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12 Expert Tips for Organizing Your PhD Research work

Revolutionize Your Research Workflow with These Expert Organization Tips

1. set clear goals, 2. develop a research plan, 3. create a schedule, 4. use a project management tool, 5. prioritize your tasks, 6. break down large tasks into smaller ones, 7. manage your time effectively, 8. stay organized, 9. communicate with your supervisor, 10. seek support, 11. stay motivated, 12. take breaks, 50 tips to oranize phd research work.

The journey of pursuing a PhD can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but it can also be overwhelming at times. One of the keys to completing the PhD degree successfully is being organized and managing your time effectively.

Organizing PhD work can be a challenging task, but with proper plan and execution, one can effectively manage their time and progress. In this article, iLovePhD presented twelve practical tips and strategies to help you stay organized and productive during your PhD journey.

Whether you’re just starting or in the middle of your PhD journey, these tips will help you stay on track and make the most out of your time as a research scholar.

Tips to Revolutionize Your PhD Research Workflow

The first step in organizing your PhD work is to set clear goals for yourself. Define the objectives of your research. Develop a clear and realistic plan for your PhD work, including milestones and deadlines for each task.

Once you have set your goals, develop a research plan that outlines the steps you need to take to achieve them. Your research plan should include the research questions you want to answer, the methods you will use to collect data, and the analysis techniques you will use to draw conclusions.

Create a schedule that outlines the tasks you need to complete each week and the deadlines for completing them. Make sure you allocate enough time for each task and don’t forget to include time for reviewing and revising your work.

Consider using a project management tool like Trello, Asana, or Notion to help you organize your tasks, set deadlines, and to help you to stay on track.

Prioritize your work based on the importance and urgency of each task. This will help you to focus on the most critical work first.

Also Read: Suffering PhD Scholars in Academia

Divide large tasks into smaller, more manageable tasks. This will help you to work more efficiently and achieve progress more quickly.

Manage your time effectively by allocating specific time slots for each task. Avoid multitasking, which can reduce your productivity and increase your stress levels.

Keep your work organized by using folders, files, and notes. This will help you to easily find and access your work and prevent you from losing important documents. Use tools like Zotero or Mendeley to manage your references.

Regular communication with your supervisor is crucial for staying on track with your PhD work. Schedule regular meetings with your supervisor to discuss your progress, get feedback, and ask for help if needed.

Seek support from your peers, and other professionals when necessary. This can help you to overcome challenges and move forward in your research

Stay motivated by setting realistic goals for yourself and celebrating your achievements.

Taking regular breaks is important to avoid burnout and stay focused. Make sure to schedule time for self-care. Engage in activities that you enjoy to maintain your mental health and well-being.

Organizing your PhD work is essential to ensure that you can work efficiently and effectively toward your research goals. It is an ongoing process, and you may need to adjust your plan as you go along.

Develop a system for managing your data.
Use a literature review matrix to stay organized.
Prioritize self-care to avoid burnout.
Use a task management tool to stay on top of deadlines.
Keep a research journal to track progress and ideas.
Stay organized by using folders and labels.
Create a clear and concise research plan.
Break larger tasks into smaller, manageable ones.
Use a citation management tool to keep track of sources.
Take breaks to avoid fatigue and maintain focus.
Back up your data regularly.
Use templates for reports and presentations to save time.
Stay on top of emails and communication.
Use an agenda or planner to schedule meetings and deadlines.
Collaborate with others to share ideas and resources.
Use software tools to help automate repetitive tasks.
Take advantage of library resources and research guides.
Use charts and graphs to visualize data.
Use cloud-based storage to access your work from anywhere.
Stay organized by color-coding notes and files.
Use checklists to ensure you complete all necessary tasks.
Make time for exercise and other forms of self-care.
Keep track of important dates and events.
Break down complex information into easy-to-understand summaries.
Use mind-mapping software to brainstorm ideas.
Take notes during meetings and discussions.
Create a filing system for physical documents.
Use an annotation tool to mark up documents.
Set aside designated time for writing.
Prioritize your most important tasks first.
Use keywords to organize your literature reviews.
Stay focused by eliminating distractions.
Use a backup system to protect your work.
Use templates to maintain consistent formatting.
Utilize peer feedback to improve your work.
Stay up-to-date on research trends and developments.
Use time blocking to schedule your day.
Maintain a consistent schedule to establish a routine.
Use a timer to help with time management.
Stay organized by using bookmarks and tags.
Make use of keyboard shortcuts to save time.
Take breaks to stretch and move your body.
Stay hydrated and well-rested for optimal productivity.
Use online forums to connect with other researchers.
Take care of your mental health to stay focused and motivated.
Keep your workspace clean and clutter-free.
Use a dictation tool to speed up your writing.
Create a backup plan in case of unexpected issues.
Use technology to stay organized on the go.
Celebrate your progress and accomplishments along the way!

