The PhD Knowledge Base

The subtle art of being a pain

Dr. Max Lempriere

Read in 1 minute

No sections available in this post.

Every chapter of your thesis, mapped onto a single page.

I asked 250 PhD examiners how they'd structure a thesis if they were starting again. Their answers fit on a single page. Download it free — and stop staring at a blank document wondering where to begin.

Get Your Free PhD Writing Template

You keep coming back. There's a reason for that.

Come write with us live. Join the next Monday Focus Session — 9am UK time this Monday.

Book Your Seat

During the PhD, we often instinctively find ourselves accommodating the needs of other people.

We might say yes to requests from our supervisors and superiors, we might go to all the conferences and events to which we’re invited, or we might go out of our way to be nice and to avoid ruffling any feathers.

But inside we might find ourselves conflicted.

We might secretly hate our supervisor and think their requests pointless, or we might find the conference incredibly dull.

Or, we might be incredibly angry on the inside and desperate (but unwilling or unable) to ruffle any feathers.

We might, in other words, find ourselves tired of being nice.

What kind of PhD researcher are you?

Learn what’s actually making your PhD hard — and what to do about it.

This free assessment takes four minutes and involves twelve questions. Here's what you'll get:

Your doctoral profile — personalised to your answers
A personalised PDF report with a clear explanation of what's making your PhD hard
Specific recommendations based on where you actually are

Find Out Your Profile — 4 Minutes