productivity Archives - Notes from the Apotheke

October 19, 2023October 17, 2023

Why I Don’t Use Citation Managers

It wasn’t until I tried using a citation manager that I realized that I am not a citation manager person.

No, I won’t apologize for my choices, or my opinions about citation managers. And I can honestly say that I made it to the end of my PhD without changing my mind.

One additional caveat: despite my anti-citation manager stance, I have no problem with people who use them! You do you! Everyone’s experience with them is different, and I 100% can accept that. Hopefully you can, too. Otherwise, I’m not sure why you’re here.

So, why don’t I use a citation manager? Read on to find out!

Black woman wearing dark glasses and a black turtleneck working on a computer at a table.

February 23, 2023February 12, 2023

6 Things I Learned While Finishing My Dissertation

Do you ever look back on your grad school journey and wonder how the heck you made it so far? Well, now that I’ve successfully defended my dissertation, that’s where I’m at.

I’m not sure how I made it through the last seven years. I do, however, have a better sense of what it took to finish the dissertation. In this post, I am sharing 6 things I learned in the last few months of writing my dissertation.

Black woman with curly black hair and wearing a black turtleneck and sweater sitting in front of an open laptop

December 1, 2022October 18, 2022

Google Calendar vs Notion: Which is Better for your Workflow?

It’s no secret that Notion has become a popular digital tool over the past few years – a quick search for it on Youtube yields thousands of videos. Most of them praise the app and offer detailed tutorials and aesthetic templates.

But is it better than Google Calendar? Would you use it? Should you?

In this post, we’ll compare Google Calendar and Notion. We’ll go over the strengths and weaknesses of each, so that you can make the best choice for you. After that, you’ll (hopefully) have a better handle on all the things going on in your (personal and professional) life.

March 3, 2022February 28, 2022

Scrivener vs Word vs Google Docs: Which is Best for Thesis Writing?

Given the choice between Scrivener, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs, which would you choose?

Institutions are pretty strict about the format in which a thesis should be submitted. However, there are no rules about what word processing application you can use during the writing process.

How you decide which application to use depends primarily on your budget, your writing style, and what features you need.

In this post, we’ll compare Scrivener, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs. We’ll go over the strengths and weaknesses of each, so that you can make the best choice for you. After that, your thesis writing process will (hopefully) be smooth sailing.

March 11, 2021March 10, 2021

Burnout is Different for BIPOC

I bet we’ve all heard at least once in the past year that “your worth isn’t tied to your productivity.” The idea is that you shouldn’t let your work consume you to the point of burnout, which negatively affects all aspects of your health.

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.

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It’s easy to say that “your worth isn’t tied to your productivity,” but much, much harder to put that idea into practice.

This is especially true when we’re inundated daily with posts on social media that make us feel like we aren’t doing enough, even when we feel good about the (quality and quantity of) work we’re doing.