to do is hard and requires us to learn new skills (hello, PhD!), overly ambitious goals may not have the desired effect because they make us shift our focus towards the end result rather than on developing the skills we need to get there (which is why the PACTs we talked about last week are such a powerful approach) (Locke & Latham, 2006).The same is true for very complex tasks.Those are more likely to be achieved if they are broken down into smaller, more straightforward chunks of work. Finally, a good goal should be linked to a commitment (e.g., in the form of the GOAL-GAP-ACTION formula I shared last week).Accountability and feedback: People who commit to reporting on their progress to an accountability partner and who receive regular feedback on their progress have significantly better chances of succeeding than those who struggle alone.And yes - if this commitment is linked to a concrete date, and a plan of how the work will be done the probability of reaching the goal increases from 10 % to 95%!(This is one of the main reason why I will launch a 90-day PhD finisher’s challenge later this year - stay tuned and let me know if you’re interested!)Things that can threaten progress and success include self-sabotaging behavior such as perfectionism, procrastination and over-committing. Unrealistic deadlines can make that worse - having a supportive accountability partner or team and a good plan in place can help. Let’s see what project managers have to say about those:

What project managers think about deadlines:

Software development and engineering teams often work on tight schedules, are under a lot of pressure from clients or their competitors and need to work together as a team. Without an agreed timeline this would be very hard to achieve. At the same time, just circling a date in the calendar and telling everyone to start the hustle will leave it up to chance whether that date is met - or not.In other words, a deadline is only as good as the plan for how to reach it.This includes researching what resources and skills you actually need to achieve the desired goal, what is essential for the success of the project, and what can be ignored? (you can read more about this in issue 12 in case you missed it), and what risks or complications could come up along the way.The only problem is, I think we all know that planning can be a welcome way of procrastinating from actually doing the work.Software engineers operate in this limbo all the time: They know they need to plan as well as possible. They also know that there needs to be wiggle room for unexpected events. And they need to be fasat.So, they developed an approach called agile project management. Here, teams work in sprints towards small and clearly defined milestones. They have very clear deadlines and a clear plan, but they’ve also built in frequent reflection pauses where they evaluate what works and what doesn’t, and how the original plan needs to be adapted.

tl;dr

So we established, it’s impossible to come up with an accurate answer to the annoying question. And instead of focusing on an arbitrary date most of us won’t meet anyways we should work on building an ecosystem of support that helps us progress quicker, more easily and with more fun in the process. This includes

None of this is easy, none of this needs to be tackled all at once, and it’s ok (and normal) if goals and plans change over the course of your PhD. But there are a few things you can do now to find motivation and help your progress:

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

When you look at the above bullet points, which one(s) feels like your biggest bottleneck right now?
Could be gaining more clarity about your goal, outlining milestones for the next couple of months or reaching out to someone who could become a member of your support team.
Pick one and commit to one small action you can take this week.Talk soon,Andrea

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April 29, 2025

Issue 16: The real reason your PhD goals keep slipping (and what to do about it)

Never bet against the person who keeps showing up

Let’s be honest: When was the last time you actually hit all your PhD goals?If you’re like most PhD researchers, you have clear goals, detailed timelines, maybe even a well-structured to-do list.Just kidding.If you’re like most PhD researchers, you’ve probably learned how to set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) targets, create milestones and come up with detailed plans for meeting them - but in real life you’re hustling your way through your probably not-so structured to-do list, a lot of the time feeling overwhelmed and like you’re not making any progress.

This Week’s Spotlight: Why SMART targets don’t (always) work for PhDs

You know, I love SMART targets.I teach them in all my time-management courses and I think they are a super useful tool to break down huge, aspirational goals (like “earning a PhD”) into tangible milestones that can be measured, scheduled and tackled.But the concept has caveats:First, it doesn’t solve the “problem” of life having its own (different) plans.

...and suddenly, the SMART targets you set start feeling... well, impossible to meet.

The second shortcoming of SMART targets is that they don’t work for many of the key tasks we have to do for our PhD.Where the can help:Tasks or projects that can be broken down into tangible milestones and have a clear "end-result".
Submit a paper (or the PhD). Prepare a conference talk.But what about the things that are:

SMART targets don’t work for those.So we need a better way to tackle the big, important, but hard to grasp tasks in your PhD.

PACTs: Make small actions compound

PACTs are a concept I learned from the book Tiny experiments by Anne-Laure LeCunnff that I recommended to you a few weeks ago. She uses it as a method to test out new ideas (or conduct a tiny experiment as she would probably put it) but I think it is also an amazing approach to staying motivated and making progress during the more tedious stretches of a PhD.Instead of focusing only on an outcome, PACTs focus on consistency and growth.The acronym stands for:Purposeful – How does this activity serve your bigger goal?Actionable – What can you commit to doing consistently?Continuous – Progress over perfection.Trackable – What’s a meaningful way to check in?For example:SMART goal: “Write 5,000 words for my thesis this month.”PACT: “Write for 30 minutes, 4 days a week, and track progress.”SMART goal: “Become more confident in networking.”PACT: “Reach out to one new person per week and reflect on what I learned.”See the difference?

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

Step 1: Identify activities in your PhD that are critical to your success (nothing less!), but tedious and hard to put an end result to.Step 2: Think of a PACT you can formulate to continue doing this activity. If you struggle to come up with one, fill in the GAP-GOAL-ACTION formula:”If [GAP] is all that stands between me and [GOAL], I can commit to [SMALL ACTION] every day (or week) for [PERIOD OF TIME].” Example: If finishing my experiment is all that stands between me and my goal to write my first PhD chapter, I can commit to spending an hour per day in the lab for the next 2 months.Hit reply and let me know: What’s one long-term PhD goal you’re struggling to stay on track with? What PACT are you making with yourself to finally work towards it?Talk soon,Andrea

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April 22, 2025

Issue 15: The one shift that turned networking from Eww! 😬 to Aaw! ❤️

The real networking pro's don't "work". They give.

