There are days like these, that suck. Days when you ask yourself, what am I doing here? Days where it seems like the motivation dose they gave you at your scientific baptism (if such a contradictory thing could ever exist) has run out. Not a single drop left.

And even then, you get up, get dressed, hop on the bus and despite the cold and/or not feeling like it, you are already in the lab. And another day starts.

Problem is, those days, you don’t even know where to start, because you don´t even know a reason to do it. One doesn’t get to this point just like this, because of weakness or out of boredom. Most times this is the endpoint of a sequence of disappointments and frustrations that go from failed experiments to internal fights (not inside, but political) stopping on the way in not even being able to perform those experiments because the lab, simply doesn’t run. Machines don’t work, and neither do people who are not dealing with their responsibilities and in the end you stop working too.

The only thing left to do is WAITING.

Wait that, either in a motivational state close to zero you manage to achieve the practical objective you set for yourself (namely, those three letters PhD) or that, by some miraculous formulae (holidays, a change of project, a collaboration, yoga maybe…?) all the reasons you found to get yourself into this, once…and again, grow stronger than the difficulties of the day-to-day and the glass look half full instead of half empty.

Still waiting time. I accept donations, suggestions and advice.

p.s. Killing your boss and/or colleages is not an option. A coup d’état although appealing neither.