Blog
Reflections on doing the work of being a researcher and navigating the complex relationships of academia, always with practical tools and tips.
Guest posts warmly welcome – get in touch!
6 nudges for new PhD Students
Welcome, new student, To the (often surreal) life of a doctoral researcher. Through The Thriving Researcher and my work at the University of Oxford, I meet many hundreds of new students every year, and here are six nudges I come back to time and again that will help...
Why go on a writing retreat?
Through June, The Thriving Researcher and Chapelgarth Writing Retreats hosted five collaborative day-long, online, writing retreats. They were hugely popular, all 125 places booked out within 24 hours of being advertised, and we were joined by academics...
The problem with role models
Over coffee last week, my friend Angela and I lamented how we sometimes miss emails in our inboxes. Even really, really important ones. Angela's a post-doc, and she contrasted herself with her academic lead. This woman always delivers a detailed and careful response,...
Chapelgarth Writing Retreats
Throughout June, it’s a great pleasure to be collaborating with Dr Marcella Sutcliffe and Chapelgarth Writing Retreats to offer The Thriving Researcher community five full-day Virtual Writing Retreats. I’d like to thank Marcella for her generosity in facilitating...
The importance of deciding for yourself when, how, and how much you’re ‘returning to normality’ (Covid-wise), and what that might look like for you
I can’t be the only one who feels change is in the air; anyone else for new stationery? As UK infant and primary schools start to reopen, the phrase, ‘back to school’ has been in my mind a lot as I got my five year-old ready - in practical terms and expectations - for...
Following productivity gurus could be keeping you from your best PhD work: compare what happens when you let your creativity breathe
One of the biggest mistakes research students make is believing that improving their ‘productivity’ is the route to academic success In practice, they often find that principles drawn from productivity approaches (originating in...
‘I can’t bother my PhD Supervisor(s) with my problems. Especially not now, of all times.’
How trying to help your supervisor probably isn’t helping, and what to do about it. Thank you, Covid-19, for making an extremely complicated relationship even more complex. The PhD supervisor - supervisee relationship is inherently complex. In UK universities...
PhD Help in a Pandemic (2/2): Filter Out Overwhelm
Why is is so hard to get on top of things? because no-one except you sees the holistic picture. Those in positions to support and advise you (as supervisors, partners, colleagues, friends) only see part of your life. If often feels like they take the part they...
PhD help in a Pandemic (1/2): Be practical
Writer’s Block? #ShouldBeWriting? Just not in that headspace? If you’re not in a place for sustained and focussed writing, you’re among friends. If you’re in any doubt about that, a good scroll through Twitter’s #AcademicTwitter or #PhDLife should set your mind...
Subscribe