Let me let you in on a secret: I am shy in professional networking situations.Most people are surprised when I share this because I’m pretty extrovert. And informal settings, or, ironically, very formal situations where everyone has their clear role are no problem. But put me in a semi-formal setting - say a conference coffee break - where you're supposed to be "yourself" but also make connections because you want or need something from the person you're trying to chat up can make me feel super awkward.So, in the past, I'd avoid such situations:Coffee breaks? I’d hang out with my friends.
Asking for help? No way. (Ask my husband - I'd rather drive for hours than ask someone for directions...)I just don't want to seem pushy or be a nuisance to people. Maybe you can relate.But then I learned something that changed everything:It wasn’t a magic script or a slick elevator pitch.
It was a mindset shift.

This Week’s Spotlight: Changing the awkward narrative of traditional networking

Most people think networking works like this:Meet someone new.
Small talk (eww!)
Ask them for advice, a favor, or an opportunity.
No wonder that’s uncomfortable!It’s like you’re trying to get something from someone you barely know.But here’s the truth:
Real networking isn’t about taking. It’s about contributing.And contributing is something you already do as a researcher all the time, whether you notice it, or not. No matter if you're a PhD student, a postdoc, or just getting started in a new field, you have skills and knowledge that are invaluable for others and you're probably sharing them on a daily basis.And that's exactly what networking is.

The “Give Before You Ask” Approach

When I understood this, I stopped thinking about networking as making unreasonable requests to strangers or impressing the right people.Instead, I started asking myself: How can I help this person?That little question unlocked so much ease for me.
Because there’s always something you can give (even to the people you look up to!):Maybe someone’s new to the field and you know a great resource to help them accelerate their learning journey. Share it.
Maybe they’re struggling with a method you’ve just mastered. Offer a to give them a quick rundown.
Maybe they need feedback on a draft, a project idea, or just a bit of encouragement. Say something kind (or, if you're in a conference, ask a thoughtful question).
No strings. No expectations. Just human connection.And you know what?
Not only does this make networking feel better - it actually works better, too.Because people remember the ones who made them feel seen, supported, and helped.

Where this comes from: Learning to network like a learner

The idea isn’t new—it’s the backbone of John Stepper’s Working Out Loud approach to social learning and relationship-building. It’s built on five key principles:Relationships – You learn best from others. Don’t isolate yourself - connect.
Generosity – Ask “How can I contribute?” rather than “What can I get?”
Visible Work – Let people see what you’re learning or building, in your own way.
Purposeful Discovery – Know what you’re curious about and follow that thread.
Growth Mindset – Stay open. The most valuable contacts often come from unexpected places.

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

Next time you meet someone new (online or offline), try this:Instead of asking “What can I get from this?”, ask “What can I offer this person or space?”
Share something useful: a resource, a kind word, a connection. Even just engaging with someone’s post on LinkedIn with a thoughtful comment counts.
Notice how much more human it feels. And how much easier it becomes to follow up, stay in touch, and build something real.Because networking isn’t about collecting contacts.
It’s about creating connections.Let me know how it goes if you try this!Talk soon!AndreaP.S. If quitting has been on your mind for a while and you're struggling to make the decision, let me know! I offer one-off coaching calls to talk through difficult issues that don't require an entire coaching program to get you unstuck. Click here to learn more or simply send an email and I'll be in touch.

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April 15, 2025

Issue 14: Thinking about quitting your PhD?

Winners do quit, and quitters do win - if they know when to stay and when to leave.

in the past couple of weeks I spent a lot of time talking to PhD researchers, trying to understand better what it is that makes a PhD hard and what exactly you need to get through it relaxed, happy and successful. One thing I heard many of you say was this:
"I'm not sure if I should continue my PhD."It stuck with me because I recall asking myself the same question.Back in 2017, about two years into my PhD, I was in a real low. After two years of fieldwork I had hundreds of thousands of camera trap images to process before I could even think of doing analysis, let alone write a paper about it. My first manuscript, a review, had just been desk-rejected, and my PI was dealing with a family emergency and was unavailable for months. I was spinning my wheels, feeling abandoned, and though I was never gonna reap the rewards of my hard work.Back then, I thought it was this unique combination of circumstances (huge field project + rejection + supervisor situation) that made me doubt if the whole pursuit was worth it.Today, I know that what I was going through is something most PhDs experience. In fact it's not even exclusive to academia. Research has shown that the "midway slump" is a predictable pattern characterized by a dip in energy, focus, and motivation that hits in the middle of a task or timeline - be it across days, lifespans, and projects.The big question is what to do with it - and how to know when it is worth staying or when it's time to quit.

This Week’s Spotlight: How to get out of the slump - changing the job or changing perspectives

When I thought my midway struggles were unique I couldn't have been farther from the truth.Not only was I no exception with my doubts and challenges - even the time when they occurred was completely normal:
The first phase of the PhD was exciting - everything was new, the frequency of learnings and quick wins was high, and it seemed like I still had lots of time before I had to start thinking about producing actual outcomes.
What followed was the opposite: (boring) routines, slow progress, setbacks and a clock that started ticking louder and louder.No wonder did my lazy, dopamine-addicted brain start to question my life choices!In such a situation it is easy to get caught up in thought loops that are neither healthy nor productive. Which is why today, I want to share with you concepts from successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders to help you take a step back, evaluate your situation and decide:Is what I'm going through just a normal, unpleasant, but necessary part of the process - or is it a sign that I've reached a dead end and should pivot and do something more worthwhile?
If I decide to stay, how can I get out of the emotional and motivational low?
If I decide to quit, how can I do it so it serves me and my goals?

