** In Collaboration**  Ph.D. students have, in general, got it rough. Not only do we have to work hard day and night studying esoteric papers, but there’s comparatively little support out there for people in our position. One area, in particular, is underserved: that of the humble Ph.D. office. While Google and Facebook install helter-skelters and ball pits for their colleagues, most Ph.D. students have to make do with their bedroom in rented accommodation – and environment which may not be suited to profound intellectual endeavor. Writing a thesis is a surprisingly laborious process. It’s not just 50,000 words. Anybody with a couple of brain cells to rub together can write something of that length if they put their minds to it. It’s 50,000 words of original material which adds to the body of human knowledge – a much more trying task. Not all people who enroll in Ph.D. programs make it through to the end in one piece. However, one thing that Ph.D. students can do is use the insights gleaned from companies over the years for what constitutes a productive office environment. Firms have worked out, mostly through trial and error, that if they change their offices in specific ways, they can make their workers more productive, happier, and stick around longer. Do you want to be more productive while writing your Ph.D.?  Do you want to be happier?  Do you want to stick around and complete your […]

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