在讀研究生的最初幾個月，我每周都要為一件事情苦惱：坐在電腦前，給導師寫一份每周工作進展匯報。很多時候，我不知道該寫什么，我認為沒有足夠多的工作可以匯報。我的壓力因此飆升！為了有東西可以匯報，我就開始做實驗。但是，在我博士快要畢業(yè)的時候，我意識到“每周工作進展匯報”并不一定要包含大量的數(shù)據(jù)；相反，我們可以利用匯報的機會來梳理和完善（研究）思路，并從導師那里獲得反饋意見。我很高興我的導師要求我們每周匯報工作。
我從我的祖國印度尼西亞來到日本，并逐漸習慣了日本的研究和培訓范式。在我攻讀碩士學位的時候，我的研究結(jié)構(gòu)比較單一，我也只在有疑問的時候才去找我的導師。但是，這帶來了一系列的問題——例如，當我快要畢業(yè)的時候，我還沒有完成我原來想做的所有工作。盡管如此，我也覺得很正常。
但在日本，我驚訝地得知我應(yīng)該每周匯報我的工作進展。他們沒有告訴我要匯報哪些內(nèi)容；因此，在我思考研究方向和設(shè)計實驗的那一段時間，我會寫下我的一些新想法或?qū)嶒炗媱?。但是，當我看到實驗室同伴的進展報告時，我很快就感到了壓力，決定匯報一些更實質(zhì)性的東西，這促使我以更快的速度投入實驗工作。
我開始每周做實驗，通常在我每周發(fā)送工作郵件之前的 2 -3天內(nèi)將它們整理在一起。雖然（有些）實驗結(jié)果還可以，但是我感覺僅僅是因為自己幸運，而且感覺自己很草率。在一次組會上，我的導師責罵一名實驗室同事，因為他糟糕的實驗設(shè)計，導致時間、精力和金錢的浪費。聽了之后，我覺得我自己做的大部分工作也是如此（浪費時間、精力和金錢）！看來有些事情需要改變了。
我意識到在研究項目設(shè)計期間的工作匯報可以成為一個樣板：一個可以作為基礎(chǔ)并進一步發(fā)展的樣板。當時，我并沒有在（給導師的）郵件中介紹細節(jié)，因為我覺得那些（實驗）想法和計劃不是什么重大成就。但是在經(jīng)過一次又一次的實驗失敗之后，我發(fā)現(xiàn)（在開始實驗之前）制定詳細的計劃十分重要。
雖然我不知道導師會對我的實驗設(shè)計做出什么樣的反應(yīng)，但是我覺得值得試一下。在接下來的幾周里，我閱讀了文獻并思考了我的項目目標。當我把讀過的文獻以及我的想法通過郵件發(fā)給導師的時候，我很緊張，因為我沒有提供具體的數(shù)據(jù)。但是令我欣慰的是，我的導師并沒有反對。有一次，我發(fā)送了一份工作匯報郵件，列出了一個通過閱讀文獻而設(shè)計的實驗方法，我的一位導師（收到郵件后立即）聯(lián)系了另一位具有相關(guān)專業(yè)知識的教授尋求建議。（該教授的建議）比我自己（查閱文獻）使我們更快地決定是否使用該方法。
對實驗結(jié)果的擴展性思維不僅讓我感覺更有效率，并且使我更深入考慮相關(guān)的主題。因此，我的研究變得越來越有效率，實驗中遇到的死胡同也越來越少了。我還意識到，在每周匯報中寫出詳細的想法和計劃也為我自己深入了解這些結(jié)果提供了寶貴的機會，而且有助于我更自信地接近我的導師，并與他們進行更有成效的討論。
隨著時間的推移，我開始將“每周工作進展匯報”視為一種工具，而不是一種負擔。我將匯報視為一種逐步架構(gòu)我的研究故事的工具，并在此過程中激發(fā)導師提供建設(shè)性的反饋意見。
在我離開博士實驗室的那天，我做了一件我進入這個實驗室最初半年從未想過的一些事情：我感謝我的教授們每周要求匯報工作的傳統(tǒng)，這些工作匯報就像一顆顆小石子，逐步堆積建成了一個樓梯，幫助我獲得了博士學位。
英文原文
My Ph.D. advisers expected weeklyprogress reports. I’m glad they did
During my early months of graduateschool, I struggled with a weekly task: sitting down at my computer and writingan update for my advisers. More often than not, I felt stuck. I didn’t knowwhat to write because I didn’t think I had done enough work worth sharing. Mystress level skyrocketed, and I started to do experiments just for the sake ofhaving something to report. It was the perfect recipe for making no progress.But by the end of my program, I realized the weekly updates didn’t need to bepacked with data and accomplishments. Instead, they could serve as a tool torefine my thinking and get the feedback I needed. I was glad my advisersrequired them.
I had moved to Japan from my homecountry of Indonesia, where I was accustomed to a different research andtraining culture. When I pursued my master’s degree there, my research was muchless structured and I only went to my adviser when I had questions or problems.That presented its own set of issues—for example, when my graduation deadlinecrept up on me, I hadn’t yet completed everything I wanted to. Still, it waswhat I was used to.
In Japan, I was surprised to learn thatI was expected to update my advisers on a weekly basis. They didn’t tell mewhat details to report. So, while I was coming up with my research questionsand study design, I wrote brief updates about any new ideas or experimentalplans I had in mind. But seeing the progress my lab mates were reporting, Isoon felt pressure to communicate something more substantive. That spurred meto dive into experimental work faster than I should have.
I started to do experiments each week,usually frantically putting them together during the 2 or 3 days leading up tomy weekly email. The experiments worked, but I had a nagging feeling I wasgetting lucky and that eventually I’d be discovered for being sloppy. Duringone group meeting, my adviser scolded a lab member for wasting time, energy,and money on a poorly designed experiment. The same could be said for much ofmy work up to that point, I knew. Something needed to change.
I realized my earliest reports, duringthe time I’d spent planning my project, could be a model—one that I could buildand expand on. I hadn’t gone into much detail in those emails because ideas andplans didn’t strike me as significant accomplishments. But after stumblingthrough experiment after experiment, I came to see that there was real value inlaying out detailed plans.
I wasn’t sure how my advisers wouldrespond if I reverted to the experimental design stage, but I decided it wasworth a try. I spent the weeks that followed reading papers and thinking aboutthe big picture goals of my project. I was nervous when I wrote my first emailupdate listing all the papers I’d read and ideas I’d explored—but lackingconcrete data. To my relief, my advisers didn’t object. After one report, whichfocused on papers I’d combed to figure out the right method for oneexperimental step, one of my advisers reached out to another professor who hadrelevant expertise to ask for advice. That helped me make a final decision onmy method more quickly than I would have on my own.
Expanding my idea of progress helped mefeel more productive and gave me the intellectual space to explore topics moredeeply. My research became more efficient and I ran into fewer dead ends. Ialso realized that writing out detailed ideas and plans in the weekly updatesprovided a valuable opportunity to articulate them for myself, which helped meapproach my advisers more confidently and engage in more productivediscussions.
Over time, I began to see the updatesnot as a burden, but as the tool they are intended to be—to gradually build thechapters of my research story, and to spur constructive feedback from mentorsalong the way.
On my last day in my Ph.D. lab, I didsomething I never could have foreseen during the first 6 months: I thanked myprofessors for the lab tradition of weekly progress reports. It helped mecollect the small stones I ultimately used to construct the stairs to my Ph.D.