1. Dip or dead end?

Seth Godin - The Dip: Seth Godin is a marketer, author of 22 bestselling books, founder and CEO of two companies, and writer of one of the world's most influential business blogs. He refers to the phenomenon we're talking about as "the dip". In his view, most worthwhile projects involve a tough, discouraging stretch between the exciting beginning and the rewarding end. Being able to push through this dip in projects that are worth it is what separates the excellent from the mediocre. The trick is knowing the difference between a worthwhile project and an energy sink.
Tip:
If your PhD still aligns with your values, long-term vision, and opens doors you care about, the dip is worth navigating.

2. Staying on the (emotional) rollercoaster

Scott Belsky - The Messy Middle: Scott Belsky is an American entrepreneur, author and early-stage investor. In 2010, Belsky was included in Fast Company's "100 Most Creative People in Business" list. Belsky says that the story of a linear journey to success is a myth, and that what usually follows the initial stage of excitement is an extended period of time characterized by a sequence of "loving it", "ouch", "yay", "shit", "champagne!", "WTF???", "yes", and "uh, oh".
To keep the upper hand in this mess and turn it into a net positive slope, he says we need to endure the lows and optimize the highs.
Tips:
1) Strengthen your resolve, rewire your internal reward system, and embrace the long-term view.
2) Optimize everything that works.
3) Don't screw up the final stretch (keep going even when the reward comes into sight).Daniel Pink - The science of perfect timing: Daniel Pink is a lawyer, author and former speech writer of former US Vicepresident Al Gore. Drawing on research he showed that most people deal with the midway slump in two ways:
The “oh well” effect: They disengage, assuming the project is doomed.
The "uh oh" effect: They realize time is slipping and re-engage with urgency and focus. Needless to say which group will more likely be successful in the end.
Tips:
1) Mark the midpoint intentionally. Acknowledge that you're halfway and reflect on what’s worked so far and what needs to change.
2) Recommit with urgency. Use the second half as a chance to finish strong with a clear action plan.

3. Quitting with confidence - and with a strategy

Annie Duke - Knowing when to walk away: Annie Duke is a psychologist and professional poker player. She quit her PhD after five years and just one month before finishing to focus on her poker game and family life. She recently came back to research and started another PhD 30 years after leaving academia for the first time.
Drawing on her experience as a poker player and her psychology background she states that most people stick with bad bets too long because of the sunk cost fallacy, identity attachment, or fear of regret. It's a costly habit: in a recent episode of the podcast "Work life" with Adam Grant she said that the difference between professional and amateur poker players is that the amateurs don't quit often enough! In her view quitting is not a failure - it's a decision-making skill.Tip: If you’re seriously considering quitting, plan your exit. Define objective “kill criteria” in advance - signals that tell you it’s time to walk away - and consult outside perspectives (like a coach or advisor) to counter emotional bias and learn about possible alternative career paths.

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

If you are doubting whether to continue the PhD use the above tips to take a step back and assess:Is the potential outcome of the project worth pushing through the hard bit?
If so, what small change can I make today to improve my situation? (This could be finding additional support, taking a break, or setting up a meeting with your PI and realigning goals and expectations,...)
Am I clinging to the project because I've already invested so much? What would I really lose if I walked away tomorrow, and what skills, learnings, expertise could I build on when making a career pivot, even if I don't earn the title?Talk soon!AndreaP.S. If quitting has been on your mind for a while and you're struggling to make the decision, let me know! I offer one-off coaching calls to talk through difficult issues that don't require an entire coaching program to get you unstuck. Click here to learn more or simply send an email and I'll be in touch.

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April 8, 2025

Issue 13:  Feeling like you're not an expert? Read this.

The world needs your expertise, so you need to own it!

A couple of months ago, a master's student reached out to me and asked if I could participate in an expert interview about rewilding for her thesis.I hesitated.Was I really the right person? I left research six years ago. I haven’t kept up with the latest literature. What if I had nothing meaningful to say?I agreed with an awkward feeling. At the start of the interview, I told her:"I’ll try to give my perspective where I feel I have enough science-backed knowledge, but I’m really not sure I’m the best person for this."She agreed and we started the interview. A few minutes into our conversation, it hit me:I was literally being asked about the topic of my PhD.The topic I published a first-author Science paper on.The one I spent years studying.You'd think that probably I'd have to say something meaningful and profound about it, right?! And yet, there I was, second-guessing whether I was qualified.It made me realize something:It doesn’t matter what you’ve objectively accomplished - if you don’t do the inner work of owning your expertise, you’ll never feel like an expert, let alone a thought leader.

This Week’s Spotlight: How to Own Your Expertise

The good news? You don’t need another paper, another degree, or another six years of experience.The real shift happens when you:1. Change your perspective.
We tend to compare ourselves to people who are ahead of us and forget that we are ourselves ahead (in terms of more experienced or more knowledgable) of others. This was one of the things that hit so hard during that interview. My interview partner was a Master’s student. Of course she knows her stuff, and I’m sure she’s doing a wonderful job with her thesis but there is no way she knows as much about the topic as I do! Even if I don’t know everything, I sure know things that she doesn’t and that are valuable for her. So, when someone asks you for your opinion or help, trust that they have a reason to do so.2. Share what you know if someone asks you.
Even if it feels uncomfortable. Especially then.3. Internalize the feedback you get.
The more you do this, the more you'll realize: You do know your stuff.
There are different ways to internalize feedback. Some people keep success folders where they collect anything that “objectively proves” that they are good at something - acceptance letters, emails from people thanking them for their help etc.). Others turn the feedback they get into positive affirmations and regularly say them to themselves, or put a written note someplace where they can alway see it.
If you like more structure, you can make a table with three columns: 1) The story you’re telling to make yourself small. 2) Evidence to counter that story. 3) An updated, more realistic version of 1. For example: 1) “I never succeed at anything”. 2) “I did make it into grad school.” 3) “If I put my mind to it and do the work I can achieve my goals.”
Try what helps you internalize positive feedback and stick to what works best for you.4. Remember it’s a never ending journey.
I know a professor who, on paper, has achieved everything she possibly could. Even she told me that she still experiences impostor syndrome and sometimes feels she doesn’t know “enough”.
So, if you feel small, go back to step 2 and,5. Repeat. Repeat often.
Confidence is just another thing that gets better with practice. The more often you put yourself out there and more feedback you collect the faster you will internalize what you know and what you’re good at.