By implementing the tips discussed in this article, you can establish a structured approach to your work that will help you stay focused and motivated. Be flexible and keep working towards your goals, and you will be on your way to completing your PhD successfully.

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How I stay organized as a PhD student

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of planning, scheduling and journaling. It’s the main way I tackle executive dysfunctioning and has become a crucial part of my life as a scientist and researcher. Getting the balance between organization and leaving room for flexibility, which is vital for researchers, can be a challenge. I often get asked to share the details of my planning system and how I am such an organized PhD student, so I thought it was about time I wrote a blog post on it!

Organized PhD student: a photo of a bullet journal spread and a schedule.

In this post I’ll try to detail the ways I plan my time, set goals, reflect on my progress, facilitate growth through learning, and build my self-esteem. This system has been developed slowly over time and I’m sure it will continue to change as I learn and grow. I think that’s an important thing to remember: your planning system doesn’t have to be static. It can be moulded to suit your needs at that particular time in your life. Equally, what works for me might not work for you, so I’d recommend trying to experiment with different ways of planning and journaling to discover what suits you and how your brain works. There are plenty of resources online for inspiration! Hopefully, this post can be another resource to help those who might also benefit from the way I do planning, scheduling and journaling.

My organization system is essentially broken up into two sections: scheduling and journalling. I find a mixture of the two works best as scheduling gives me much-needed structure and journalling allows me to be more flexible and free-form.

When I first started my PhD I tried doing all of my planning in a bullet journal, but this ended up not being very sustainable for me as I often didn’t have the energy to layout monthly and weekly spreads ahead of time and the future log wasn’t working for me. So, I decided I’d get a planner that already has the monthly and weekly spreads with time slots I could block out. I find it really useful to see time blocks visually and take my planner with me everywhere so that I can jot down any future appointments and events even when I don’t have internet access. I use a passion planner at the moment but any planner with time slots should work just as well.

In my planner, I use what I like to call a ‘skeleton routine’. Here’s how the skeleton routine works: I have a set of recurring events that happen every weekday (and some continue during the weekend). These include morning and evening reflections in my journal, checking my emails twice a day, an hour-long lunch break from 12-1, and going through new paper alerts. Around these daily repeating tasks, I also have some weekly repeating tasks like a block of time on Monday morning especially for reviewing theory, meetings with my specialist mentor, progress meetings and journal club with my supervisor (these last two alternate week to week but are at the same time). Sometimes the meetings with other people have to change last minute or maybe I am unable to attend, but I know that there will always be those key tasks that are purely in my control to keep me anchored throughout the week. The great thing about the skeleton routine is that I can do these tasks wherever I am, including if I am away at a conference.

This leaves me with quite a lot of free time blocks which can be filled with the priorities for that day and anything that comes up last minute. I find that this balance of structure and flexibility has really helped me work to the best of my ability. It helps reduce some of the unpredictability of PhD life and giving me the comfort of a routine, while also leaving room for that all-important flexibility.

My schedule in my physical planner is coupled with my outlook calendar so at the end of the working day I make sure to transfer any new events I’ve put in my planner into my outlook calendar. This way anyone who I have shared my calendar with (such as my supervisor) can see when I am busy and schedule meetings around that.

While my planner keeps my time semi-structured, it’s my journal that keeps me grounded and focused on my values and goals. It’s also the place where I get my thoughts out of my head and onto a page so they’re not cluttering up my brain and I know I can always refer back to them in my journal. The beauty of the bullet journal system is how it can be adapted to suit any needs, but here I’ll share the way I use the system at the moment.

