How to Handle Stress in Academia
Behind the scenes I am preparing for the next live sessions of the Stress-Free PhD Programme. This means I’ll be running the course with a live session at the beginning of the week, where you can ask questions (and I’ll answer them!) to get the most out of the programme. The programme is designed to help you write your PhD in fewer (and happier) hours a day. This can be done! But it takes a few steps, some of which are to do with a shift in mind-set/ the way you think about the PhD, some of which are practical [...]
Read MoreSuffering from PhD Overwhelm? Break it Down
I've written about the PhD monster before. It comes out of the shadows to haunt you, and looks over your shoulder telling you "this is too hard", "you'll never finish this project" and in general completely clouds your judgement. It makes finishing the PhD seem like a completely elusive goal. No matter your good intentions, it will steal your energy, and cause you to topple over in overwhelm. The reality is: writing a PhD is doable. Finishing the PhD is doable. You can do this. So how to put this monster in its place? How to shrink it, do you [...]
Read MoreThe A-Z of the PhD Trajectory: A Practical Guide for a Successful Journey
The PhD trajectory is a bit of a black box, and the way academia is set up, it often stays that way: stumbling around in the dark. This week I’m talking to dr. Eva Lantsoght, who has just published a book that aims to demystify the PhD process. A good idea, if you ask me! For many of us the academic world is a foreign one when we start a PhD, and for most of us it takes a long time before we 'get' how it all works, how to play the academic game. I have come across one book [...]
Read MoreThe Stress-Free PhD Giveaway!
The next live sessions of the Stress-Free PhD Programme start 12th of November! I'm giving away two places in class. If you'd like a chance to win enter your details below! Want more chance to win? Do this: 1. Heart or like the pinned GiveAway post on my Facebook page (would also be great if you follow the page) and/ or: 2. Retweet the pinned GiveAway post on Twitter and/or: 3. Bonus points if you heart/like and share one of my blog posts on Facebook or Twitter! There will be a lucky dip - I'll put your name into [...]
Read MoreFive steps to handle low confidence ‘my PhD will never be finished’ days
“I have bad days where I lose my confidence or am really unfocused and just tell myself that my paper will never be finished. Have you got any advice on what to do on those days?” Everybody ever who has written a PhD has been there. Those days where you doubt everything you have done, and everything you will ever do. Those days where it feels you should have done everything differently from the start, and now your work is too late to ‘save’. Those days where you know you will never finish your PhD on time, or even ever. [...]
Read MoreFour keys to building an effortless work routine
“How do you push yourself to start every day on time? I never seem to be able to start at my planned time, even if I plan to start only at 10 or 11.” Getting into a routine can seem like an elusive goal, that is until you manage to do so, and once it’s a routine, it’s a routine! The key to routines is that they take the decisionmaking out of it. You are not busy deciding whether you are going to start at 9, or, 10 or 11. Or whether to start at all. It is decision fatigue [...]
Read MoreWORKSHEET
ZenAcademic Worksheet
Use the ZenAcademic worksheet to create your optimal workday. It will help you focus, prioritise, and get work done. It will also help you balance the stresses of academic life. Self-care included!
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