Reconsidering the two blogs posted before - navigating the tension

I reconsidered the questions I asked in the last two blogs while coding for my co-op work today.

Yesterday’s thought was too extreme. Scientific research pursues objectivity, but this does not mean that researchers’ subjectivity should be completely erased. On the contrary, many major scientific breakthroughs have stemmed from researchers’ unique perspectives and ways of thinking. Even those in the early stages of their research careers may discover new insights through their distinct approaches. It is possible to incorporate personal characteristics into academic writing while maintaining scholarly standards. Although writing an article for a specific tool may seem less subjective, I may consider how to strike this balance in other articles in the future.

There’s no need to be overly stressed when being asked pragmatic questions. Understanding the basic requirements of some certain journals before writing may aid in building the structure of my article. During the writing process, I can still maintain my enthusiasm and thinking about the research itself and embody them into the writings. They are not exactly against each other. There has to be a balance between the two. I hope to preserve this mindset while gradually finding my own way to navigate the tension between ideals and reality.

This struggle between ideals and reality seems to be a constant theme in my life.

A more integrative mindset is needed — striving to create my own space while understanding the reality. And I guess I’ve already started, even though I haven’t yet overcome the discomfort. Like when I revised the NSFC grant proposal, I changed much content from simply “following the pipelines” to “combining more appropriate methods to interpret specific phenotypes”. Since I’ve already been doing this in practice, this stress response is, in a way, also a driving force pushing me forward.

However, what I perhaps need to learn is how to prevent these kind of stress and discomfort from seeping into every aspect of my life. For instance, during the days I spent writing the NSFC grant proposal, I found myself utterly drained by the process, leaving me unable to engage in the things I usually enjoy. This profound exhaustion affected my quality of life, which in turn intensified my discomfort with the task itself, thus creating a vicious cycle, an overwhelming sense of mental and physical fatigue from which I struggled to escape.

On closer examination, this impact largely manifests in the way my energy and attention are distributed. I often say that I do not see “work” as something separate from my “life” (so there is no such thing as “work-life balance” in my world), but that is mainly because I enjoy doing scientific research and integrate my scientific curiosity and thinking into various aspects of my daily life. However, there are times, such as working on mechanical, co-op projects or writing grant proposals like I did recently — when these tasks do not fall within the category of “the scientific research I enjoy”. Perhaps I should treat this type of work as something external to my personal life, in the way that most people view their jobs. Maybe I need to establish a clear “transition ritual” — some kind of structured activity to help me shift gears at the end of a workday. A psychological marker, so to speak, to signify that “working hours are over”.

Another strategy that comes to mind is the physical separation of spaces. Doing different tasks in different locations could help prevent mechanical, reality-bound work from completely draining me. Unfortunately, in my dormitory, I am constantly at risk of being interrupted by my roomates, which makes the space feel less secure to do the things I enjoy. Perhaps I should explore the possibility of “mobile learning”, even though I am not particularly fond of carrying my laptop around. But there is no harm in giving it a try — entering a new environment, cultivating a different mindset, and immersing myself in the things I want to do.

Ultimately, whatever approach I take, the core aim is to establish clearer boundaries, to confine those uncomfortable emotions towards tasks bond with realistic and pragmatic goals to a specific time and space, rather than allowing them to permeate every corner of my life.