PhD Tips: Essential Lab Supplies

As they say on Masterchef, “Preparation is everything” and the same goes for a PhD. Whether you’re just on the brink of your new journey, or slogging it out in the middle phase, taking the time to stockpile key supplies will pay dividends in those moments of need. So take note of a few of the things I simply couldn’t be without in the lab!

A filing system that works (and that you actually understand!)
PhDs typically start as they mean to go on – with a constant stream of paperwork. Hit the ground running by getting organised. Clear some good shelf space for yourself and fill it with ring binders, lever arch files, magazine files, whatever works for you. Have separate areas for key papers, results, correspondence and departmental admin. A roll of sticky labels will be very useful here.

Your year at a glance
Don’t rely on setting reminders on your phone or iPad – you need to be able to see the whole year at a glance so that you can plan your experiments around other events and commitments.  Whether you do it old school on a paper wall planner or get to grips with Google Calendar, put in key dates as soon as possible (conferences, training days, etc.) You don’t want to find you’re not in the country the day your major experiment is due to actually give you some results….

Your own ‘drawer of everything’, preferably with a lock on it
We all know that, lovely as everyone in your lab is, the distinction between communal items and personal can be blurred at times. Like Noah and his Ark, assemble your own private repository of all that’s vital for your work, saving you from countless frustrated occasions when the communal version doesn’t work, or has run out, or goes missing. Unexciting as these items may be, you will thank yourself time and again for stockpiling them upfront:

• A GOOD Stapler (you know the difference between “good” and “Poundland”!)
• A four-hole hole punch
• Polyfiles (for your exquisite filing system)
• Post-it notes
• Paper clips
• Scissors and glue
• Highlighters and permanent markers
• Spare pair of glasses (especially applicable to me!)

Tea!
A great thing about the British mentality is the persistent belief that few things can’t be improved with a hot beverage. Hopefully, your lab will have a communal stash but here we’re talking about brews to savour, not a quick thirst quencher between experiments. You know what you like – whether it’s the finest Arabica coffee, Twining’s Peppermint and Liquorice (an acquired taste I’ve found) or Galaxy hot chocolate, make sure you’ve got enough if it! Biscuits are, of course, a natural accompaniment here. If you’re fortunate to work in a more tropical climate, you might want to try a variation on this idea: a freezer full of ice cream.

Thermal mug
For transporting those aforementioned hot beverages to lab meetings, seminars and coffee breaks. Beware of cheap ones made of flimsy plastic.

Fridge magnets
Labs are distinct from more standard workplaces in that a lot of the surfaces are often magnetic.  This gives you the perfect opportunity to surround yourself with reminders of what really matters in life. Perhaps your lab has already started a tradition of amassing fridge magnets from overseas conferences or holidays? If not, start your own collection, including ones from vacations and family photos. Either way, they serve as cheap but personal windows into the world outside your theses.

Motivation statement
It’s difficult to fall into a PhD by accident – so there must be some reason why you took it up in the first place. While you’re still fresh with enthusiasm (or even if you’re not), take a moment to list all the reasons why you got into this (or at least why you wouldn’t want to be doing a real job instead!) Keep it somewhere handy for those long, dark days when meaningful data seems a long time in coming…

And finally…something for those ‘argh!’ moments
The freezer was left open and your samples defrosted. The PCR machines are booked up until the middle of next month. Biocontrol failed and your plants are being killed off by mould. Things will go wrong and there will be moments when all you want to do is scream, so have something ready to diffuse the angst. Stress squeezers are one strategy, or you could use the funniest pictures the internet can provide. There’s no shame in finding solace in a lolbunnies or lolcats montage, or the brilliantly apt PhD Comics. Use anything you can to raise a smile and help restore your perspective, after all, it’s really not the end of the world.

Caroline Wood is midway through a PhD studying parasitic weeds at the University of Sheffield. When she’s not agonising over her experiments, she loves to write and will cover most scientific topics if they stay still long enough. In her spare time, she enjoys helping at public outreach events, hill walking and escapism at the cinema. She blogs at http://scienceasadestiny.blogspot.co.uk/