1 Be social

I decided to place this one the first because one of the main reasons I am leaving this country and this job is the lack of love. Love manifested as positive and meaningful social relationships. Doing a Ph.D. is an already quite isolating job, and in a country like Belgium, or a city like Louvain-La-Neuve, you may find difficulties to find people you connect with. Social isolation and loneliness is an epidemic in individualistic societies. The institutionalized social services take care of those in risk, but the lack of an organic and natural social network can be hugely damaging for individuals and society as a whole. I don’t blame individuals; I think the whole problem is structural. Nevertheless, this is probably not the text to write about it. The thing is, you have a opportunities of socializing every day. Sometimes you will not feel like doing it, but try anyways.

1.1 Make questions to other people

I hope this guide contains some answers to your potential questions. However, feel free of getting to know about your colleagues. Don’t only ask job-related things, you can slightly move to more personal topics. As an ADHD Spaniard, some people find me too straight-forward or weird. Don’t worry much about what other people think, I probably said and did something more stupid than what you may say or do.

1.2 Have coffees, lunch or dinner with your advisor and colleagues

Try to make your breaks as social as possible. If there are people having lunch in the kitchen, pop up. If you have extra-coffee, or extra-tea, offer them a cup. Be proactive and suggest going for lunch or dinner outside the building, and if possible, outside the city. Don’t underestimate the power of social ties.