One of the aspects of the covid lockdown is the sudden rise in virtual teaching, conferences and talks. This comes with its own set of challenges and positives. In this post I will share some of my own experiences over the last few months of virtual presenting and attendance and discuss some of the lessons … Continue reading Beyond attending from bed: virtual presenting
One of the impacts of the closure of campuses during lockdown is being cut off from library resources. Having spent a lot of time in libraries as a child, the experience of browsing a physical shelf and finding related sources is a difficult experience to replace. Having a physically present and knowledgeable librarian who can … Continue reading Top 5 digital resources when working from home
I'm told that once you're through your first review, you might slump a little. You might struggle to get back into the swing of research after the decompression of the end of First Year. It might seem like you've climbed one mountain, only to be told that there's another peak a little further up. Then … Continue reading The Slump
This week we have a guest post from the incredibly busy Morven Gow. Morven is a second year doctoral researcher at the University of Stirling, researching the negotiation of authenticity in 21st Century book publishing. She spent most of her working life in advertising and marketing. Currently, she is in her fifth decade. I thought … Continue reading Advice for the IMDR (Incredibly Mature Doctoral Researcher) – but which may be useful for all
In one of my earlier posts, I discussed what it’s like giving a paper as a sufferer of anxiety. In that blog, I briefly talked about some of the tips my counsellor gave me at the time, and how I got through giving my first talk. I thought it might be helpful to expand more … Continue reading Top 5 tips for giving papers
Every year of the PhD is hard. Year 2 is host to the dreaded ‘second year slump’, when you still have a long way to go, but the novelty and newness of doing your PhD is wearing off. Year 3 is full of the pressure of writing and editing, picking examiners and choosing when you … Continue reading Top 4 tips for surviving the first year of your PhD
Being almost 3 years into my PhD, I’ve written my fair share of academic writing. This also means that I’ve had a huge amount of feedback from my supervisor on my writing style. There are some mistakes that I’ve made (and continue making), which I wish I had got out of the habit of doing … Continue reading Top 5 tips for writing your PhD
I’m in the slightly unique position of having lived in catered university halls throughout my entire academic career, from the very beginning of my BA to the (almost) end of my PhD. Since I’ve now got 7 (seriously, 7?! I just did a double-take) years of experience of halls, from both an undergrad and postgrad … Continue reading Should you live in halls during your PhD?
I don't know about you, but when I signed up to do a PhD I thought I mostly knew how it was going to work. *cue laugh track* The PhD is just about the thesis. Reality- The thesis is only part of the PhD. Which is insane to think about. Over the course of my … Continue reading Misconceptions about the PhD
I’ve often found myself in the library late at night, feeling unproductive and guilty about leaving. I often will have gotten a late start and done a fair bit of procrastinating. Even if I’ve gotten quite a bit done, it never feels quite like enough. It leaves me feeling like the day has been wasted … Continue reading When Enough Is Enough: Meeting goals and staying motivated in your PhD
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