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

This week, challenge yourself: What’s one way you can step into your expertise?Maybe it’s answering a question in a research meeting. Maybe it’s accepting an invitation to give a talk. Maybe it’s posting your thoughts on LinkedIn.Whatever it is - do it. You already know more than you think.Talk soon!
Andrea

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April 1, 2025

Issue #12: Should I say yes? A simple framework for better decisions

Don't do what's good for your ego. Do what's good for you.

Last week we talked about how having a career vision can help you work less and achieve more (you can read it here in case you missed it). Today, I want to dive into this topic a bit deeper and talk about how to make sure you work on your priorities.Last week, I found an email with the subject line "Invitation to book project" in my inbox. Warily, I opened, expecting something along the lines of "Distinguished author...". But what I thought was Spam trying to lure me into some expensive, non-existent conference, was an actual invitation to contribute to a book about rewilding (my PhD topic)."Wow", I thought, "finally, somebody recognizes my accomplishments in the field." I was flattered, because quite frankly, things like this happen a lot less than what I expected when I published my Science paper on the topic. My poor ego finally got stroked and yelled "Yes! Do it!"I was intrigued.But then I declined.Here's why:1. The gig would probably give me some visibility and credibility among rewilding researchers. But it's a field I'm no longer active in. So, what would have been useful if I was aspiring an academic career would simply be feeding my vanity instead.2. It'd be nice to dive into the topic once more and write academically for the first time in years. But, it would also be a lot of work. Unpaid. This may be acceptable (although I'm not sure it is but that's a discussion for another time) if you have a paid position and writing research is part of your job. But in my case, saying yes to this would mean committing to work that binds a lot of time that I should and want to spend on MY priority: building and growing my business so I can do what I love most - helping grad students create a PhD experience on their terms.
So, I told my ego to shut up and declined the offer.This one was not too hard, and hopefully, if you did last week’s exercise, decisions like this would be a no-brainer for you, too. But it’s not always this straight forward. Which is why in this week’s spotlight, I want to introduce you to a framework to set priorities when things are a little more complex.

This Week’s Spotlight: A strategic framework to identify your priorities when the decision feels difficult

Most PhD researchers struggle with decision-making.“Should I say yes to that extra project?”“Should I take on another teaching assignment?”“Should I submit an abstract to this cool conference (also, it's in Hawaii and all my friends are going)?”During your PhD you are bombarded with opportunities. Many of them will sound super exciting, some of them will definitely be worth taking and sometimes it is easy to see in which category they fall.The problem starts when the decision is not so obvious, even if you have your career vision clear. In these cases it can help to look at the opportunity in a bit more detail. The PhD success matrix is a powerful tool to help you get an overview over which opportunities would be beneficial for different areas of your life and which of them you can happily let go of. It helps you put all the things you could possibly do into the following “boxes”.Your non-negotiables: Things you absolutely have to do to graduate (I call those "the peanut butter sandwich" because PBJ for breakfast is an absolute non-negotiable for me).
Strategic choices: Those are things that are essential for reaching your longer-term goals - not necessarily connected to your non-negotiables.
Personal growth: Activities that help you become the person you want to be.
Matters of the heart: Things that are a priority in your life that have nothing to do with your PhD or career.

For example, imagine you are invited to participate in a workshop. This is how your matrix could look like:

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

1. Take 10 minutes and analyze one opportunity you are currently thinking about saying “yes” to.
2. Write down all the things you would get from the experience and categorize them using the PhD Success Matrix.
3. Hit “reply” and let me know how it went and what decision you ended up taking :).Talk soon!Andrea

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March 25, 2025

Issue #11: Clear Vision, Smoother PhD Journey

Welcome back to The Interface! This week, we’re diving into a key insight that will make your PhD journey significantly easier: having a clear career vision.One of the biggest challenges PhD students face is overwhelm - too many tasks, too many expectations, too many options. Especially if you are given a lot of freedom when it comes to deciding on a direction for your PhD project (supposedly a good thing), it is so easy to get lost in the chaos.It certainly happened to me: I vividly remember my first meeting with my supervisor where he told me "I don't really care what you do. You should use the camera traps we have in the lab and you should aim for at least one publication in Nature or Science." - Alright...
(I did get the Science publication but that's a story for another time.)I'm a free spirit so I liked the idea of having a lot of decision power but my excitement soon turned into - well, overwhelm - because just like most new researchers, I was trying to do EVERYTHING. Luckily, I had an amazing co-supervisor who cared enough to burst my bubble when I was excitedly telling her about how I was going to research the effects of everything on anything (does this sound familiar to anyone?).Looking back at my young and very eager self from 10 years ago I know what her problem was:I didn't have the experience to know how big a PhD project should sensibly be (spoiler for you if you're still designing yours: all of them start out WAY too big!).
And that's fine! It's the learning experience you signed up for and in the best case you have somebody like my co-supervisor who gives you guidance and helps you scale down your project to a scope you can actually manage.I didn't have direction. In the beginning of my PhD I was only led by curiosity.
Again, fine! Curiosity is an important prerequisite for doing research. But add to it a bit (lot) of shiny-object syndrome and you are all over the place. I knew I was interested in conservation and politics and I knew that I didn't want to stay in academia but I didn't put a lot of thought into how I wanted my career after my PhD to look like. So, I tried to research everything and I said yes to anything. Meaning, I was doing a lot and progressing little.
But about a year into my PhD my career vision became clearer and magically everything became more straightforward:Decisions became easier: If an opportunity didn't align with my long-term career goals, I confidently said no.
Priorities became clearer: Suddenly it was easier to discern the non-negotiable from the nice-to-haves. For example, since I knew I wasn't going to apply for PostDocs I didn't put a lot of effort into publishing a lot. Instead I focused on collaborating (i.e. networking) with conservation practitioners and starting to build some standing as an expert in my field.
I took ownership of my PhD: Instead of waiting for guidance, I proactively took decisions to shape my project to serve my future aspirations (instead of being a task rabbit for my PI).
Motivation stayed strong: I knew where I wanted to go and what it would take to get there. This helped me a lot to push through challenges, especially on the final stretch.

