EVERYONE I knew who completed their #PhD before me had a miserable time in the last stages of writing up. I dreaded having to struggle too but those last 6 months ended up being the most fulfilling, happy time of my PhD
1/

#phdlife #phdtips #phdchat @PhDVoice #academictwitter
I voiced my dread/fears to my supervisor. She shared that she loved writing up; that it was a wonderful time of seeing her research come together + gain confidence in her own voice/findings. She was the first person to suggest there was another way to write/wrap up the PhD...
2/
... that wasn't characterised by only misery, struggle, overwork, pain.

I took that vision/possibility into my writing up year and I too loved it.

I loved seeing disparate threads come together, new ideas emerge, my own voice+perspectives get stronger

3/
I also planned ahead + got super intentional about making that last year as focused, joyful, invigorating & in flow as it could be.

I shaped my schedule, time, physical space, support system to make my little "writing up world" as amenable + pleasurable as possible.

4/
I know situations vary tremendously for #PhDstudents globally + I know I have enormous privileged to have been able to do this.

But I also want to stress that misery, struggle, a horrible writing-up experience doesn't have to be inevitable/a default setting.

5/
It may not be like mine was but it can definitely still be made a little more pleasurable / bearable.

This starts with remembering that you are 100% ALLOWED to want every stage of your PhD experience to feel good + to take certain steps to make that more possible for you

6/
{Shameless plug} This is exactly what I'm about: supporting you to find ways to make that experience feel more aligned w your best way of working+being. To drop the bs that doesn't serve you. To find practical steps to enjoy the PhD more. More here: linktr.ee/jamiepei

n/n

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More from @verymessyjamie

Jun 5
Hot #phdtip for the super driven goal-oriented type-a perfectionists to GET MORE REST & loosen your grip:

Set goals or a mini 'challenge' for your fun/leisure/social life

Examples in thread below

1/

#phdchat #phdlife @PhDVoice @OpenAcademics #AcademicChatter #AcademicTwitter
* meet/call/zoom non PhD friends/family at least once a week
* try a new recipe/bake once a week
* see one art exhibition a month
* Set a leisure reading challenge (like @goodreads annual book challenge)
* knit a blanket for a friend's new baby before their birth
2/
* do your fave workout 3 x a week
* set a daily step goal ('bonus points' for getting those steps away from your lab/dept eg in nature/gym/neighbourhood walk)
* get to bed every night before 10pm
* get 8 hours sleep a night
* do one 5-min meditation (e.g. @Headspace or @calm)
3/
Read 5 tweets
Jun 5
How I planned for + wrote 6 #thesis chapters in my last year while keeping all my mornings, evenings + weekends free.

A 🧵

@OpenAcademics @PhDspeaks @PhDSurvival @PhDVoice @PhD_Genie #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter #phdlife #phdtips #phdchat #phdwriting #postgradresearch
First, a note: I fucked about a LOT the first 2-3 yrs of the PhD. Then, had 2 bereavements + 6 straight months of health issues which put me out of action. So I ended up writing most of the thesis only in my last writing up year.

I cut it close but I got it done.

2/
1. I looked at everything I had to do + planned backwards: How many chapters over how many months. I broke the writing plan down into months, and then into weeks.

I had an idea of how I work and how much I'm able to do within a week, so I kept it realistic.

3/
Read 15 tweets
Jun 5
I wrote 6 of 8 chapters of my #phdthesis in about 8 months (the very last year of the #phd) + rewrote my lit review.

This isn't a brag. It's to say that a lot can be done in a short time 1/

@PhDspeaks @PhDVoice @OpenAcademics @PhD_Genie @ThePhDPlace
Don't panic about not having stretches & swaths of time ahead to write forever.

It takes a tiny (and I mean TINY) bit of planning, focus + accountability to set yourself up.

Focused, intentional work can yield A LOT in even just 30 minutes.

2/
BTW, in those 8 months of writing of writing those 6 chapters, I only worked max 6 hours a day. I kept all my mornings, evenings + weekends free, slept a full 8+ hours every night, ate proper meals.

I want you to know it IS possible to have balance & still get shit done!

3/
Read 4 tweets
Jun 3
Hi, I’m Jamie. I’m a #PhD graduate

But I’m also…
a former education journalist
a former magazine writer
a life coach
a tarot reader
a daughter
a girlfriend
a friend
a public-speaking award-winner
a spiritual practitioner
a weight-lifter
....
....
#phdlife #phdchat 1/
Every single one of those ‘identities’ carries its own weird quirks, interesting characteristics, insecurities +anxieties, skills +capacities, fun, worries, likes+dislikes.

But also, each of those parts of me are entwined with all the other parts...

2/
I was never *just* an academic

I was a PhD student who also had lots of writing experience as a journalist; whose spiritual, witchy side always nudged her to trust her own research intuition; who used her yoga practice as valuable reflections on her researcher positionality

3/
Read 4 tweets
Jun 3
Just gonna say it: if you're doing a #PhD for the prestige, reputation, just to say you're a Dr, it's going to be that much harder to sustain motivation or to feel really passionate & joyful & in flow with your work
1/
@PhDVoice #AcademicChatter #phdlife #phdchat #AcademicTwitter
You're in it for the long haul w/ a #research project. You gotta actually give a shit about the thing you're researching & invested at some level in creating change & being of service to the world through your work.

2/
In many ways, the research isn't all about you. It's about the potential change/improvement/solution you're in the process of discovering which could literally change the world, society, people's lives. Focusing only on YOUR prestige, title etc is not enough 3/
Read 6 tweets

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