Be vulnerable first
All it takes is for one person to be vulnerable to set off a cascade. Without that spark, shared vulnerability remains hidden.
Staying Motivated In Your PhD
Behind every PhD is a human.
Struggling? Don’t worry – there’s nothing wrong with you. PhDs are meant to be hard, and it’s natural that you’ll find it tough from time to time.
We’ve put together a catalogue of resources and tips that will help you when you’re feeling like you’re not good enough, or wondering if you’ll ever have what it takes to succeed (spoiler: you will).
Stay on course
Keep steady on your course, and trust the process. Have faith that by putting the effort in and trusting your instinct you'll end up where you need to be.
What can you learn from your mistakes?
We won't get things right all of the time. The world just doesn't work like that. We're going to mess up. A lot.That's just part of being human and part...
Don’t be alone
Your PhD should be difficult, but not a struggle. It should involve time alone, but you shouldn't be isolated. Build human connection into your journey, or you may not be able...
Embrace your flaws and imperfections
To be imperfect is to be human, so embrace the times you get things wrong and mess things up during your PhD.
What are you going to do after your PhD?
Are you going to stay in academia post-PhD? Deciding to leave isn't just as simple as choosing a different career path, it can often mean having to reinvent an entire...
The subtle art of being a pain
We often instinctively find ourselves accommodating the needs of other people, even if that means we put our own needs second.
A PhD is not a continuous process of self-improvement
Lean into the problems you face in your PhD rather than defer them to the future.
A PhD is like Groundhog Day
Doing a PhD can be a feel a bit like groundhog day. The same thing, day in and day out. It soon gets tedious.
Are you married to your thesis?
Your thesis is doing its best to take over your life. Are you letting it?
PhDs can be lonely places
A PhD often means long stints spent working alone. That can often breed loneliness. But alone doesn't have to equal loneliness.
Reaching rock-bottom during your PhD
There will likely times during your PhD when you lose all hope. Times where you want to give it all up, or where you question why you even started in...
Your struggle is real, but not unique
Over the years I've worked with hundreds of PhD students from around the world and, whilst they all have their own perspectives and pain points, it's surprising how many students...
Procrastinating?
Often, we have a tendency to approach big tasks as one distinct piece of work.
Parkinson’s law
Work expands to fill the available time, which is why you may work more effectively with strict deadlines in the PhD.
Emotions and intellect
Navigating the PhD journey is as much an emotional challenge as it is an intellectual one.
Enthusiasm can make up for inexperience
There will always be things you don't know and as you first set out on the PhD journey you'll suffer from a lack of experience and expertise.
Your PhD is trying to break you.
Your PhD is trying to break you. Sad but true. Look out for yourself and for those around you.
Your PhD is a monster
Never assume that everything will go to plan in your PhD. You'll make mistakes all the time - and that's fine.
Perfectionism is a fallacy
You are always going to get criticised, whether in your PhD or otherwise.
Juggling multiple balls
You can't be 100% productive and effective all of the time during your PhD. Savour good days, go easy on yourself on bad ones.
Pat yourself on the back
It's important to reflect on how much you've grown and how many hurdles you've overcome on your PhD journey.
Shared struggle
If there's one thing I can guarantee it's that the stress and anxiety you're feeling is shared by others.
Times are a’changing
As the seasons change, take stock of how far you've come in your PhD and the challenges you've overcome.
You’re going to mess up all the time
Most PhD students I interact with are, to lesser or greater extents, perfectionists. With that comes an innate fear of making mistakes, and a sense of panic when they actually...
Self-care is always important
We can often forget to take care of ourselves and looks after the basics.
PhDs are messy
My point is this: research is messy and it doesn't progress in a linear fashion. You'll go round and round in circles and you'll make mistakes. You'll have to go...
Your shapeshifting thesis
It'll take a while until your PhD takes on a form you're happy with.
You’re the worst judge of your own work
You're not a terrible student, you're just a terrible judge of your own work.
Graduation?
I want you to spend ten seconds visualising your own graduation. Do it right now.
