A New Year, a better equipped you!

I’m not going to promise that reading a book will magically transform your career overnight. But what I will say is that the right resources at the right time can give you the tools, frameworks, and mindset shifts you need to make progress on those New Year career goals you’ve been thinking about.

If you’re a graduate student or postdoc looking to communicate your research more effectively, manage competing priorities like research, writing, and professional development, or simply feel less overwhelmed, these two books offer practical strategies you can implement immediately.

Neither book was written specifically for academics, and honestly, that’s a good thing. Sometimes you need a fresh perspective from outside your usual sources. But trust me, the principles in both books are exactly what you need to succeed in academic life and beyond.

So, skip the New Year’s resolutions and focus on these two resources that will help you make progress this year.

1. Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds by Carmine Gallo

Why Graduate Students and Postdocs Need Better Communication Skills

You’re brilliant, and your research is important. But if you can’t communicate your ideas in a way that engages and persuades your audience, whether that’s a hiring committee, a conference room full of scholars, or a grant review panel, your message gets lost.

This book is a step-by-step guide to giving talks that people want to listen to. Gallo breaks down what makes TED talks so compelling and shows you how to apply those same principles to any situation where you need to tell a story, explain complex concepts to non-experts, or convince someone that your work matters.

What You’ll Learn

The book covers nine essential elements of effective presentations, including how to:
• Hook your audience in the first 15 seconds (crucial for job talks and conference presentations)
• Structure your talk around a clear, memorable narrative
• Explain technical concepts using analogies and stories that stick
• Use body language and vocal variety to maintain engagement
• Create visuals that clarify rather than clutter

How This Helps Graduate Students and Postdocs

Consider every high-stakes communication you’ll encounter: the two-minute elevator pitch at a networking event, the 45-minute job talk where you must impress both experts in your field and non-specialists on the hiring committee, the grant proposal where you need to make a compelling case for why your research deserves funding, and the dissertation defense where you must demonstrate mastery while engaging your committee.

These are all moments where you need to be persuasive, clear, and memorable. This book gives you the blueprint.

Real Story from My Work with Postdocs

A postdoc I was coaching was preparing for an academic interview at a school of government. Both PhDs and lawyers would attend her job talk—people with completely different backgrounds and expectations. She needed to bridge theory and practice, making her research accessible without oversimplifying it.

I recommended Talk Like TED, and it transformed her approach. She restructured her talk around a compelling narrative, used concrete examples to illustrate abstract concepts, and opened with a story that immediately grabbed her audience’s attention. The result? The department chair described her talk as “extremely clear” and said it perfectly demonstrated the “pracademic” work they value.

But here’s what I really loved—she didn’t stop there. She applied the book’s storytelling principles when writing sections of a grant proposal that explained the project’s importance and innovation. The grant was funded. That’s the power of learning to communicate effectively—it’s a transferable skill that benefits your entire career.

Bottom line: If you want people to understand, remember, and act on your ideas, this book is essential reading for graduate students and postdocs.

2. Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters by Laura Vanderkam

Time Management for Graduate Students and Postdocs

You’re juggling your research, application deadlines, teaching responsibilities, manuscript revisions, professional development, and—oh right—you’d also like to have a life outside the lab or library. The academic grind is relentless, and burnout is real.

This book provides a practical, straightforward approach to time management that doesn’t turn you into a productivity robot. Vanderkam’s nine rules aim to help you stay productive while still making time for having a life.

What You’ll Learn

Unlike typical productivity books that claim you’ll get more done by waking up at 4:30 AM and meditating for an hour (meditation is great—it’s the 4:30 AM part that’s unrealistic), this book focuses on realistic strategies that fit into everyday life:

• How to create a sustainable weekly schedule that accommodates both work and personal priorities
• Why planning your week on Fridays sets you up for success (spoiler: it’s one of my favorite recommendations too)
• How to batch similar tasks to reduce mental fatigue
• Strategies for protecting your time without becoming a hermit
• Ways to build in flexibility so that when life happens (and it will), you don’t completely derail

Why Graduate Students and Postdocs Need This

Postdocs often struggle to balance their research, professional growth, family obligations, and personal life. Graduate students face similar pressures, with the added stress of coursework and qualifying exams. The result? You feel constantly behind, perpetually stressed, and like you’re failing at everything.

This book won’t give you more hours in the day, but it will help you use the hours you have more intentionally. The goal isn’t to cram more work into your schedule—it’s to create a life where you’re productive AND you’re not sacrificing your health, relationships, and sanity.

Time management becomes even more crucial when you’re planning for a future that feels uncertain. The weekly planning system in this book helps you stay grounded even when everything else feels up in the air.

What I Love About This Book

I’ve read my fair share of books on time management and productivity (including several by Vanderkam), and this one is the most practical and straightforward. One rule that closely aligns with my coaching advice is: Plan on Fridays. I teach this exact principle in my workshop, “From Vision to Reality: 4 Steps to Creating & Executing Your Individual Development Plan (IDP).” It’s Step #3: Weekly Planning.

Here’s how it works: You set up a recurring weekly meeting with yourself—30 minutes to an hour every Friday to plan your upcoming week. This is your time to review your goals, evaluate progress, check upcoming deadlines and events, prioritize tasks, and organize your week accordingly. Sounds similar to your lab or team meetings, doesn’t it?

Setting aside time to plan your work week ahead helps you begin with a clear understanding of what needs to be done. This way, you run the week instead of the week running you.

Bottom line: If you want to feel less chaotic and more in control of your time while still having a life, this book will show you how. It’s the perfect companion to your New Year’s goal of achieving a better work-life balance.

Make This Year Different

New Year’s resolutions fail because they’re all aspiration and no action plan. But these two books give you exactly what you need to turn intentions into results.

Want to communicate your research more effectively? Read Talk Like TED and practice the techniques on your next presentation. Want to feel less overwhelmed by your schedule? Implement Tranquility by Tuesday’s Friday planning ritual starting this week.

These books complement each other perfectly: one helps you articulate your ideas with clarity and confidence, the other helps you create the time and space to pursue your goals without burning out. Together, they form a solid foundation for a year of meaningful progress.

They won’t do the work for you, but they’ll give you the frameworks and strategies you need to move forward. And that’s better than any New Year’s resolution list.

So, here’s to a year of clearer communication, better time management, and maybe even some tranquility!

You’ve got this.