• This website is very thorough and has a lot of information
• This includes lots of thesis writing tips
• More information

Different PhDs have different thesis ‘rules’. Make sure you are clear before you start what your institution expects from you (do you have a page limit? what line spacing should you use?) and go through your plan with your supervisor to make sure they are on board, before you start writing.

I attended a course about 6 months ago called ‘dealing with long documents’. This gave lots of tips about creating a thesis in Word and setting up templates to make life easier as the thesis is created. Make sure you are familiar with the software you will be using to write your thesis (especially the software you are going to use to manage your references). If you don’t feel confident with the software, find out if there are any courses at your institution and/or look online to find helpful tips, tutorials and advice.

I have decided it might be useful to start writing down everything in a notebook. So I can record where I have saved my files, what parts I have finished and to-do lists as I write my thesis. This weekend I went out and bought one, and hopefully this will help keep me happy, organised and on track as I write up.

My Thesis Notebook

• Set out what your aims are at the start of your PhD (and let your supervisor know) for instance if you would like to spend time in a different lab or learn a specific technique.. TELL THEM. They aren’t mind readers
• Plan, write plans (revisit and revise plans) and keep showing them to your supervisor (even if your supervisor appears uninterested)
• Get to know your supervisor, learn how they work and how to get the most out of them
• Learn to communicate what you are doing to someone outside of your field (and your parents/loved ones)
• Adapt, learn that plans are not set in stone and things have to change and shift. Learn to live and love(if you can) this
• Things will take longer than you plan them to
• Read the PhD comic strips (http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php)
• Join a select number of societies related to your field (when the time comes to present work at conferences most societies insist that you have been a member of their society for 12 months in order to apply for travel funds/grants – I wish I had known this!)
• ‘The Unexpected’ WILL happen. You can’t plan for it. You don’t know when it will happen. But it WILL ARRIVE. Promise.
• There will be additional courses, learning and support you can get from the university along the way (for example presenting, writing or computer skills courses). Identify where your weaknesses are and find out what courses will be able to help you
• Learn to communicate with your supervisor and lab mates/others in your group
• Gain a set of friends who are all at different stages of their PhDs, you can draw on their experiences, pass on your experiences and go for tea breaks with them when ‘the unexpected’ happens 
• Politics will probably create more problems and stresses than your research
• Not all research is ground breaking or exciting, but it all helps
• Something you have to do will be incredibly dull
• Something you have to do will be exciting
• You will find yourself in a different world where only your PhD project exists (try not to spend too much time in this world, it helps to get out from time to time)
• At some point someone will ask you to teach someone else
• Blog it. Blogging the trials and tribulations of your PhD can help get you through it and you might make some friends along the way
• Think about (and plan for) what you want to do when it ends. Although it may not feel like it eventually you will finish it!
• You will not tick off everything on the plan you created at the start of your PhD
• Your PhD is your project you need to OWN it, manage it and be responsible for it.

I probably need to add something about ‘being organised’ and ‘writing everything down and filing it properly’ these two will probably become more of a concern as I try to put all my work together in the thesis!

I grumbled a lot about doing this. I didn’t really see the point of being forced to create conclusions for results that weren’t quite finished yet. I also heard a lot of reports from others that they completed their assessment and received no feedback, and therefore thought that the whole process was a waste of time.

I found, in practice, that doing the assessment was actually very useful. It is useful to spot holes in the research that I have carried out. It was also a welcome opportunity to pull diagrams and figures together properly and think about different aspects of my research work, bringing them together as one. I was also pleasantly surprised to receive feedback about my report from my advisor this week. It is very reassuring to know that an ‘outsider’ has taken a look at the work and deemed it to be on track and of a good quality.

So my advice, although it may be hard work, time consuming and a bit of a pain.. make sure you take part in any of the assessments available to you. If there aren’t any available, suggest one. Or if you find there are flaws in the one you have been asked to do, suggest how it can be made better. It’s not productive to sit grumbling to yourself at your desk and worrying if the work you are doing is any good.

But how do you deal with conflict? Do you keep quiet and agree with everything your supervisor says and suggests? When you disagree,  as a student, how do you get your point of view across without completely sabotaging your relationship? Is a harmonious relationship necessary? Or does conflict breed better work?

I asked people who have been dealing with this kind of situation if they had any tips to share…

“I think the first rule is having the confidence to stand up for your self, and the second is knowing when to pick your battles.  There is no point breaking out into war over little things, but you have to put your foot down sometimes, otherwise you will lose complete control of your project.

There are times when my supervisor (Prof A)  asks, “why have you done that?” And I want to reply with “because you told me too”, knowing fine well Prof A has simply forgotten that she told me to do something. I shrug and keep quiet,  for a quiet life.

When Prof A tries to take control (when I write anything) I let them make the changes and I then work through each one, and I decide if I like it or not. Then do my best to put it into my words. I have had to stand up for myself, explain that the project is mine and argue for my point of view.