How to map read
‘Knowing the literature’ is a bit of a misnomer. It does not mean ‘know everything’.
Your inner critic hates you
For many of us, our biggest critic is not our worst enemy. It's ourselves. Without realising it, we can be incredibly unkind to ourselves, even for the most minor infraction.
A narrative of wrongness
If you're not careful, you can come up with all sorts of reasons why you're failing and all sorts of things that aren't quite right.
Your PhD will be a distant memory
Right now your PhD is taking up a big chunk of your life. For some of you, it might be your entire life. For others, it sits alongside other priorities,...
We shouldn’t compare ourselves to others, but we do
More often than not, comparing your progress to that of other PhD students you may know is futile at best and destructive at worst.
Your PhD is breathtakingly beautiful.
I came across a quote about the ups-and-downs of life that I wanted to share it with you. I've copied it at the end of this email, but I've taken...
Don’t discount the role that friends play in your PhD
Now more than ever, you'll need to draw on a full range of support as you navigate your PhD. But what does that support look like?
Resolutions? Think small.
If you're like me, you start a new year with a sense of excitement and wonder. A new year for me is an opportunity to keep doing what you've been...
You’ve got one of the best minds on the planet
What’s been the most impressive thing about how people have reacted to the pandemic?
Just do it.
We've all got things on our to-do lists that we're putting off. We push them further down the list, pretending that, if only we keep doing so, they'll magically disappear.
Why is a PhD like a jigsaw puzzle?
When you first start, you've got a pile of pieces in front of you and you haven't got any idea what goes where. The thought that you'll end up with...
What to do if your thesis has you in its grips
Yesterday I stressed the danger of letting the PhD control your life. Today I want to talk about what happens when it already does.
Lonely, isolated place
At the best of times, PhDs can be lonely, isolated places. During a pandemic, when you're away from your peers, labs, fieldwork or supervisors, that isolation can become more acute.
A fresh start
If you find yourself going down a dead end, sometimes it’s best to turn around, retrace your steps and start afresh.
Do the deep work.
There will be times in your PhD when it makes sense to do the deep work. Take those opportunities when you can.
There’s no rush
There are a lot of moving parts in a PhD. A lot of things to consider, plan, execute and respond to.
You should keep going, just to see what happens.
When you stop to think about all the work you’ve got left to do during your PhD, you probably panic a little.
No two PhDs are the same
No two PhDs are the same. Depending on which way you look at it, that can be both terrifying and exciting.
A lot of what you think about your PhD is wrong
Perfectionism, self-doubt, feeling like an imposter. Chances are, one or more of those term resonates with you personally.
It pays to be lazy
We can’t all be productive all of the time. We can try to maximise our productive time, but we mustn’t forget the importance of doing absolutely nothing.
Suffering in silence?
If you’re anything like I was, and if you’re anything like the PhD students I interact with on a day to day basis, you can often find yourself in a...
There is no destination.
There is no point where you’re going to ‘get there’, no magic place where everything is where you want it to be and you’ve arrived in some paradise of bliss...
It’s your project
Your PhD advisers and supervisors have your best interest at heart, but there will be times where you don’t agree with their advice. It’s your project, not their, so it’s fine to...
It’s normal to be anxious
If you were to represent a PhD as an emotion, it would likely be anxiety. PhDs can be hotbeds for it. They’re necessarily hard, they’re full of uncertainty, they’re plagued...
Is everything perfect?
Things will never be perfect. There’s no magic moment where everything in your PhD is perfect, fixed, exactly where you want it. There will always be things wrong, and there will always...
Is everyone else submitting before you?
It’s easy in your PhD to look at others and compare your own expertise, study and progress. A particular challenge occurs when those in your cohort reach major milestones before...
Reader advice on juggling the PhD
In yesterday’s email I spoke to those who were juggling a PhD alongside other responsibilities (childcare, employment, and so on). I shared a tip that one of the readers shared,...
Is your PhD your baby?
Completing a PhD is much like nursing a child. It can sap all of your energy, eat into your time, and it can crowd out any other responsibilities, hobbies or...
