Just when I thought

In preparation for SfN I have been working more than twice my usual hours and not surprisingly, making weeks' worth of progress in a few days. As a graduate student there is a lot of latitude with respect to working hours, but all students regardless of whether they are working hard, or hardly working cannot but feel the inescapable feeling of guilt. We often feel that like Boxer in Animal Farm we must constantly promise "I will work harder!".

After having got not much sleep in the past few days reading this article from Nature makes me feel better about my usual lifestyle and suggests that my current 'overdrive mode' might not be too productive in the long run.

This article from Nature Jobs writes:

"Ernest Rutherford once asked a student who was working one evening whether he also worked in the mornings. The student proudly answered yes. "But when do you think?" Rutherford replied. He was convinced that the creative scientists spent evenings and holidays relaxing with their families, and imposed strict limits on the hours his students worked. A high proportion of them went on to win Nobel prizes."