Category Archives: Mentoring

Capture Idea Effortlessly with Funnel App

Posted on by
Reply

The best capture tool is the one you have with you…at all times. These days, this most probably means your smartphone. Welcome to NoteSight Labs iOS Funnel App. This small app, written by software engineer Dharam Kapila, sits as a widget on your lock screen to be called upon by tapping on the funnel icon (see left image below).

Funnel App icon on the right below the time
All capture options: text, photo, voice, scan or more.
Possible destination Apps. You can customize (see text)

Funnel makes capture idea, tasks and other “inputs” (middle image above) on the fly extremely easy and once that capture is done, you a second click away from your destination (right image above), which can also be configured. In my case, I have two main Inboxes for quick capturing: on in my task manager (Apple Reminder or Things 3: both in the Inbox) and one in my document manager (DEVONThink, using the global Inbox).

The App further support Apple Advanced Data Protection for end-to-end encryption when using iCloud and the Pro version cost 19.99$/year for unlimited capture and access to new feature as they rollout. Since purchasing this app, I have seen frequent update justifying its 1.67$/month no issue.

There you have it, everyday on the fly capture with almost no friction.

Opportunités MSc-PhD CAMPEP en Physique Médicale

Posted on by
Reply

Multiples ouvertures pour des projets de 2e (maitrise) et 3e cycle (PhD) portant sur des applications de concepts de physique, de génie et des méthodes numériques à la médecine dans le cadre de notre programme CAMPEP en physique médicale. Venez vous joindre à une équipe inclusive et diverse de plus de 25 personnes étudiantes et stagiaires postdoctoraux, et 24 physicien.ne.s médicaux. Vous aurez accès à de multiples plateformes de hautes technologies modernes (incluant un IRM-Linac), un milieu dynamique et interdisciplinaire avec de nombreuses occasions de présentations, collaborations et réseautage au niveau local, national et international. Une grande latitude vous sera accordée pour développer diverses compétences professionnelles selon vos objectifs.

Nous recherchons des personnes qui ont complété un diplôme de 1er cycle universitaire en physique ou génie physique, ayant une moyenne minimum de B ou l’équivalent. De plus, les qualités suivantes seront considérées comme des atouts :

  • Un intérêt démontré pour la science expérimentale ou la science numérique.
  • Une maîtrise des outils d’analyse numérique (Python, C/C++, etc.).
  • Un bon niveau d’autonomie.
  • Le désir de travailler dans un environnement multidisciplinaire.

Pour postuler, remplir ce formulaire en ligne https://forms.office.com/r/GHek4JTt8G : vous y déposerez un seul fichier PDF incluant dans l’ordre : 1) une lettre de motivation expliquant votre parcours avec les défis que vous avez relevés et vos intérêts de recherche (type de projet, sujets, etc.), 2) un CV et 3) tous vos relevés de notes de niveau universitaire. Pour questions : luc[dot]beaulieu@phy[dot]ulaval[dot]ca. Nous accepterons les candidatures jusqu’au 18 octobre 2024.

*Pour les personnes éligibles désirant postuler aux concours de bourses du CRSNG et FRQ de l’automne, il nous fera plaisir de vous parrainer. Dans ce cas, s.v.p. contactez-nous directement le plus rapidement possible et avant le 24 septembre (pour respecter les limites des organismes).

** Note that our CAMPEP graduate program is a French speaking program. While the research section can be conducted in English, teaching and interaction with the clinical staff are conducted in French and the willingness to acquire a basic proficiency in French is mandatory.

Annonce MSc-PhD Fr 2025Download

Being Busy – Being Productive

Posted on by
Reply

Let’s make something clear, being busy is extremely easy and can be achieved with very little effort. You can make up an almost infinite task list of trivial things that at the end of the day will have filled your working hours, maybe even overtime, but did not moved the bar much on the really important things, either at work or at home.

Being busy does not equal being productive and, vice versa, being productive does not mean to always be super busy.

As I wrote previously: productivity is doing the most appropriate task (and thus advancing the most appropriate project) at any given moment in the situation you are in. Being productive required conscious decision-making…and (some) effort.

It might very well be that the best thing to do at a given moment is nothing! Just relax, recharge and take the long walk or jog in fresh air. It might just generate that new cool idea or solve that nagging issue with an innovative solution.

In How to clam your mind, Chris Bailey further described the art of productivity as “knowing when we should care about productivity in the first place”.

Which one of these have you been today: busy or productive? Are you in a situation where you can with confidence select the most appropriate course of action at any given time (mostly)?

Looking back at our 2023 Medical Physics Program

Posted on by
1

“In looking back, I see nothing to regret and little to correct.” 
John C. Calhoun

2023 was a spectacular year for our CAMPEP medical physics graduate program. We have graduated a record number of 13 students, 4 PhD and 9 masters (a few photos of PhD thesis defenses and master colloquium are given below). The majority in both categories were women, by the way. 

