This summer, we're all about making space in your work life for those things YOU consider a priority. So we've asked our University of Graz researcher community about aspects of their daily work life that they have developed a useful routine for - and aspects that still need a “research life hack”.
Interview partner:
- Jamie Page from the Institute of History (based in the medieval working group).
Jamie's daily work:
- His Habilitation project focusses on masculinity and historical writing in medieval Switzerland, and he publishes and teaches on sex work in history (particularly the Middle Ages). He co-coordinates the Erasmus+ exchange programme within the Institute, and is responsible for helping incoming exchange students integrate and manage their studies during their stay in Austria.
The "happy hack" that makes Jamie more efficient/creative/motivated at work:
“So much of my work is open-ended, has long-term deadlines and feels subjective in nature that it can be hard to know if I am ever making progress! I find that having a hobby with clear structures and goals helps a lot. For me, this means playing an instrument. I’ve made a routine of coming into the office very early in the morning and playing my bagpipes for half an hour. I know that if I practise certain pieces or bits of technique, I will see results. My research is much more of a slow burn, so I find music really helps keep me going.”
And the challenge in his research life that he still needs a hack for:
“I am still horribly old-fashioned when it comes to bibliographic software - I do it all by hand. At the start of a new book project, this isn’t a good idea, so I will need to bite the bullet at some point soon and transfer everything into Zotero or Citavi.”
What is your own happy hack? Let us know!
Find the full series of interviews here: How to hack your research life - Research Careers Campus Graz
(Interview: Johanna Stadlbauer, 27.5.2026, picture credit: Page/privat)