This week, let me introduce you to Alankrita Rani, an inspiring mind and PhD student in pharmacology at the University of Medicine of Graz, Austria. When I first met Alankrita a year ago, she was struggling with a crippling writer’s block. She had to write a review article, but she didn’t know where to start and felt overwhelmed by the task. Fast forward to today, Alankrita has not only submitted three review papers, but she has grown to love writing scientific papers so much that she now has to remind herself to return to her lab work! In this interview, I asked her how she managed to turn her writing challenges into opportunities and to share her inspiring story and insatiable curiosity.
During our conversation, we explore her journey from India’s countryside to Austria’s university halls, her battles with perfectionism, and her strategies for overcoming the obstacles to writing. We also review the tools that helped her craft compelling review papers, her active participation in scientific organizations, how she designs her free time to recharge her batteries, and her experiences with impostor syndrome and the persistent feeling of never doing enough. I hope you’ll find this conversation as interesting and enjoyable as I have.
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References from the interview
Tools to write better
- ChatGPT
- DeepL Write
- The “Scientific Writing Made Easy” online course
- Free-writing
On taking breaks and relaxation methods
- Ted talk on “The 7 types of Rest that Every Person Needs“
- Andrew Huberman’s non-sleep deep rest videos
On the concept of slow productivity
- Read Cal Newport’s book “Slow Productivity” or, for a shorter version, listen to him being interviewed by Adam Grant
