What? Now that I have completed my third week of my Laidlaw project, I can officially say that I am over halfway through! This is very exciting, but also bittersweet, because I have been having such a fun time in Durham working on my project and also taking part in other studies within the psychology department.

This week my reflection focuses on my Laidlaw experience so far, especially the social aspect, which is less advertised when applying.

Having spoken to people in Durham on other research projects through the summer this week, I realised how fortunate we are as a Laidlaw cohort to have so many social opportunities. While the compulsory sessions are a fantastic opportunity to take a break from work and interact with our cohort, the socials arranged by our ‘social team’ have perfectly broken up my weeks, allowing me an opportunity to relax in a completely non-work environment, with likeminded peers. This week, the social was a wig social, with everyone split into teams and trying to earn points. While I do drink, the social was fantastic for those who don’t as well, and the atmosphere was incredibly warm and welcoming.

So what? While on the surface it may appear that this reflection is not directly related to my project, or even really the Laidlaw program, the benefits from this socialisation are the important part that I have been able to carry into my project. As I mentioned last week, my workload has significantly increased, but having social breaks has reduced my stress (especially when faced with challenging scenarios, such as 3 participants cancelling last minute!).

As well as this, it is scientifically proven that taking breaks can improve recall, which aids the writing of reports, and also the application of tasks during my project. Personally, I also find that having clear social plans motivates me to continue working, so that I feel prouder and more accomplished when I am socialising, once again increasing both the quality and quantity of work that I am doing.

Now what? As a result of the success of my socialising, I plan to continue attending all social opportunities until other people start to go home, and then I will endeavour to meet with those who remain until I too am off.