Learning when to say ‘no’ is something of a fine art. It’s something that a lot of people struggle with in their daily lives in general, but I think the struggle is equally, if not more, applicable to PhD life. From personal experience, I know how hard it is to say no to both requests, … Continue reading Learning when to say no to yourself and others
Organisation is one of my favourite things. It’s sad but true. I love the feeling of creating order out of chaos, straightening out my world, and getting everything out of my head and onto a list on paper. But when you start a PhD, you have to up your organisation game. A lot. It’s so easy … Continue reading Staying organised during your PhD
When you start a PhD, you’ll often hear that your research should be treated like a 9 to 5 job. If you’re like me, this will probably cause you to panic and question what on earth you’re doing – don’t a lot of us start PhDs because we secretly didn’t want a 9-5 job?! I … Continue reading How many hours should you spend on the clock, and when should you spend them?
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
Looking back on May I feel like I haven’t done any work. I’ve read a few things, done a wee bit of writing, but it doesn’t feel like I’ve made any forward progress. Yes, I went away for a few days but that doesn’t seem to account for it. However, I’ve realised this seemed to … Continue reading Where does all my time go?: 4 ways to manage the PhD-and tasks
I’ve mentioned more than once how overwhelmed I feel by my PhD at times. There are publications, conference papers, grants, and public engagement pieces to write alongside your thesis, all to fulfil the undefined and amorphous goal of ‘employability’. Not to mention all those other logistical and bureaucratic tasks that need doing as well as … Continue reading Feeling Overwhelmed: 5 ways to manage yourself better
Procrastination seems to be a staple of the PhD experience. It’s a part of that experience which I’ve shown a great proclivity for, making me a bit of an expert. I’ve even been thinking of changing my thesis because I’m currently working on some advanced topics in the field, particularly, practicing some reflexivity methods on … Continue reading Rethinking Procrastination: A symptom not a cause
