Do you like to drink coffee? Albert does. Sometimes he spends his afternoons in the cafeteria and not in his lab. Still, he considers these moments to be the most productive. Does he usually not work? Learn more, what Albert means in saying this.
I still remember the times as a student. When I went home and met with my friends who did not go to university or when I talked to their parents. Often, a comment about me studying was:”Oh, so you are a student. You must have a nice life. You get up, then you are having lunch and then you go to bed again, so that you are fresh to go out in the evening. Yes, one should be student, too!”. They never understood that this picture does not quite fit the reality. Maybe I took my time to start my days, maybe as a student one has more freedom to decide when to work and when not, but still, how often did they go to bed at four after being in the need to finish another seminar work?”
Now, my friends often shake their heads when I tell what I did at certain days. I remember the last time, when I went to the place where I grew up. I arrived late a Friday evening and went immediately out with some of my long-time friends. They asked me what I did this particular day and I told them:”Hm, what did I do? In the morning I worked on a presentation which I have to give in a few days. In the afternoon I drunk coffee and ate some biscuits, as it sometimes happens.” I said it in a slightly provocative way since I wanted to make fun about the stereotypical view of a student or a young researcher. They reacted in the expected way. They complained that I earn my money with drinking coffee and not doing anything. Then, of course, I had to correct them in parts.
We conducted the conversation over the whole afternoon. It was about own and others ideas, about already published articles, about experimental and theoretical problems and so on. Basically about everything one can think about. The time passed by without us realizing. For some this might seem that we did not do our work and that we were lazy. I, however, consider these to be the most important moments of my scientific work. I receive new stimulations for my work, I obtain new knowledge and more important I learn more about other aspects and views of current problems. I get to know things which usually would have taken me days to research and to read about. My current work receives some challenging comments and I find out about new things to work on. I myself alone would never have been able to push my projects to where they ended without these hours of drinking coffee and discussing.
From time to time so, drinking coffee is a powerful tool in performing successful research. Still, one should not forget that only drinking coffee does not do all the work either. Soon I will drink coffee again. I have gotten an invitation to present my work in the research group which I mentioned shortly earlier. I like coffee without sugar and milk. You see, in the end it is not expensive to invite me. You only need coffee powder, some hot water and not to forget cookies.The rest follows automatically.
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