Come spend a Friday with me as a full-time neuroscience researcher!
The Day
6:50am: Wakeup, brush teeth, and do basic skincare
My skincare routine is pretty basic– SPF, SPF lip balm, eyelash serum and moisturizer. When I’m feeling extra tired I sometimes use a look-awake eye gel, but I tend to think simple is better when it comes to products on my face!
7:10am: Make lunch and snacks for the day
This poke bowl is my favourite lunch to make as someone who does not love to cook– it’s so easy and I probably make it 3 times a week! It’s high in protein, healthy and delicious. Leave a comment if you want me to post the recipe!
7:40am: Get dressed and get ready to head out
Even though most of the lab shows up in sweatpants or baggy tshirts, I always feel happier and more productive in a cute outfit!
8:00am: Meet boyfriend for a pre-work coffee date!
Every once in a while my boyfriend and I sneak a quick coffee date before work, and it’s the best way to start the workday! My best friend is visiting this weekend, so we decided to grab coffee before all the fun begins!
8:30am: Head to the metro for an hour-long commute 🙁 and call best friend!
The long commute is difficult sometimes but I decided I’d be much happier in the neighborhood I live in with a long commute than living near work in a less lively area. This was the right decision for me, but each person is different so decide what is most important to you and listen to your gut when deciding where to live!
9:30am: Arrive and write to-do list for the day
I write my to do lists both in my planner and on my work laptop. Why? No clue. But it works for me! I find research can be really difficult since there are often no clear guidelines of what needs to happen day-to-day, and listing the most important tasks daily provides me with the structure I need to push forward with my work.
9:40am: Find a new album and get straight to work, it’s a busy day today!
I’m a huge classic rock nerd, and am always looking for new obscure albums– it makes work so much more exciting for me! If you have any music recommendations please leave them in the comments– I’m always on the hunt for new music!
12:00pm: Eat lunch from my desk, this lab is pretty intense and everyone eats while working
Not my favourite thing to do! Taking breaks during the day is important and I always feel more productive when I do. If I don’t take a lunch break, I try to make some time to chat with coworkers, go on a walk or grab some coffee. Also chocolate covered espresso beans as dessert >>>
5:15pm: Head out for the weekend!!
Usually I stay in the lab 8 hours at least, but since I finished all my in-lab tasks and all I needed to do was let my code finish running, I decided to let it run in the background so I could meet my best friend earlier!
6:30pm: Meet up with best friend at a coffee shop to do a bit more work
Anyone else working on grad school applications and have to work after work?
7:30pm: Get playa bowls, picnic and go explore a new area– we LOVE walking around and always have insane step counts during our visits
Whenever my group of closest friends hangs out, we drink a lottt of coffee, walk a ton and try a new restaurant or two! Since I am a researcher on a smaller salary, I save eating out for friends and family. It makes the little treats even more special, and helps me stay within my budget (though no one’s perfect… I do treat myself to coffee from time to time)!
11:00pm: Good night!
Thanks for spending the day with me🤍
The Stats
☕️Coffees: 1 iced latte with oat milk (+ a few chocolate covered espresso beans!)
🚶🏻♀️Steps: 15,305 (but Saturday was 28,142!)
🎵Song/Album of the day: The Bootleg Series by Bob Dylan
👩🏻💻Research win: finished running the sanity check analysis for the first part of my manuscript!
🙂Mood: 10/10!