An important point, always question why your supervisor wants to do something, don’t just blindly obey. Knowing the end point they want to reach, allows you to choose how to find the answer.  9 times out of 10 the student will know a quicker/better way(s) to get to that answer (or will already have it!).”

Have you ever had to deal with a conflict? Do you and your supervisor argue on a daily basis? Or are you the best of friends?

Most PhD students will quickly discover new depths of the human tendency towards procrastination. We develop an irrational compulsion to immediately complete any given task that pops into our heads, as long as it’s of the order of check emails/make enquiry/arrange meeting; for some baffling reason, the same urgent desire is rarely directed towards the meat of the (humanities) doctorate: writing.

Don’t get me wrong: checking emails is important, and making enquiries or arranging meetings can have significant and energising results. But they’re not The Main Thing. With the third year of my doctoral research looming, I need to make sure The Main Thing gets the lion’s share of my day. So in an attempt to wrest back some control over my skittish thought-train, I’m going to be trying out a few time management techniques.

The first to have privileged access to my precious work-life balance is The Pomodoro Technique®. Developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s, and named after a tomato-shaped timer, it’s designed to quite simply get things done. Even better, it’s extremely straight-forward. Each pomodoro is a unit of time: 25 minutes. First, you decide on your task. Then set a timer to alert you when your pomodoro is completed (dedicated downloads for Mac and PC here). You work for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break: repeat as required. At every fourth break you take longer off – at least 10 minutes, maybe half an hour for lunch.

I convinced a friend and fellow PhD-er to partake of a day’s tomatoes with me. No doubt her presence gave me added incentive to behave (read: turn off the wifi and stay at my desk), but the value of the little red fruits (three cheers for botanical pedantry) was marked. My task for the day was re-reading and editing a chapter I’m writing for a book, for which the technique worked well. I imagine it would also work for writing from scratch – although perhaps not so effectively for reading and note-taking, where interruptions might do more harm than good.

Firstly, the concentrated time spent working really adds up, so at the end of the day you know you’ve worked solidly for X number of hours. Compared with a day of slightly more diluted focus, even if that was over a longer period of time, that meant I got the feeling of having achieved something. Which makes me feel confident re achieving more things the next day. Which is good.

Secondly, the fixed bursts of activity slowed down the way I work – but in a good way. Rather than wanting to do every aspect of the task all at once, it made me more systematic, and so more attentive to details.

Thirdly, repeating the pomodoros made me aware of the pattern of my concentration, as it ebbs and flows. Often, I’d spend the first ten minutes getting my head calmed down, then have a flash of insight or inspiration, then toil away on it for the remaining time and arrive at the end before I knew it. Whilst it can be disheartening to realise how long it takes to settle into a task, the Pomodoro Technique® meant I had many more such flashes than I would have done had I tried to focus for an extended time.

Fourthly, the regulated timing helped me begin to realise what’s realistic and possible to achieve, and what’s just wishful thinking. No longer will I start each day planning to ‘finish [insert whatever it is I've been working on for three weeks]‘ – and inevitably end it feeling disappointed. Learning to manage your time over a long period, and make accurate projections about what you can do in a month/six months/a year is an extremely valuable transferable skill. This little tomato will bring your ambitious schedule into line with reality.

So I’d definitely recommend you try it – and please comment below on your experiences! Why not also let me know of any other time management techniques you use, and I’ll give them some blog-space.

Happy pomodoro!

These are the questions I asked her:

1)      Do you think I can finish in 1 year? Am I on track?

2)      Is my PhD so far, ‘good’…  – what would make it better?

3)      What would make me more employable as a scientist?

4)      What do I need to focus on?

5)      Do you think I am performing to my potential?

Before speaking to her and while I was putting these questions together I carried out a little self assessment. Where did I think I was, where did I feel I could do better? I did this so I could target the discussion towards issues that would really help me, to be better.

I had the meeting this afternoon, it went really well. We had a very open, frank but relaxed chat about my PhD using the questions that I had asked as a guide. She liked the idea of the appraisal, felt it was lacking from the PhD structure and was pleased I had put these questions together. I gained an awful lot from the discussion we had and have pin pointed some things that I should focus on. Mostly though, this discussion helped me think clearly about how I work and about what I would like to do once I finish my PhD.

If you are feeling a little lost, confused or are just at a decisive point in your PhD (or anything for that matter).  I would recommend arranging to have a discussion with your supervisor with some targeted questions and the idea of getting some constructive feedback/criticism out of them! Don’t be afraid of asking, or wait for your supervisor to ask you. A PhD is your own project and you, not your supervisor, has to manage it.

1) Sit down and spend a good amount of time going through what I have done already

2) Work out what is a) Useful and finished b) Useless and rubbish c) Useful but needs finishing off d) What is missing

3) Put a plan together to finish the unfinished and tackle the missing bits

4) Put a realistic, priority focused timeline together on what I want to acheive and by when – I don’t want to try and do too much and end up not finishing any of it. What parts are essential and what is ‘nice to have’?