From 2011, the first year of accreditation, to 2018, only two out of 16 PhD graduates were women while master graduates were about 50-50. In the last 5 years, 8 out of 11 PhD graduates were women.  This year, the radiation physics graduate course was the most diverse ever with students from 6 countries and, for two of the last three years, a majority of women (cf. top right photo)!

This is interesting on many fronts. First, as a program sitting in the Faculty of Sciences and Engineering (we are part of the physics and physics engineering department), Medical Physics standout for being a diverse, inclusive and welcoming environment for graduate students. At the same time, it is recognized to be a tougher program than a regular physics master program due to its enhanced course curriculum combined to the same research requirement. Second, Quebec City is still not a major destination for immigration (while it is for tourisms) and immigration makes for only 7-8% of its population (will see the progression when we have access to the most recent statistics): harsh winter but mainly language (French) is a major barrier for many. So our natural catch basin, at least at the undergraduate level, from the Eastern Quebec is rather quite homogeneous to start with. 

I have been extremely happy by our out-of-country students’ ability to learn French quickly and being able to follow graduate courses and interact with our RadOnc department staff in French within their first year. Some have presented their master colloquium in French and even wrote their thesis in French!

Kudos to all of the Faculty (most appear on the photo in the bottom left) who contributed to this success.

Figure: Thesis defense and master colloquium (upper left quadrant), Fall 2023 radiation physics course (upper right quadrant), our university hospital medical physics teams and Faculty as of Summer 2023 (incomplete – lower left quadrant) and our trainees contingent from undergraduate students to postdoctoral fellows, Spring 2023 (lower right quadrant).

The power of the yearly review – a 2022 update

Posted on by
1

GTD methodology call of frequent review of projects and associated task lists. In fact, the whole system crumbles if this critical operation is not performed regularly; you need to trust that it contains everything in order to make the right decision at the right time with regard to which task(s) to take on at any given moment and not miss anything. This is the goal of the weekly review.

However to enable you to make these daily decisions that move you toward a larger goal, the latter needs to be established up front and also revised on a regular basis. Enter the yearly review!

While, you may want to review your short-term goal(s) on a more frequent basis, the yearly review is a time to perform a few key tasks, which you might want to incorporate into a yearly maintenance project that contains these as recurring tasks.

Reflect

  • Have my decisions/actions in the past year move me toward the longer-term goals I set for myself? 
  • Did I meet my short-term goals? 
  • Is there in missing actions that should be accomplished in the coming days/weeks to close some gaps? 

If so, it is time to get them all of your head and into your task manager (and do a bit of planning).

Plan

  • What is(are) my goal(s) for the coming year? 
  • Is the state of my system ready to tackle them: do I have all of the projects and next action items ready to launch me toward that (these) goal(s)?

If not, it is time to get them all of your head and into your task manager (and again do a bit of planning).

Do not forget, to put it all on the table, not just your work goals but also family and personal. Talking about productivity makes only sense if you tackle it from a holistic perspective. Otherwise, you are might just a busy person.

Review your long-term goals

Now is also a good time to review what GTD refers to as “the higher altitudes views”: 5, 10, 20 years and lifetime goals. These will strongly influence your early goal(s).

Tidy-up

At this juncture, you should:

  • Archive completed projects (ideally along related e-mails if applicable) and get them out of your ongoing projects materials (either digital or physical). 
  • Review all remaining projects and make sure they still correspond to your need and have next action items ready.
  • Get any last-minute ideas, projects or tasks out of your head. 
  • Ask yourself if your system is still serving your planning and documentation need adequately. This is a good time to make small adjustment (or large adjustment if it cannot keep up with demands) to your system.

With everything out of your mind and into paper or in your digital task manager, you are ready to spend a relaxing, worry free break. Not only will you feel better when you come back to work but new ideas will pop up and generally productivity is increased!

How much time is needed?

I systematically reserved two days before leaving for the Xmas break every year to perform the above tasks. Depending on how things went in the previous year, it could be more than enough to complete everything. Milage will vary, so you should give yourself enough time. The timing of it is totally up to you, for me the break at the end of the calendar year suits me perfectly. It is the motion of going through the four major action items listed above that is the key to an efficient review.

The yearly review is an investment in yourself…and it will pay itself back easily as you start the new year.

This post is a timely refresh of a 2020 one!

*Image from http://www.publicdomainpictures.net 

Holistic Productivity: Productivity during a pandemic

Posted on by
4

For many, productivity is a synonym of work productivity. This year’s pandemic had many reassessed this very narrow definition. In fact, at this year major meeting in my field (www.aapm.org), the issues related to coping, adapting, productivity and so on associated with the COVID situation has been at the forefront of the meeting. 

Continue reading →