It's been 2+ years since I officially graduated from my #PhD + I've been reflecting 🤔

Here are 12 things I know now that would have saved me a TON of stress + heartache back then 🧵

#phdlife #academicchatter @ThePhDPlace @PhDVoice @MasterAcademia_ #phdtips #postgrad #phdchat 1 NOBODY CARES HOW OR WHEN YOU WORK

Whether you work 9-5 at an office, or you write the whole thesis from your living room in the evenings, NOBODY CARES.

You get to your viva + realise that 0% of the examination is on how many hours you work, how 'efficient' your routine was.

It's a mistake to think that the only wins in the #PhD worth celebrating are the big flashy events - submission, acceptance, awards.

Here are 30 other wins in the PhD you might think are "no big deal" 🧵

#phdlife #phdchat #academicchatter #academictwitter #phdtips 1 knowing when to stop work for the day (and trusting that rest now = more energy and focus when you come back tomorrow)

2 asking that embarrassing question (which is probably not that embarrassing and something 159 other PhDs have)

8 years ago, I started my #PhD!

Here are 50 things I've learnt about this wild, messy, joyful, challenging + hugely fulfilling #research journey 🧵

#academicchatter #academictwitter #phdlife #phdchat @ThePhDPlace @MasterAcademia_ @PhD_Genie #research #doctorate #postgrad 1. The PhD can be challenging AND pleasurable - the two are not mutually exclusive

2. The PhD can be joyful and fun

3. Enjoying the PhD and finding ease in the process doesn't make it any less valuable

4. The PhD shouldn't take over your life; it is a PART of your life

All the horrible things I have thought and done during my #PhD that I was absolutely sure nobody else was thinking or doing

(but which, actually, they all absolutely were)

#phdlife #phdchat #phdtips #academicchatter #academictwitter @ThePhDPlace @PhD_Genie 🗯️ They're going to figure out that I'm not actually capable of doing this work

🗯️ I have no idea what I'm doing

🗯️ I don't think I'm ever going to figure out how to plan and structure this thesis

Unpopular opinion: There isn't actually anything you HAVE TO DO in your #PhD or #research>>>

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#phdlife #phdchat #phdtip #academictwitter #academicchatter Yeah, yeah, I know all the agency vs structure people are going to crawl up my arsehole now and get very angry.

But what about privilege?!
But what about systemic oppressions?

Okay but hear me out first...

Hello new friends who've recently joined my little Twitter corner! 👋

So, who is this @verymessyjamie anyway?

A brief reintroduction to me and a portrayal of my coaching vibe via 6 fictional characters >>> Tina Belcher

(awkward as heck, doesn't fit in with the cool kids but does her own thing and (mostly) feels good about it)

Some useful things to try to beat #writersblock in the #PhD and get back in flow. A 🧵
👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

#phdchat #phdlife #phdtips #AcademicTwitter @OpenAcademics @PhDVoice @PhD_Genie #thesiswriting #academicwriting #researchwriting #phdthesis #postgrad #Dissertation 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... 👇🏼

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?!

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

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#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
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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
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#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...
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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.

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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.

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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...

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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
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@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.

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