Being an early career researcher presents unique challenges. Let us take some of the stress away. We’ve got so many articles on the MDPI Blog, with excellent advice about how to advance in your field. Take a look at our overview article on early career researchers to get started.

There is a lot of pressure to publish your work and make a name for yourself. The publishing process alone can be very stressful, especially waiting for decisions on your work or for it to finally be published!

Most MDPI journals have individual mean processing times. This is dependent on various factors, including peer review decisions and the paperwork being submitted correctly. For example, Sustainability currently has a mean processing time of around 16.7 days after submission. All MDPI journals have this information displayed on their websites by the “Rapid Publication” bullet point.

Here on the blog, we try to make the publication process as simple as possible. Being early on in your research career presents unique challenges. Let us take some of the stress away. We’ve got many articles on the MDPI Blog with excellent advice on how to advance in your field.

We have also written various posts about the process, including What Does My MDPI Manuscript Status Mean? and Guide to MDPI submission process. But if you’ve already read up on these posts and are still feeling anxious about waiting, we have some fun ideas that may help you pass the time.

Forget the Stress and Enjoy Your Free Time!

Being an early career researcher can be time-consuming and can affect your work-life balance. Most have a strong desire to prove themselves and make an impact, which can end up taking up a lot of time. It’s important that you still participate in other activities outside of work, whether this is a new or old hobby or catching up with friends.

This can also help with any problems you may be having with your research by giving your brain a rest. It could even inspire new ideas and help you problem-solve.

Arrange a games night/activity for your new co-workers

Karaoke can be a fun and stimulating way to reduce stress levels and connect with other work colleagues. Singing has been referred to as the world’s most accessible stress reliever. It stimulates both parts of the brain at the same time in ways that other forms of communication can’t.  Speaking stimulates the area of the brain associated with language, the left hemisphere. Whereas, singing stimulates both the left and right hemispheres. The right hemisphere is in control of pitch and melody.

Singing stimulates areas of the brain that simply listening to music doesn’t. Because of this, it’s been shown that singing can have some fascinating advantages. Singing increases the firing of neurons in the brain, resulting in an increased release of endorphins. This reduces stress and improves your overall mood. In addition, singing can also stimulate the immune response and increase your pain threshold.

So why not give karaoke a go; it may help to open your mind to new ideas and at the very least it’s a fun way to spend the evening.

Benefits of game nights with co-workers

As an early career researcher, you’re most likely a new member of staff. Being part of and attending game nights with co-workers can have many benefits. This includes improving co-worker relationships by forming stronger connections. This may result in more collaboration and finding common research areas. In addition, strengthening co-worker relationships can increase the amount of support you receive in the workplace and can create a healthy work environment, increasing productivity.

Regulate Stress through Sport activities

A simple way to reduce anxiety is to go outside and do some physical activity. Physical activity has been proven to reduce both depression and anxiety symptoms. Exercise also improves sleep quality. It helps to manage stress and anxiety by physically releasing cortisol, which helps to regulate stress. Walking is the easiest, most accessible form of exercise. It can help to improve oxygen circulation throughout the body, which can boost energy levels.

Swimming to reduce stress

There are many activities that have been proven to reduce stress. Swimming is a great way to keep fit and keep anxiety levels low. It has a range of benefits including boosting blood flow in the brain, which can improve brain health. it has been shown that simply being in water can improve blood circulation in the brain. Swimming has a soothing and relaxing effect on the body, this is because that water has on our mental health. It’s suggested that those living closer to the coast have increased levels of health and mental well-being.

Group activities

Organizing sports activities are a great use of any extra time you may have. Sports have obvious health and mental health benefits. It’s also a great outlet for stress release and can encourage teamwork.

Why not think outside the box when it comes to physical exercise? Instead of looking at the usual team sports, why not try something different? In recent years, ultimate frisbee has been increasing in popularity. Ultimate frisbee is a fun way to do a full-body workout and improve agility. Furthermore, you can play ultimate frisbee anywhere, and can be a fun way to socialize with friends.

Summary

it’s crucial that you look after your health and mental health. A healthy mind is a productive one. Creating a balance between your work and personal life is important for this. Building strong co-worker relationships can encourage collaboration and result in new and exciting projects.