Any advice for surviving the final year and months of a PhD?

Diamonds13

Any advice on the above?

Reply 1

Mr Wednesday

Original post

by Diamonds13

Any advice on the above?

Kind of depends on how the project is going and your relationship with your supervisor and research team. A good starting point is to know what formal paperwork needs to be submitted when and discuss the overall shape of the thesis work and what's currently missing with your supervisor. Writing can be a bit of a grind, but it's also important to get near finished chapters to your supervisor for review with enough time for them to respond.

Reply 2

Diamonds13

Thanks. Good advice - especially about taking a sense of what still needs to be done etc

Reply 3

Secretariat123

Original post

by Diamonds13

Any advice on the above?

Begin obsessing more about it, write even if it's not going to be included in final thesis, just have your ideas there.

Structure your time so that you're not left in the end having not finished, research /choose examiners who won't leave you waiting for a year to do the viva.

Finally, let people quiz you about your thesis, you'll get confident that you know it the best!

Reply 4

Diamonds13

Thanks. This is really useful advice!

Reply 5

The_Lonely_Goatherd

Some good advice above! I'd add to line up a list of proof-readers in advance (these don't have to be fellow students, though I guess it depends on how accessible your topic/line of argument is to a non-PhD person) and send them the chapters to read in plenty of time, so that you have ample opportunity to work on/incorporate any feedback :yes:

Reply 6

Keele Rep

Official Rep

Some excellent practical advice above but I'd add a note of caution about overwork and burnout. As you approach submission, it's so easy to feel as if you have to be working all the time.

Whilst it is great to be invested in your PhD, remember that it's important to take time out for yourself (especially if you don't feel that you have the time to do so). Develop healthy habits (regular exercise, a lunch break, a set number of working 'hours' and regular 'time off') early on and make them part of your day. Otherwise you do risk burning out and, more importantly, losing the love for your PhD.

Remember also that the PhD, whilst important, is not the be all and end all of your academic outputs. This is a piece that, in essence, you're writing to pass a set of requirements. Even if you intend to publish it, you'll need to spend further time post-viva making revisions to take it from being a thesis to being a monograph. And even if you publish it as a monograph, chances are that it's still just a step on an larger academic or professional journey!

As my supervisor once told me, a good PhD is a finished PhD so move past the idea that it has to be perfect and focus, in the first instance, on getting it done.

Hope that helps and good luck! :smile: