PhD Tip #1: Use your colleagues as support staff

Getting through a PhD is tough -- one of the ways to get through it is to establish a solid support system. This includes an emotional and writing support team made up of colleagues who can help you through the tough times and times of uncertainty. For this, I rely primarily on C.

One of the toughest things about taking on this kind of team is that you have to be honest with yourself and take their comments with humility. C is really good at putting me in my place.

Recently, in regard to a poster I was making...
T: Hey, can you take a look at this?
C: Sure
T: I want to put points under the title to sum up the whole poster
C: I'm not sure you need summary points because it isn't like there is a lot there

L has also recently come in handy. It also took a while to get used to L's style...

In regard to an email I was writing to an HCI rock star...
T: Hey, can you take a look at this email? I'm not really sure how to phrase it. I'm kind of nervous about how it reads...
T:
L: ok i'm reading... just a sec
L: you're kidding right?

Actually, these comments were in jest, or taken completely out of context. Both C and L are really good editors and help me work through many of the ideas carefully.

I truly believe that having a solid support staff is key to success in writing. Most ideas take a few iterations to make them sound really good.