How do you start your day?
Either you can wake up and start to think of all the stresses and strains that the PhD is trying to throw at you that day, or you can wake...
Your PhD may be a bit crap
Your PhD is going to be rough around the edges. There will even be bits of it that are a bit crap. And that’s okay.
Negative emotions can be a spur to action
If you’re stressed, it’s a sign that you need to slow down. If you’re tired, it’s a sign that you need to rest. If you’re overwhelmed, it’s a sign that...
You’re already successful
Sure, milestones are important and there are tangible, quantifiable outcomes that you’ll reach as you strive to be more successful, but there is no magic ‘end point’ at which you...
Do you have unrealistic assumptions about the world?
If you cling on to the idea that every day is going to be a good one, you’re going to spend a lot of the time disappointed. If you cling...
The merits of deep focus
Ever wear your to-do list like a badge of honour? I do. And I don’t think I’m the only one.
What’s your plan for the future?
We want to plan for the future, but life doesn’t always work that way. Instead, you have to have faith that you’re headed the right way.
It’s meant to be difficult
If a PhD was easy, everyone would have one. When you find things tough it can be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture or, worse still, start blaming...
Don’t do anything you’ll regret
On the bad days we can talk ourselves out of the PhD. Wait until the good days to pull the trigger.
Take time for yourself
What do you get if you mix over-working, worry and poor self-care? At best, you’ll end up frustrated, stressed and grouchy. At worse, you’ll have an emotional breakdown.In either case,...
No one really knows what they’re doing
When I was a child I used to look at the adults around me in awe of how together their lives seemed. They were so, well, grown up. Adulting looked...
Are you working too much?
When we’re up against deadlines we can think that the only solution is to work as much as possible. This is particularly the case in academia, where working late in...
Life is not a process of self-improvement
It’s all too easy to fall in to the trouble of thinking “if only X, then Y”. For example, ‘if only I was able to get to the lab, I’d...
The thesis you submit won’t look like the one you designed
Your research will take you in directions that are hard to predict. New questions emerge, new insights lead to hunches, and pre-conceived ideas turn out to be false.That's just how...
It’s on the hard days that you grow
As much as I am a strong advocate for working within your limits and being kind to yourself, there are inevitably going to be days when you're feeling awful but you...
Everything is always a work in progress
We tend to thrive when there is certainty in what we do, when we know what it takes to complete a task and know when it is we’ve actually done...
Work smarter, not harder
There’s a common belief in academic circles in general and PhD circles in particular that the key to success and reaching milestones is working as much as possible. This fetishisation...
Prioritise yourself
If you’re not careful, you PhD will take over your life. It may have already done so. Gradually it can crowd out every other aspect of your life as it...
Kiss the frog
I can't imagine too many people would be excited if one of the things on their to do list was to kiss a frog. Most people would put it off for...
You’ll have to borrow and steal
'I can't find a theory that's relevant'I hear this all the time. A common misconception amongst PhD students is that there always exists a magical, off the shelf theory or...
Remind yourself of the destination
We all have days we'd rather forget. The days where our mood isn't great, or where the weather sucks, or where things just never seem to work out. Those days may...
You’re not nuts if you want to quit.
Yesterday I came across a fantastic blog post from The Thesis Whisperer that I think you should read. It focuses on students who want to quit their PhDs. It's titled...
What’s the hardest thing about doing a PhD?
PhDs are hard. That's just common sense.In fact, it feels odd to even be saying it. Of course they're hard. They're just about the hardest thing you could ever set...
It’s okay to be confused
During your PhD there are probably times when you're confused, you don't understand things you feel you ought to, or when you just struggle to keep up.It's during these times...
Reflect on your own unique qualities
It's all too easy to compare ourselves to other people and then feel bad about all the things we aren't good at or aren't achieving.But how often do you reflect...
It’s your project, not theirs
If you're lucky, there will be people around you advising your on your PhD journey.Most often it's your supervisors. They're generally a great resource and can offer a wealth of...
