The PhD process can be a long exhausting slog. It is normal to feel fed up/bored/exhausted. Here are some ways you could perk yourself up when you are feeling flat with PhD life.
- Visit a beautiful old library. There is something about libraries which can make you feel scholarly again. A personal (and global) favourite is the Bodleian in Oxford. There is something about it that oozes respect for scholarship as a life choice- it can feel restorative.
- Pinterest your future graduation celebration. Cupcakes with icing books on top? (I did this for my book launch). Little doctoral hats on the table? I spent ages planning my final PhD celebration on pinterest when I needed to perk up… then we had a global pandemic which put a stop to it… ah well. It was more about visualising the celebration at the end which helped.
- Let your thoughts brew. There is a lovely phrase ‘thinking is writing’- sometimes when you are mulling things over on a train or driving this is where the magic happens. So don’t feel you have to be sitting in front of a laptop all of the time. Allow yourself the space to actually think- walk the dog, bake a cake, visit a beach and watch the waves. Thinking is writing. Let yourself off the hook.
- Write a mission statement. Refocus on what drives you and your research and your bigger picture purpose in a short mission statement which you can pin up or put as your PC screensaver and return to it when feeling flat. Focus on your ‘why’ and boil it down to one succinct sentence.
- Listen to the ‘Peer Reviews’ on YouTube. They are a really cute band that sing about academic life and gender theory- hearing them makes me smile. Here’s a link to the ‘Gender Research Song’.
- Start a ‘boost’ email folder. Keep all the nice little emails you get giving positive feedback, accepted papers, and even nice words from peers. Occasionally look back.
- Watch ‘Educating Rita’. This is such a lovely film about the passion for learning, the barriers working class women face, and just generally someone overcoming it all in the university. A complete classic.
- Print your work. Sometimes I think the gravity of the task can be lost when all on the computer- so if I need a boost I’ll print my writing out- sometimes to see it there as a concrete thing (and use a highlighter) makes you realise how far you have come already.
- Join a facebook group and have a moan. The good thing about global social media is that you can write a despairing post in the night and someone will be awake and be up for chatting- sometimes you need to vent, and closed academic Facebook groups can sometimes be the right place at the right time.
- Read about writing. Books about writing can be very special as some go deeper than just the craft but about the creative act of it. Some favourites I have include ‘Bird by Bird’ (Anne Lammott), ‘Remembered Rapture’ (bell hooks), ‘On Writing’ (Stephen King) and ‘Big Magic’ (Elizabeth Gilbert).
- On that- reflect on your identity as a writer. Sometimes feeling like a ‘writer’ rather than a ‘researcher’ can feel like a more creative and less constrained PhD self. Sometimes I pop on my book earrings and go and have a coffee in my local book shop, attend a literary event, or buy a fresh notebook to write in.
- Get your first publication printed on a mug. Did you know that Etsy has a whole load of sellers who do this? It’s a thing!
- You can even get your thesis printed on a scarf. Hey, why not let people on the bus have a read? Link here.
- Essentially, celebrate your wins. Don’t just move on to the next thing without noticing your small wins- Had an abstract accepted- celebrate! Finished a draft- celebrate! Written for an hour- celebrate! (yes, my PhD was punctuated with lots of cake stops). A fellow student from my cohort had badges made when they passed their ethics review and gave them out to everyone.
- Put your thesis on the wall. This is a tip I got from a writing class with Cathy Rentzenbrink- she uses post it notes to put her book plans physically on the wall to help her think it through visually.
- Change your scenery. Sometimes I like working in a noisy café with comings and goings so it takes the pressure off compared to a silent office. So take your writing self out for the day and sit in a museum lobby, or a roadside café, or the campus tearoom.
- Use stickers in a paper diary to mark progress. Use stickers to give you a boost when you have reached a writing goal for the day. Likewise some people find writing daily word counts can help to see incremental progress.
- Blog. I started my website during my PhD and sometimes writing a short blog that can be instantly released perked me up as an alternative to always writing the thesis (in fact, that may be why I am writing this now instead of finishing my next book manuscript…). It can feel nice to connect with others through blogging and can also be a way for you to consolidate your thoughts on a current news issue or event without the gruelling rejection of peer review.
- Curate your growing academic library. I received a custom library stamp for my birthday this year and I love it so much- it is the perfect bookish procrastination activity.
- Craft. Crafting is good for mindfulness, and snarky cross stitch is also good for venting. See here for examples of subversive cross stitch. How about this one ‘PHucking Done’ lol. There are books on feminist cross stitch and even self-care patterns. When I was PhDing and came across a bit of a bully I stitched a panel; ‘Go ahead, underestimate me, that’ll be fun…’. It was cathartic! (Pattern here).
- Put inspirational phrases up. I had a postcard on my bookshelf when I wrote my PhD that said, ‘Progress not Perfection’. I think I originally got it for free in a magazine. But anyway, that little phrase kept me going at the time. Surround yourself with things that inspire you to push on.
- Read fiction. Fiction books I have quite enjoyed featuring a PhD scholar at the heart have been ‘Want’ by Lynn Steger Strong and Jodi Piccoult ‘The Book of Two Ways’. Reading fiction is a good way to give your brain a break.
- Download a countdown clock. Can’t wait for it to be over? Thean keep your eyes on the prize and download a countdown clock to your submission date. NB. This could be stress-inducing- it depends whether a deadline is a good motivator or not…
- Read stories of those who have made it. I quite enjoy autoethnographic collections about people who have made it through in the academic world. If you are facing particular barriers then try and find stories similar to yours to inspire you. Such as ‘Mama PhD’, ‘The Lives of Working Class Academics: Getting Ideas Above Your Station’, or ‘Black Experiences in Higher Education’.
- Know when to get professional help. Sometimes a professional can help. If you find your mood not shifting, or find your research personally triggering, then reach out to a therapist. Some unis may even have these on-site or fund it for you. But either way- don’t suffer alone.
- Stop putting yourself last. Phrases like, ‘I’ll rest when I achieve XXX’, ‘I’ll eat better when I get to the stage of…’. ‘I’ll feel happier when I’ve got through this week, month, season’. I wonder if we are all a big guilty of this in academia as there always seem to be an impending goal to just get through. Sometimes I wonder if the PhD trains you for this mentality as much as it does the work. But try and resist putting yourself last until you achieve XX. You are worth caring for/ resting/ nourishing now.
- Batch cook. Cook meals when you want to procrastinate, freeze them, and they will be there for when you are a deep writing phase and don’t want to stop.
- Completing a PhD in the funded period is HARD. You are doing a marathon in sprint time. Know that there are other ways to do academic life. A book I like is ‘The Slow Professor’. It doesn’t help the deadlines, but just know that many are struggling with the fast pace of contemporary academia.
- Start a work scrap book. Get a plain scrapbook and keep pictures and mementos of professional moments that had an impact on you- campaigns you are part of, cards, newspaper clippings, conference proceedings, photos. When you are feeling fed up, look back and reflect on how far you have come…
- On that- it is not where you are but the distance that you have travelled that matters most. ‘We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have travelled from the point where they started.’ Henry Ward Beecher. Many of us have had to face a lot of challenges in life to get to the point of doing a PhD- remember that when you compare yourself with peers. Sometimes just being here and showing up is good enough.
I have written some other blogs on tips for PhD students. Here are my small practical tips, and here is some PhD parenting advice.
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