La da dee, la da da

How do you swing back into your PhD after holidays or a tough spell? Plus, the Music Highlight

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

Coming back to our PhD after the holidays – like now, after Christmas if you live in a country or family that celebrates it; or after a tough personal period – can feel strangely heavy. Have you ever felt like your brain goes la da dee, la da da and you feel you can’t concentrate? The to-do list looks the same or even longer, but we might feel different. Slower. More tired. Less focused. And that’s okay!

We often expect ourselves to snap back into productivity mode overnight. However research, like life, isn’t a button we can press as I always say, on and off.

If we feel we are struggling to restart, we can try these:

• We should initially aim for one small task off our to-do list. If w eget that done, we might do another - and anohter. Or we just might feel better with that one task and the next day we might do more.

• We can try to re-read an article we have written, as far as we have gotten with it; we shouldn’t aim to write. We might even write eventually, but seeing the article again with fresh eyes can be super helpful.

• A good idea I heard from a colleague is to organise files, either file the paper ones or on our computers. The feeling of organising things can really help!

• We can do half an hour of work for the start - then it can slowly go up again.

If we have been on holidays, we can be glad we took that time off and slowly ease back into the rhythm. If we have been through a difficult period, we shoulöd gove ourselves a break - literally and metaphorically. We are not behind – we are human.

What I am reading

Before Christmas, one of my students gave me a gift card as a thank you for teaching her - which I thought was very kind! Thanks to her, I am now reading this amaizng book by Peter Trudgill, related to my research:

If you are in the field of linguistics, any book by Peter Trudgill is required and very useful reading. He writes so comprehensibly and is an amazing researcher. If you want to read more about his work, please visit his page at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

What I am listening to

My own podcast, Linguistics Now! This latest episode is absolutely spectacular - what a guest!

In this episode, I am excited to talk with Dr Elaine Gold, a remarkable Canadian linguist and founder of the Canadian Language Museum.

Dr. Gold is truly a national treasure of Canada, whose work highlights the beauty and diversity of Canada’s linguistic heritage. I have admired her work for years!

We discuss her journey leading her to linguistics, creating the Canadian Language Museum, why documenting language matters, and how language connects us to culture and identity.

Thank you ever so much, Elaine!

The Music Highlight

And for today’s Music Highlight, here is the most famous la da dee, la da da of all time : )