This Week’s Spotlight: Your Career Vision as a Decision-Making Tool

Maybe you also feel trapped in a cycle of overcommitment, feel like you have too many projects, responsibilities, and side tasks.But what if you had a guiding principle—a filter for every decision?When you define your career vision, you gain exactly that. You can ask yourself:Does this help me develop skills I’ll need in my future career?
Does this contribute to my visibility in my field?
Will this help me build the right connections?
If the answer is no, it’s a sign that you might be better off letting it go. If you have this clear vision of where you want to go it will also be easier to let go and to defend your decisions against your PI.By aligning decisions with your career vision, you cut out unnecessary work, reduce stress, and make faster progress toward both your PhD and your future.

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

Gaining clarity about your career vision is a long-term process and something that can and will evolve as you grow but you can't get started early enough.An easy framework to get you started is what I call the MIRA framework.
Grab a piece of paper and answer these questions:M - Motivation: What motivates you to do a PhD?
I - Impact: What kind of impact do you want to have in your career?
R - Role: What professional role can you see yourself in the future?
A - Aspects of life: What aspects of life are most important to you?Once you have jotted down some ideas you can dive deeper with these questions:What are the key skills and experiences I need to get there?
What activities in my PhD help me move in that direction?
Now, look at your current to-do list. Identify one task or commitment that does not align with your future goals—and consider dropping it or delegating it.The more intentional you are with your choices, the smoother your PhD will become.Let me know what you discover! I’d love to hear your insights.Talk soon!
Andrea

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March 18th, 2025

✨ Issue 10: How a Simplified Figure Became a Game-Changer for Science Communication

Reduce Complexity, Increase Impact

Last week I had a flashback to my past when I was still working as a Science-Policy expert.As I was helping my partner prepare for a professorship interview, I came across a figure that made a huge splash in the biodiversity-policy world when it came out back in 2020. If you are working in conservation, sustainability or global change biology, I'm sure you've seen it.The visual was part of a press release about the Nature paper ["Bending the curve of terrestrial biodiversity needs an integrated strategy"]( by David Leclère and others and shows a simplified version of the paper's key figure where the authors show how different approaches to conservation and the use of natural resources might lead to different trends in biodiversity.This figure is among the ones most often shown amongst biodiversity researchers and decision makers.Together with the term "bending the curve" (which was coined by Georgina Mace and colleagues in a previous Nature paper) it became a key element framing discussions about the global biodiversity goals and targets of the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD), which was adopted by 196 countries in December 2022.I don't have numbers to prove it, but I'm convinced that the paper wouldn't have had this level of impact if the findings had been communicated the same way they were published in the paper. It is a great example of how adapting your way of communication depending on what you're trying to achieve (your purpose) and who you need to reach (your target audience) with your message makes all the difference.Spoiler: A research paper's purpose and target audience are different from those of a press release.So, in this week's spotlight I want to dive deeper into this example and discuss how simplifying your message - or rather, adapting it so it serves your purpose and has the highest chances of reaching your target audience - can increase your visibility and the impact you can have with your research.

This Week’s Spotlight: Bait the hook to suit the fish - principles of great science communication

Alright, let's have a closer look. This is the original figure from the paper:

From Leclère, et al. "Bending the curve of terrestrial biodiversity needs an integrated strategy." Nature 585.7826 (2020): 551-556.

As you can see, there's a lot going on here: It shows different scenarios of how biodiversity on land might change until the end of this century depending on different actions we might or might not take to preserve and restore it, and according to different models. It is detailed, nuanced, and rich in information - perfect for the academic audience it was intended for.But, it is also pretty complex and loaded with jargon and abbreviations. Not something you grasp within the first second, especially if you're not an expert in the field.Now, let's have a look at the visual that came with the press release:

Compared to the original figure, this image is extremely simple. You probably need less than 30 seconds to understand the key message of the paper, even if you don't have a PhD in conservation science (or any university degree for that matter).Let's break down what it is that makes this visual so easily palatable (and hence powerful):1. It distills the message to its core. The simplified figure stripped away details that, while important for specialists, made it harder to understand for a broader audience.
2. It is visually intuitive. Instead of requiring careful study, the new version lets people grasp the main takeaway at a glance.
3. It is easy to share. The simplicity made it a perfect fit for presentations, reports, and discussions, allowing it to spread far beyond academic circles.
4. It resonated with the intended target audience. Policymakers and stakeholders don’t have time to decipher complex models - they need clear, actionable insights. And in this case, as the paper came out at a time where the negotiations of the Global Biodiversity Framework were in full swing, it is safe to say that some policy makers were delighted to have something that captured what was at stake and motivated ambitious action. The new figure delivered exactly that.Cautionary note: Especially point 4 highlights that there are risks and caveats to (over-) simplifying complex messages this much. Especially if our research informs an issue that is important to us, it can be tempting to remove information to a level that the message we send seems more unambiguous than it actually is and omits uncertainty and nuance that would be necessary for informed decision making.
The roles we can take as researchers in policy and advocacy is a huge and important topic and goes beyond the scope of today's issue but I'm happy to cover it in another issue if you are interested.For now, I just want to make you aware that next to defining your purpose and target audience it is important to also reflect in which role you are communicating your research and to become aware of where your own biases are.tl;drI hope you can see from this example that it can make all the difference for your impact if you carefully think about
a) what you want to achieve when you share messages from your research (e.g., inform policy change),
b) who you need to reach with your message, and
c) what language (visual or using actual words) you need to speak in to reach those peopleAnd in case this isn't obvious, you don't need to publish in Nature to start making an impact.Whether you're preparing a conference talk, writing a paper, or applying for funding, make sure your key message is clear and memorable.

