Using index cards to help you write

Photo credits to Dustin Wax

I wrote down the ideas for the paper, one per index card.
Next I sorted them, and placed small post-its on the corner with a sequence (#) number (e.g. 1, 2, 2.1, 2.2, 3, ...).
Next I wrote the paper using the index card sequence. I didn't concentrate on the sentence connections that much. I left this for later rewriting.
I reread the paper and rewrote it several times, but the general structure was stable. It allowed me to focus on what I meant at the paragraph level rather than on the order of the paragraphs.
Finally, I wrote a new set of index cards, to summarize the paper contents and help me present the ideas on a meeting.
I felt very productive!

Thanks to Joana for the suggestion!

Why publishing matters?

Some of you might ask: why so much trouble finding about conferences or journals? Can't I just do my job, get my degree and get on with life? Do I really need to write a paper about what I'm doing?

In my experience, publishing is more important than it seems at a first glance. Why? Mainly for two reasons:

1 - When you write down your ideas and work in paper form - with concise, well-written text, and full referencing - you are forced to summarize your ideas and to look at what other people are working on. It makes on focus on what you do better or differently. It makes you distill what you did.

2 - When you share your work with an interested audience, you get feedback from other people that can reason about what you're doing. This enables you to anticipate the criticisms your work will face, and do something about it before it's finished.

Conference posters are more suitable for on-going work, as they maximize the feedback from more diverse people. Conference paper presentations are usually attended by fewer, less diverse people, but the feedback is more focused.

Never forget to make your contacts visible! Sometimes the feedback comes after the conference.

You can also keep a publications page, so that people may easily find your work on the web. However, there must be a disclaimer.