What’s the most powerful word in your vocabulary?
Say no more often! You may often feel like you have to say yes to everything, whether that's working more, doing so for less money, taking on more responsibilities, attending...
Set your intentions
Do you ever get to Friday and wonder where the week went?It happens to me all the time.One useful tip I've learnt over the years is to start Monday by...
Smile and enjoy the journey
Today, in my little corner of the world, the weather is unusually great. It's on days like this that I find it easier to take life and work less seriously...
When things go wrong, don’t panic
In your PhD you're going to encounter lots of problems. Things will always go wrong and you'll always come up against unexpected outcomes. If you're anything like me, you may let...
Your mental health has to come first
The PhD is an ideal environment for mental health problems to fester. There's the ever present imposter syndrome, the financial pressures you face, the uncertainty over the academic job market,...
Don’t focus (too much) on the problems
Things will go wrong in your PhD all the time.It's not you, it's just the way things are. When they do, you've got a choice over how you react. Either you...
You’re going to get criticised
You are always going to get criticised, whether in your PhD or otherwise.There will always be someone who is quick to point out where you are going wrong, irrespective of...
Slow and steady won the race
When we're doing our PhDs we can often look at professors or others further along in their studies with a sense of awe and wonder, wishing we too could have...
How are you feeling right now?
These last few weeks have been stressful, even for those of us who have coped quite well.So today's message is this:How are you feeling right now?
You’ll never please everyone
There will always be people who disagree with you. There will always be people who can find holes in your argument. There will always be people who think you're doing...
Keep failing
When you tell people you're doing a PhD, they probably think that what's required to complete one is a superhuman intellect. But it's not. The key attribute to succeeding isn't brains,...
Know when to move on….
Your PhD is a performance with many acts. Don't get stuck on one scene.Writing a PhD isn't a linear process, but we often treat it like it is. We often...
Be sceptical of those who boast
There is no one quite like you. Your PhD isn't like anyone else's, you work in ways that suit your unique temperament and you have your own challenges to deal...
Recognise your own brilliance
Spend a moment right now reminding yourself that life is not about how inventive or creative you are, but about noticing what you're already a part of. Reflect on the...
What is it you are trying to say?
A common complaint I hear from PhD students is that they find it hard to structure chapters and to ensure that their writing flows.Can you relate?If you struggle to find...
It will all be worth it in the end…
It may not feel like it sometimes, but one day you'll be done with your PhD and it will all be worth it.All the hard work, the uncertainty, the perseverance,...
You can be dedicated and struggling
You can be passionate about your PhD and dedicated to your research but still struggle with productivity and struggle to stay motivated. You'll have days where you procrastinate or where you...
Keep steady on your path
During your PhD, you'll have days where nothing seems to make sense.You may question why you're doing your PhD at all, or you may look towards the future with anxiety...
Some Things Are Worth Fighting For.
What are you fighting for?Underpinning every PhD (and PhD student) is a personal struggle. Something worth fighting for.On the dark days where nothing seems to be going right or you...
It’s okay to take days off…
It's okay to take days off.It's okay not to be productive every day.Having less productive days doesn't mean you're failing or that you won't succeed.
There’s more than one way to do a PhD
It's hard not to compare yourself to others. We do it all the time, often with disastrous results.Never is that more true than during your PhD. We all know that...
The danger of should
What 'should' you be doing, feeling, thinking or achieving right now?The short answer is nothing.The more realistic, longer answer is that your mind is probably awash with 'shoulds'. You may...
This mental health awareness week: let it go
If you were to describe what it's like living with your brain, you'll probably describe a scene with an internal dialogue, perhaps an internal critic, and a seemingly never ending...
What’s your inner voice telling you?
I bet you've got really good at convincing yourself you're an imposter/not good enough/going to get found out/a terrible writer/and so on?Well, that's your inner voice doings it's best to...
When was the last time you failed?
You're going to fail over and over again. You'll get things wrong, you'll say the wrong thing, you'll act against good judgement, and you'll behave in ways that you'll be...