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

Let’s put this into practice. This week, take a piece of your research communication - a figure, a paragraph, or even a slide from a presentation - and simplify it. Here’s how:Identify the core message. What is the one thing you want your audience to remember?
Cut the clutter. Think carefully about which information you can leave out to make your message easier to grasp (without distorting your actual results).
Make it visually or structurally clear. If it’s a figure, can you make it more intuitive? If it’s text, can you replace jargon with simpler wording?
Test it. Show the before-and-after versions to a colleague or a friend who is no expert in your field - does the new version get your point across faster?
You might be surprised at how much stronger your message becomes when you embrace simplicity!Looking forward to hearing how this works for you - hit reply and let me know what you simplified.Talk soon!
Andrea

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March 11th, 2025

✨ Issue 9: Academia Wasn’t Built for Women—Let’s Change That

The playing field is rigged - let's set it straight

Welcome back to The Interface. On the occasion of International Women’s Day last Saturday I want to dedicate this issue to a topic that I care about a lot: the glass ceiling in academia.It’s no secret that building an academic career is hard. But for women (and other minorities!), it’s even harder.Yesterday, a friend told me that she didn’t make it to the next round competing for a permanent research position. She was surprised, she said, because she had received very positive feedback during the first round. Surprise soon turned into anger when she found out that although the initial applicant pool was almost balanced, the gender ratio after the first round was 2:1 - only half as many women made it to the next stage, compared to their male competitors. Even worse: she noticed that certain criteria - like time since graduation - were evaluated negatively for women but not for men.So, as I'm sitting here, writing this newsletter it's not really accurate to say "I care a lot".Truth is, I'm angry!Because this story of my friend isn’t an isolated case. Study after study shows that women in academia face more scrutiny, higher expectations, and often subtle (or not-so-subtle) bias in hiring, funding, and promotions. And we haven't even started talking about unfair distribution of unpaid and unrecognized labor, at home and in the work place (e.g., mentoring, diversity committees, teaching-heavy positions).
The stats reflect the effects of these biases. As an example, I dug up a figure showing the gender balance in calls for ERC grants (one of the most important and prestigious research funding schemes in Europe, awarded by the European Commission).As you can see, it's the same pattern!Between 2007 and 2021 only a third of the applications for starting and consolidator grants came from women (although 48.5 % of PhD students in the EU are female) and an even smaller share of female scientists gets the grant. And you can see yourself what's the situation higher up the academic ladder - for the Advanced Grant, there are hardly any women left to even apply.

Representation of women among the applicants, panelists (stage 1), and grantees of three major ERC grants.
Source: https://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2022-11/GenderstatisticsJune_2022.pdf

This Week’s Spotlight: Fixing the leaky pipeline and diffusing through the glass ceiling

So yes, I'm angry.But if you know me a little, you know that my preferred way of dealing with unpleasant emotions is to try and find constructive and action-oriented approaches to deal with the issue. That's why in this week's spotlight I want to look outside the box and share ideas for steps you can take to help fix the pipeline (which is a long-term challenge) and to "diffuse" through the glass ceiling (i.e., increase your chances for success within this broken system).1. Fixing the pipeline
Of course, gender biases are just as much of a problem in other industries as they are in academia. But there are a few examples we can look at for inspiration when pushing for change:Better transparency: Some forward-thinking tech companies e.g., Buffer and Cisco have restructured their hiring and promotion processes to counter bias. Blind recruitment, structured promotions, and clear transparency in salary negotiation help level the playing field.
Policies to promote equal distribution of care responsibilities: Progressive companies offer flexible work arrangements and parental leave policies. Universities could explore ways to make academic careers more compatible with family responsibilities, such as tenure clock extensions or part-time options. In countries like Sweden and Iceland, government policies to promote equal parental leave has shifted cultural expectations and reduced the “motherhood penalty.” Some countries discuss implementing similar solutions for people who care for family members other than kids, for example their elderly parents.
Mentorship and sponsorship programs for women and other minorities: Many corporations for example Cronus and Speex have successful mentorship programs pairing junior women with senior leaders. Universities could expand such initiatives, connecting female PhD students and early-career researchers with established professors or industry professionals across institutions.2. "Diffusing" through the glass ceilingAll of the above examples require changing the system. And let me be honest, I don't think this change is happening fast enough for us to experience a "level playing field" during our careers. So in the meantime, if we do want to climb some kind of "career ladder" (or pursue our ambition and passions) we need to find ways to do so under the circumstances we find ourselves in now.Here are a few ideas of what you can do now to make things a bit easier:Practice Self-Advocacy: Research suggests women in academia are less likely to promote their work or cite themselves compared to men. Taking a cue from corporate leadership programs, universities could offer workshops on self-promotion and negotiation skills specifically tailored for women in academia. But even if they don't we can practice becoming more visible with our skills, ask for more (and ask more often), and apply for jobs even if we think we're not ready for them.
Find a mentor or sponsor: Find someone who has accomplished what you are hoping to achieve (or is a few steps ahead of you) and ask them for guidance and support. If you can't find anyone in your current network it may be worthwhile to look into "matchmaking" services for mentors and mentees e.g., MentorMe or ask your institutions early career officer for support.
Develop leadership skills: Get clear on what you want to achieve and develop strategic steps to get there, including honing your leadership skills, taking on ownership over your project, and most importantly developing routines and habits to maintain your physical and emotional wellbeing (remember, it's a marathon).
Invest in your personal network: Remember, everyone is struggling. Team up with peers and support each other along your journey.

