Category: Getting things done

PhD students are an interesting cohort. At our university the average age of a PhD student is 36, which means you can safely bet that most students have some family responsibilities – either to a spouse, elderly parents, animals or children. Parenting is challenging for PhD students because, in addition to the caring work that …continue reading.

A friend of mine tells the story of her first day as a PhD student with equal parts amusement and horror. One day she had a busy life as an academic, working with a wide range of students and colleagues, the next she was a PhD student who just had to hand in a thesis …continue reading.

The procrastination fairy has sprinkled you with her can’t be bothered dust – what to do?

The incredible hulk complex – too much thesis, too little shirt. Here’s some ways to tell when your topic is not too green and muscly for comfort

Want to write a winning grant application? The Whisperer rethinks the problem in a non listy kind of way.

Addicted to email? You need a system darling.

The post where I get conflicted about ambivalence.

A blog can be an archive of reflections about what it means to do a PhD. It can be a placeholder for the vignettes that build to become arguments in the thesis and, unlike a personal journal, the thoughts and arguments are open for scrutiny and feedback.

This is a picture of one of the rather nice glass doors in my apartment. If you look closely you will notice there’s a big crack in it, right next to the handle. I blame this crack on Chapter five of my PhD. To this day I don’t know how it happened, but I managed …continue reading.

One way a humble whiteboard can help you think more clearly about your research