5) Start putting a plan of attack together for the thesis writing…

I am interested to know why people fail to write up their PhD. Please share any reasons you know of or have experienced, all the better if you can share how you overcame them!

There’s an “elevator” (I reluctantly use the Americanism in deference to the catchy phrase) in my University library. Assuming I want a job in my home department and am not planning a sudden leap into Agriculture (the fourth floor), or meeting my prospective employer on her/his way to the mythical fifth floor (microfiche), that gives me exactly 19.6 seconds of captive audience. That’s a challenge. If I were to share this confined space with an esteemed academic, and want to sell my research wares, what would I say?

Locate your research quickly

Admittedly everything about the elevator pitch has to be done quickly. But there’s no point launching into a detailed analysis of [insert niche doctorate topic here] without expressing its value. The question is: why?

Be specific on methodology

Your listener will want to know what you actually do all day, if they are thinking of maybe, one day, possibly, paying you to do it.

Use illustrations or examples

Abstract assertions? Sweeping generalisations? Impenetrable jargon? Your prospective employer would be forgiven for deciding to take the stairs.

End well

Make it easy for them to follow up. Contact details, publication information, conference dates: anything to help the conversation carry on.

Admittedly, I’d have to hope for some kind of mechanical fault to get all that across… You may not have the good fortune to meet your next head of department on the ground floor of a tall building. But there are plenty of great opportunities to share your research with your peers in an interdisciplinary environment, which really helps to consolidate and stretch your thinking. Next week I’ll be attending ‘Life Beyond the PhD’ (Cumberland Lodge, Surrey, 15-18 August 2011) doing just that. The recent ‘New Media and Academia’ conference (Northumbria University, 10-11 May 2011) had delegates create short YouTube clips introducing their research. There might even be something to be said for getting your elevator pitch down to that elusive 140 characters.

I hope that cures your claustro-acro-phobia. Let me know how you get on!

I found the transition fairly straightforward, although it did take me a few months to completely settle.  I am glad I made the move and so far I have really enjoyed my PhD. My workplace was extremely busy and organised and I found academic life to be a lot quieter and a little more….haphazard (in some respects). There are a whole range of ‘transferable skills’ that can be taken from the workplace straight into a PhD. Presenting & organisational techniques I learnt whilst working, alongside many other attributes from the world of work have supplemented and enhanced my PhD over the past two years. On a day to day basis, what about the similarities and differences between The Real World and PhD life?

Similarities

Mostly I find myself working 9-5 although sometimes I do work the odd evening and weekend (no different to when I was in The Real World). I have goals, targets and deadlines to meet. I am responsible for the work I am carrying out, I need to make sure everything is organised and conducted properly. I do get stressed about how much work I have to do. I worry about how well I have completed tasks and about what other people think about my work.

Differences

Being a PhD student gives you the freedom to explore, to make mistakes and learn freely, that time wasn’t available when I was working. In my PhD project, I am the boss, I own it and it is up to me what happens to it. I can plan my work and get on with it without being dragged into meetings and moved projects because the company plan has changed. One negative difference I find is the solitude of a PhD, although I work in a lab full of people I am working alone on my project and sometimes that can make me feel incredibly lonely. There are no rewards (not really, until you finish). No matter how much work you do, you will never get a pay rise, the best you can do is get the satisfaction of getting a paper published, getting your name on a patent and/or giving yourself a big pat on the back.

They both have problems and they both have good points, good days and bad days. If you want to leave work to escape pressure, I am not sure that starting a PhD is the answer. If you are incredibly passionate about a particular subject, can work without instant gratification, can work well on your own and are sure the move is right for you, then go for it!

When I reflect on my own research life so far, my overactive (literature student’s) imagination springs into action with the help of some trusty word-pictures. Do these ring true for you?

In the early days I did a lot of archival research.  At this stage, it felt like I was finding lots of tasty morsels to season my thesis with – salt and pepper, maybe some rosemary* – but no big juicy steak to fill the proverbial plate.

On the other hand, writing always feels like catching a nervous horse. You have to walk up to it sideways, looking like the last thing you want to do is write a thesis. I mean, catch a horse. So I approached it from all sorts of angles, whistling nonchalantly, and managed to get a few thousand words on paper in the process.

(Forgive the mixing of metaphors: I’m certainly not suggesting you cook la viande de cheval and hand it in to your supervisor.)

More recently, it seems my daily work most closely resembles that of a shepherd. Spring has sprung, and the pastures of the last two years are now populated by lots of lovely little thought-sheep. My job is to get them into a straight line, and through yonder gate… “Baa-ram-ewe!”

Do you see your PhD in pictures, too?

*you’ll be grateful I avoided making a bad joke about not having enough thyme