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

Let’s flip the perspective. This week, try this:1. Think of a key decision in your work. It could be choosing a conference to attend, a journal to submit to, or how you allocate your time.
2. Now imagine you were a man. Would you approach it differently? Would you feel more confident? Would you expect different reactions?3. Reflect. What does this tell you about the invisible biases at play? What one thing can you do differently this week to counter them - whether it’s asking for more, setting boundaries, or supporting another woman in academia?And for my male readers: Please become an ally! (Although, if you have read until here you probably are one already).We need you in this effort!When you notice that it's always the women in your group buying birthday presents or organizing the lab meeting, when you notice a male colleague always interrupting your female peers, suggest a rota for the "housekeeping" tasks, give the word back to the woman in the room ("I'd like to hear what XYZ had to say on this topic"), encourage your friend if she's reluctant to apply for the dream job that seems out of reach!The system won't change anytime soon - but there are small, intentional actions we can take to make it happen.Talk soon!
Andrea

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March 4th, 2025

Issue 8: ✨ The Interface: From Small Wins to Big Opportunities

Preparation + Visibility = Opportunity

Before we dive into this week’s topic, I want to share a book that I think many of you might enjoy: Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff.
As a "natural interfacer" who loves seeing and learning from connections between research and application, I've been a loyal reader of Anne-Laure's newsletter Ness Labs for years.Anne-Laure is a neuroscientist and entrepreneur and she's all about approaching life as a series of small experiments. Her first book Tiny Experiments launches today but I got early access (feeling very VIP 🤭), and I am loving it so far. Anne-Laure invites readers to rethink traditional goal-setting and unlock the power of small, deliberate experiments to navigate uncertainty, explore new paths, and grow authentically.If you enjoy this newsletter, I think you'll love the book! You can order your copy here.Now, on to today’s newsletter...I know I said we'd talk about productivity hacks this week but inspired by Anne-Laure's book and by the circumstances of how I got to partner with her in promoting it I decided to change plans and instead talk about how we can harness unexpected opportunities for our progress and our growth.

This Week’s Spotlight: The power of showing up prepared (and making yourself seen)

I want to give you some context on why I am so excited to be able to promote "Tiny experiments" in this newsletter.As I mentioned above, I am a big fan of Anne-Laure's work and don't only read her newsletter but also follow her on social media. Last week, she posted that she was looking for partners to cross-promote her book (meaning that, in turn for me mentioning it to you, she will mention my newsletter to her subscribers).Now, Anne-Laure is WAY ahead of me. She has seventy-six thousand followers on X and LinkedIn combined and 110.000 people read her newsletter every week.Being mentioned by her is a huge opportunity for me to reach more people with my writing - as you know, I launched The Interface just eight weeks ago and we are still a very exclusive group here (btw, if you want to help me grow, you recommending The Interface, or forwarding it to anyone you think might enjoy it would mean the world to me).So, when I read her post my internal dialogue was something like this:
Thought 1: "This is a great opportunity!"
Thought 2: "She will never say yes. My reach is way too small to make a partnership useful for her."I could have dropped the idea here. But instead, I shut up my inner critic and changed my narrative away from limitations and toward opportunities:"I have a newsletter. I love Anne-Laure's work, I'm inspired by it on a regular basis, my audience is very likely interested in this book, and I'm perfectly happy to endorse it. Worst thing that can happen is she's not interested. And even in that case, my reply to her post will get seen by a few of her fans (who might be interested in my topics, too.)"So I took the chance, wrote the reply, and here we are.If you've read up to here you might ask: "Why is she telling me all this and what does it have to do with my PhD?I think there are several lessons that are applicable also to your PhD journey:• As soon as you have built (or even just started building) something, you have something to offer.
• As soon as you have something to offer you can enter partnerships that are mutually beneficial. So, the sooner you start building something that contributes to your longer-term goal(s), the better.
• You don't have to have it all figured out from the get-go.
• Regardless of how early you may be on your journey and how small your outcomes may still be - every little outcome may be a door-opener to the next thought, the next experiment, the next opportunity.
• You don't have to know the outcome of your building experiment. It is enough to define a few guardrails for experimentation.Take this newsletter for example: I don't know where it will lead. All I want it to do (for now) is (1) provide value to my readers, (2) test what resonates with you and what doesn't, and (3) allow me to explore topics that I am excited about.You never know to whom your work (or thoughts) might be useful if you don't show what you've got.

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

This week, I want you to think bigger.1️⃣ Have a careful look at your assets. Make a list of at least 50 assets you have. Include anything that might be useful for others. Could be results you have produced, skills you have, your expertise, your network - the broader the better.
2️⃣ Think of at least one person you look up to (and whose success might be slightly intimidating).
3️⃣ Identify at least one thing from your list that might be useful to that person.
4️⃣ Reach out to this person and offer your asset to them.Here's a template you can use to reach out:Subject: A Small Contribution to Your WorkHi [Name],I’ve been following your work on [specific topic or project], and I really admire [something specific about what they do]. It’s been incredibly valuable to me as I [mention a relevant connection—e.g., “work on a similar challenge,” “apply your insights in my research,” etc.].I wanted to reach out because I believe I have something that could be useful to you. [Briefly mention your asset—e.g., “I recently conducted a study on X,” “I’ve built a tool that does Y,” “I have access to a dataset that might be relevant for your work,” etc.].If this is something that could be helpful, I’d love to share more details. No expectations—just happy to contribute in any way that might be useful. Let me know what you think!Best,
[Your Name]Talk soon!
AndreaP.S. I always love to hear your thoughts! Was this issue useful? What were your main take aways? What topics would you like me to write about in the future? Let me know! I'd greatly appreciate your feedback!