Remind yourself of what you can and can’t control
As we enter a new stage of lockdown life, new uncertainties and realities present themselves. You may find yourself once again worrying about what this new world and new normal...
Keep going
Some parts of the world are coming out of lockdown, whereas others have a little way to go yet.Either situation may feel stressful. In both cases, the way you approach...
Enthusiasm can make up for inexperience
There will always be things you don't know and as you first set out on the PhD journey you'll suffer from a lack of experience and expertise. But the more...
If you’re not stumbling occasionally, you’re just coasting
It's when you push yourself, go outside your comfort zone or try something new that you make mistakes and stumble. That's no bad thing. It's part of the learning process,...
Separate creation from improvement
We've all had moments where we can't seem to write enough and, as we put words on the page, we label them terrible, delete them and end up back where...
Don’t be so hard on yourself
PhDs never, ever, ever go to plan. You'll make mistakes all the time. You'll realise six months down the road that you messed something up, or went down the wrong path. But...
Welcome to Shit Valley
At some stage every PhD student ends up in Shit Valley. You normally find yourself here around half way through the PhD journey. You'll know you've arrived when everything you...
How loud is your internal critic today?
How loud is your inner-critic today? We all have days when our internal dialogue gets us down. We may have objective stressors - missed deadlines, personal problems and so on...
Perfectionist? Learn to embrace the good enough mindset…
Perfectionism is hard work. It makes life challenging, because no matter how hard you try or how well you do, it's never good enough. If you're a perfectionist, you'll recognise...
Working with tiny texts
One of the biggest challenges you'll face when writing your thesis is staying on message and making sure that your writing is punchy, coherent and flows logically. When you're writing...
Are you a perfectionist?
Most of the PhD students I talk to are perfectionists. You probably are too. With perfectionism comes a desire to have control over day-to-day life, knowledge of what's going to...
You are not lazy
You're not lazy or unmotivated.Also, you're not failing and there's nothing wrong with you. Sure, your productivity might have gone down these last few weeks and you might be struggling to find...
There’s no right way to do a PhD
There's no magical path down which you can travel or map that will guide you towards the right direction and away from the dead-ends. There's no rule-book precisely detailing what decision...
What you’re doing is supposed to be hard
Less than 2% of the population has a PhD. That's because they're hard. But pause to reflect on why they're hard. You're adding to a field. You're creating new knowledge and pushing the boundaries...
Self-love and self-compassion in your PhD
One of the best skills you can learn during your PhD is how to be more loving to yourself. But another useful - and related - skill is to develop self-compassion. If...
Lonely? Be a friend.
We all feel lonely from time to time, but you may find that as you get further into your PhD your feelings of loneliness increase. Whilst difficult, it's normal. It's...
The iceberg illusion
In life, people's successes and achievements are only the things people see above the surface. What other people don't see is what lies beneath the surface. You don't see their...
There’s always a silver lining
“However stressful and down your PhD makes you, there will always be a positive or two upon which to focus. There's always something that is going right or making you...
When things go wrong you’re probably also to blame.
When things go wrong with our PhDs, we can often try to look outside of ourselves to find someone to blame. But sometimes we also need to look at our...
PhD self-care can be transformative
Self-care can be transformative. It's the product of an inward, self-aware attitude to your day to day life, in which you recognise what's not good for you and introduce things...
The most powerful word in your arsenal as a PhD student is ‘no’
Saying yes to everyone and everything ends badly. You burn out, give up too much of your free time, overwhelm yourself and, ultimately, end up getting a reputation for being...
What do pillows and PhD stress have in common?
Mindfulness is the key to managing PhD stress. It can mean the difference between responding calmly to problems and letting them ruin your day. But it's an art and it...
Perfectionists can’t handle criticism. Can you?
When you get feedback on your work, or when you are at conferences or other public speaking events, you sometimes over-react to negativity.
Your PhD doesn’t have to be perfect. And that’s okay.
When you spot yourself falling into the perfectionist trap, remind yourself that you're only human, the person reading your thesis is human, and you're not expected to execute everything perfectly...