Tectonics and Structural Geology

The power and pitfalls of compliments

Anne Pluymakers January 19, 2022

Credit: cottonbro. Distributed via Pexels.

Part of a good workplace vibe is good contact between colleagues, as well as good contact between you and your supervisor – or between you and your supervisee. A potentially complex ingredient is the power of compliments. Compliments, per definition, are meant well. However, they can backfire enormously, when they are not received in the spirit in which they are meant. Additionally, part of being ...[Read More]

Mind your Head: Five tips on mindful productivity at work

Elenora van Rijsingen July 15, 2021

Photo from the page of a book, with an out of focus green background. The text on the page reads: 'Productivity, making the hours in the day go further. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing - Steven Covey'.

Productivity. 'The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing' - Steven Covey. Credit: Krisna Iv. Distributed via Unsplash

This Mind your Head blog post is a follow-up from Maria Scheel’s talk during the latest short course around mental health at #vEGU21. Before guiding a wonderful mindfulness pop-up event, Maria talked about how she struggled with unrealistic expectations, feeling insufficient and alone as a PhD student during the last lockdown. She turned this around by radically redefining her motivation, goals an ...[Read More]

Mind your Head: An introduction to Workplace Bullying in Academia

Simone Pieber, Elenora van Rijsingen, Derya Gürer and Anouk Beniest March 24, 2021

Credit: Dan Meyers. Distributed via Unsplash

Understanding workplace aggression is a complex matter, and many questions arise when trying to tackle the issue. For instance, which acts and behaviours classify as workplace aggression, and when does something become workplace bullying or mobbing? How can you recognize if you or a co-worker/friend are the target of workplace aggression? How can you protect yourself and/or support others? What ca ...[Read More]

Mind your Head: Taking care of yourself during the Corona-virus crisis – Part 2

Anne Pluymakers and Hannah Davies December 11, 2020

Credit: Bongkarn Thanyakij. Distributed via Pexels

It has been many months since the first lockdown, in some countries about a year, in other countries perhaps eight months. A continuing learning curve, with many ups and downs. Now the end is slowly appearing on the horizon, with promises of vaccines, and several countries making definite plans on when and how to vaccinate. Still – it will take at least 6 months, quite possibly more, until it is o ...[Read More]

Mind your head: Overcoming Anxiety

Jean Holloway November 18, 2020

Credit: Suzy Hazelwood. Distributed via Pexels

This Mind Your Head blog post is a follow-up from Jean Holloway’s talk during the online short course on mental health that aired during the last EGU General Assembly, where she discussed overcoming anxiety. Anxiety is excessive worry or fear, and is a normal part of life, until it becomes frequent or debilitating. This post is written by someone with lived experience as an academic who struggled ...[Read More]

Mind your head: The Imposter Syndrome

Anne Pluymakers July 3, 2020

Credit: Bich Tran. Distributed via Pexels

This Mind Your Head blog post is a follow-up from one of the talks during the online short course on mental health that aired during the last EGU General Assembly. Imposter syndrome is about the feeling of being afraid to be found to be an imposter. Note that I do not claim to be an expert; in the following, I simply list a few tricks that help me, and people I have talked to, to find their way i ...[Read More]

Mind your head: Taking care of yourself during the Corona-virus crisis

Anne Pluymakers March 17, 2020

Credit: Bongkarn Thanyakij. Distributed via Pexels

By now more and more countries in Europe are hit by the Corona-virus, leading to increasingly strict measures and closures of many public places. We are being asked or obliged to work from home, to limit social contact by staying away from bars, restaurants, sports clubs, museums, theatres and all other places where gatherings of people take place. Simultaneously, we continue to receive worrying m ...[Read More]

Mind Your Head #4: Job uncertainty in academia – know your strengths and possibilities!

Elenora van Rijsingen July 27, 2018

Credit: Bigstockphoto

Mind Your Head is a blog series dedicated towards addressing mental health in the academic environment and highlighting solutions relieving stress in daily academic life. In the three previous blog post of this ‘Mind your head’ series, we discussed the importance of communication with fellow ECS, time management, and a healthy relationship with your advisors. However, there is one big source of st ...[Read More]

Mind your head #3: A healthy relationship with your advisor

Elenora van Rijsingen July 11, 2018

Credit: Pexels

Mind Your Head is a blog series dedicated towards addressing mental health in the academic environment and highlighting solutions relieving stress in daily academic life. Besides the professional environment in general, the relationship between early career researchers and their advisors also plays an important role in the degree of stress researchers might experience. This relationship does not o ...[Read More]

Mind your head #2: The importance of time management in academia

Elenora van Rijsingen June 20, 2018

Time management tools. Credit: Pexel

Mind Your Head is a blog series dedicated towards addressing mental health in the academic environment and highlighting solutions relieving stress in daily academic life. An important struggle of people working in academia is how to complete all the different tasks in the limited time available. Even though time management is important for almost any type of career, the degree of freedom in academ ...[Read More]