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February 25, 2025

Issue 7: ✨ The interface: The good enough PhD. Insights from parenting and psychology

Don't be perfect. Be happy instead

Today will be a very personal post and maybe seem a bit off because today’s insights don’t come from the business world as most weeks but from what I do when I don’t coach, train or create social media content - parenting.
So, please bear with me here. I believe there will still be something to take away for you and your PhD-baby.For most of my life I haven’t been a perfectionist. I’m simply too lazy, and often also too impatient to strive for perfect results. But since I became a mom, perfectionism - or worse, the bad feeling of not being perfect - has started to haunt me.How can you want to want less than being perfect for this little person that means the world to you (and is obviously perfect herself)? How can you not regret not trying your best at all times? All the info on how to be perfect is available to you! And others manage, too! Right?!Now, a PhD is in many regards a bit like a baby.You’re responsible for it. You have this one shot at getting it right. And there is A LOT of advice out there on what to do, how not to make mistakes and to do just as perfect as everyone else seems to be doing. So we try to avoid mistakes at all costs.
That is EXHAUSTING!Luckily, among all the advice for how to achieve perfection there are some more humane voices too. One of them is “good enough parenting”.Good enough parenting
The original concept of the “good enough mother” was developed by British paediatrician and psychoanalysist Donald Winnicott in the 1950s. Winnicott stated that a mother that is “good enough” i.e. making the mistakes and limits inherent to being a human is actually more beneficial for the development of a child than striving for perfection because this way the child learns to endure frustration and cope with challenges independently.Now, this is not a parenting newsletter and a PhD is not an actual baby that can become “independent” but there still are a few lessons we can learn from good enough parenting for our relaxed (and good enough) PhD journey. Let’s dive in.

This Week’s Spotlight: The downsides of perfectionism

We all know we shouldn’t be perfectionist. At the same time, the quality expectations we are confronted with in all areas of life make it hard to believe that anything less than perfect is acceptable.
But what are the downsides of perfectionism? Here are just a few examples:• We might miss the bigger picture if we obsess over details.
• The expectation that what we produce has to be perfect can prevent us from even trying (Hello Procrastination, my old friend).
• Trying to be perfect takes A LOT of time and effort. You’ve probably heard of Pareto’s law that states that 80 % of outcomes are produced with just 20% of effort, and that it would require 80% of effort to achieve the remaining 20% and reach perfection. So we exhaust ourselves trying to get to “the top”. Which can result in the opposite of what we hope to achieve because…
• …exhausted, we do worse at what we are trying to do.
And the worst thing is, we sometimes lose the joy of doing it.But how do I know if what I do is “good enough”?
Well, that is the big question, right? There is no exact formula to calculate Pareto’s 80% of effort.One approach to help us move away from perfection towards good enough is "satisficing".”Satisficing” is a fusion of the words “satisfactory” and “sufficient” and describes a decision-making approach that aims at quickly finding an option that fulfills key criteria. As soon as such a satisfactory option has been found the decision-making process ends.Example:
Imagine you need a new backpack. You want something that’s comfortable to carry, has enough space for your laptop and a water bottle, and is durable enough for daily use. Bonus points if it’s water-resistant, made from sustainable materials, and has a hidden pocket for valuables.Now, you could take a maximizing approach. You research countless backpacks online, read reviews, compare materials, check prices, and debate whether a roll-top design is actually practical or just trendy. You might spend hours - or even days - deliberating, only to finally order one and then wonder if another model would have been better.Alternatively, you could go with a satisficing strategy. You define your must-have criteria: (1) fits a 15-inch laptop, (2) has padded shoulder straps, and (3) is within your budget. Then, you simply buy the first backpack that meets those requirements and move on with your life.The result will probably be not as good as if you had taken the maximizing approach. But recent research shows it will likely make you happier. In a decision study by Schwartz et al. maximisers were shown to be more prone to comparing themselves with others and more likely to regret their choices. Ouch.

A Quick Exercise to Try This Week

Perfectionism thrives in uncertainty - so let’s put some structure around what “good enough” looks like for you.1. Pick a task that you’ve been overthinking or delaying because you want to do it “just right.” It could be writing a section of your dissertation, preparing slides, or even drafting an email.
2. Define your key criteria. What are the must-haves for this to be functional and effective? Try to keep it to 3-5 essentials.
3. Set a time limit. Give yourself a fixed amount of time to complete the task—enough to meet your criteria, but not so much that perfectionism creeps in.
4. Do it and stop. Once you hit your criteria and your time limit, resist the urge to tweak endlessly. Declare it good enough and move on.
Bonus task for the brave ones among you: Give what you produced to someone for friendly review. Could be a trusted colleague, your supervisor, or me (if you want).Try this with one task this week and reflect: Did it feel uncomfortable? Did it save you time? Did the outcome still serve its purpose? You might be surprised how much “good enough” is actually enough.tl;drThere is no way of anticipating whether what you did is good enough. And there is no way of knowing if what you did is “perfect” either. All you can do is try, risk to make mistakes, and learn from the outcomes.(By the way this newsletter issue is a “perfect” example of the "good enough" approach. Is it good enough? I don’t know. I’ll leave it up to you to decide.)Talk soon!Andrea

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