Dear #PhD #perfectionist, some thoughts on facing, ddressing + working past #perfectionism/fear of failure in #research.

A messy imperfect 🧵

#phdlife #phdtips #phdchat @PhDgenie @PhDVoice @OpenAcademics @PhDspeaks @AcademicChatter #AcademicTwitter #researchlife #phdwriting
@PhDgenie @PhDVoice @OpenAcademics @PhDspeaks @AcademicChatter 1/ Research is MEANT to be imperfect+messy. Things going wrong in research are more likely than things going ‘perfectly’.

If everything went EXACTLY as we planned/controlled +was already known, there’d be no need to do the research in the first place, right?!
2/ Instead of fearing imperfection, maybe take a beat to reflect/journal:

* What would perfection be or look like in your research?
* What does 'perfect' work + research mean?
3/Get CURIOUS about perfection, what it means + what your need for perfection is actually trying to tell you. More prompts:

*What does it mean for you to be perfect?
*What does it mean for you if something *isn't* perfect? Or if it fails?
4/ Then, get very REAL+PRACTICAL with imperfection:

*What would actually, realistically happen if smth goes wrong/is flawed?
*If that DOES happen, what abilities/resources do you have to be able to address it? (this can be as simple as asking someone for help+advice)
5/ { pause here for shameless plug: here's a free resource I recently created w/ handy tips for dealing with mistakes/mess-ups - not just in PhD but for life-in-general too. Download it here: jamiepei.com/messedup }
6/ When you've had a good think about what im/perfection means for you, think about how you can give it its own place separate + outside of yourself.

ie. YOU ARE NOT YOUR MISTAKES OR FLAWS
YOU ARE NOT YOUR MISTAKES OR FLAWS
YOU ARE NOT YOUR MISTAKES OR FLAWS
7/ Make the imperfections a separate entity. This should (hopefully) make it easier for you to deal with - like you would a naughty child or an annoying neighbour, rather than conflating it with your entire sense of self + worth
8/ Final piece: reflect on how the imperfection+things-going-wrong can actually be a GOOD THING.

*What new discoveries can you make from what's happening (vs what you expected?)
*What new ideas/perspectives is your researching showing you when things go wrong?
9/
*What new opportunities might open up from the mess?
*What new skills/techniques/methods might you develop as a result of addressing this mess?
*How can you extend your research or take it in novel directions? Ask new questions? Open new avenues for further research?
10/ Again, imperfection + failure isn't separate to research. Much excellent research+discovery arises out of happy accidents (penicillin!) + is very much intertwined w/ or even dependent on that messy in-between space of unknowable, uncontrollable, uncomfortable, imperfect work.
11/ There is almost always magic in the mess + flaws + imperfection.

You'll find it when you stop fearing or avoiding it, start allowing it in + getting curious about it.
n/n The not-knowing + (potential) imperfections are what make the research exciting + full of discovery.

Think of it this way: HOW BLOODY BORING it'd be if everything was exactly what we predicted, had no frills or edges, right?

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More from @verymessyjamie

Jun 12
1/ first: don't sit there forcing yourself to get the motivation back. Nobody in the history of ever got motivated by telling themselves to feel motivated.

Instead, acknowledge you're not feeling it & shift focus instead. Read on... 👇🏼
2/ Try reading something that usually gives you the academic equivalent of fanny flutters (!). Your favourite journo article, your fave writer, a section of your research journal, an interesting joy-giving bit of data.

That might spark some ideas to bring back into your writing
Read 16 tweets
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
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/
Read 7 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

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