There will be days when all you want to do is scream. Days where your mind is cloudy. Days when you’re in such a muddle. These are the days when you wonder what on earth you’re doing. You ask yourself why you ever chose to do a PhD. Because you’re in such a muddle, you can’t find a good enough answer. It’s at this point you may think about dropping out of your PhD journey.
Dropping out can be an entirely legitimate and appropriate thing to do. You should ignore those who tell you ‘you can’t quite, look how far you come’. You should listen to your gut. It often knows what’s best for you.
But here’s the kicker. You shouldn’t make a big decision like this when you’re in a muddle. Not on the bad days, on the days where you hate the world and you can’t stand to look at your PhD. This is the worst time to decide anything.
Instead, take a day off. Take two if you need.
Still in a muddle? Take a week off.
When you’re feeling less stressed, then ask yourself: do I still want to quit?
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