Quite frankly I love studying and reading up on topics which I find fascinating, so being able to do that, with the brilliant support I have from my two supervisors - the aforementioned Melanie King as well as Mey Goh - has meant so much. This support was especially apparent after the first two months of my project where I was encouraged to write an academic paper on my research, which was published in February 2020 - a shade over five months since I started.
To be a published academic so early on in my career is something which I am particularly proud of and, I don’t think, could have happened in another set of circumstances at another institution. So, despite doing little at the University itself, the support I have received, and is available if needed, has been a real blessing.
My typical day starts with me getting up at around 7:00am and I take my girlfriend into work at around 8:15am. I do this because I’m a lovely boyfriend… and because it makes me get up in the mornings and do work. When I get home at 8:45am (where I have been working during the pandemic), I make a coffee and subsequently read my emails; answering any if required. Then at 9:00ish I start my work for the day. Many researchers will have a strict regime to follow, but I am more iterative and have a rough idea from the day before what I should be doing. This could be reading journal articles, it could also be making diagrams, preparing for interviews, admin tasks, online courses, making presentations, writing essays and articles - the list goes on. I do this until around 1:00pm when I have a break for half an hour or so, then I do the same in the afternoon where I work until I feel like I am done for the day - it could be an hour after lunch, or it could be right up until 5:15pm when I have to leave and pick up my girlfriend. I then cook for the two of us and then spend the rest of the evening doing high minded academic cultural things, like binge watching Netflix!