2021: Does Organizing My Notion Count as Research?

Asking for a friend.

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The Honest Question

Year three of a PhD has a particular flavor. You know enough to know how much you don’t know. You’ve been humbled by failed experiments, by papers you couldn’t understand, by reviewers who saw through arguments you thought were airtight.

And sometimes — more often than you’d like to admit — you find yourself reorganizing your Notion workspace for the third time instead of writing.

This is not unique to me. I think it’s a fairly universal PhD experience. The question is what you do with it.

What I Actually Did

I made real progress in 2021. My research direction sharpened, I got better at scientific writing, and I started contributing meaningfully to projects rather than just assisting.

I also attended AACR and ISMB, conferences that remind you that science is a community — that the papers you read were written by people who are just as confused and excited as you are.

Music

2021 was a good year for music too. Some highlights from the sessions:

• I’ll Be Around
• Astair
• Radioactive
• Rivers and Roads
• I’ll Follow You Into the Dark

The Real Answer

Does organizing your Notion count as research?

No. But knowing why you’re avoiding the real work — that’s useful data. 2021 taught me to be honest with myself about the difference between productive preparation and productive procrastination.

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Up next: 2022 — I like to learn deeply →