At the beginning of each month, I sit down to reflect on the previous month and plan out the coming month. This generally consists of a title page, monthly tasks list, monthly inventory, monthly overview, and my priority tasks and deadlines:

A photo of a bullet journal monthly title and tasks page.

The title page is mostly just to mark the new month. I tend to pick a colour palette for the month and attempt to do some brush lettering. It’s a place to get a bit creative!

The monthly task list is something of a new addition to my system. It’s basically a place to put the bigger tasks that are never going to be done in one day or even a week. This way I’m not having to constantly migrate these bigger tasks but I can refer to them when I make my weekly pages and create some sub-tasks to achieve those monthly tasks. I add to this page throughout the month and sometimes these get migrated to the next month and that’s okay! It’s just a place to keep bigger tasks in mind without being constantly faced with them as daily tasks.

A photo of a bullet journal monthly inventory and overview

I think it’s the monthly inventory that makes the biggest difference to me at the beginning of the month. You can do this on a separate piece of paper as Ryder Carroll suggests in his book ‘The Bullet Journal Method’ but I prefer to just keep it as a page in the journal itself. It’s here where I just dump all the tasks/projects I am currently working on, should be working on, and want to be working on. The exercise is just to get everything out of your head and onto the page. I do a lot of flicking back through the previous month to see what open tasks I have during this process! Once I’ve written all the tasks I can think of, I read back through them and mark a few priorities from each column. The inventory is primarily a place for me to reflect both on what I’ve achieved the previous month and on what I most want to focus on in the coming month.

I just use a super simple monthly overview where I put down any events that I want to remember. This overview couples with my 3-4 priority tasks and any deadlines for the month which just keeps me on track. If I write them down I can’t pretend they don’t exist so I’m more likely to meet the deadlines!

At the beginning of each week, I spend some time thinking about the week ahead and what I want to achieve. My process for weekly bullet journal planning is kind of a mini version of the monthly pages:

A photo of a bullet journal weekly spread and brain dump

The first weekly page contains a focus for each day, list of events and three priority tasks for the week. This is where I have to think really hard about where I want to be focusing my energy for the week in order to achieve my goals!

After this, I do a big braindump. This is something like a more detail-oriented version of the monthly inventory. It’s a big list of all the open tasks I can think of and it’s these that I pull from into my daily pages.

For me, it’s the daily spreads that’s where the magic really happens. Dailies are the pages where I get the most inspired! I start off by doing a morning reflection which is usually just me writing out any thoughts, anxieties and feelings that I’m having to clear my mind. I then write out a daily affirmation. This always feels a little silly but since I started doing daily affirmations I think that I’m actually starting to believe myself which is helping with my self-esteem.

After this, I’ll make a list of the events for that day and any tasks I want to complete. These can be directly pulled from the weekly brain dump or sometimes I break one of those into smaller, more manageable tasks in my daily. I also sometimes write notes and thoughts throughout the day in the daily log if they’re things I want to remember or return to!

In the evening I take some time to sit down and reflect on my day. I check my daily tasks and mark off all those that are completed (if I haven’t done so already!). I also take some time to look at unfinished tasks and ask myself why I am doing this task and whether it is worth my time. If it isn’t I strike it out. If it is, it’ll get migrated onto the next daily to-do list the next morning. After this, I tend to write a little summary of my day focusing on what I learned that day and what I’d like to achieve the next day. I finish off by writing down something I’m grateful for which often gets me into a better headspace before I start to unwind for the evening.

Collections

A key part of the bullet journal system for me is making collections. Collections are pages where you gather ideas together under a theme. I like to use them for all sorts of lists and I often return to them to add more notes. Here are some examples of collections I keep:

Ideas for new experiments/potential papers to write
Research pipeline
Big long-term goals (things like ‘getting my PhD’ and ‘buying a house’)
Morning and evening reflection prompts
Blog post ideas
Places I’d like to pitch a story to
Youtube video ideas

A photo of a bullet journal collection of morning and evening prompts

Morning and evening prompts collection, research pipeline, writing and youtube video ideas collection

You can make a collection about anything and the beauty is that they can be returned to again and again to expand your ideas.

Some resources

Here are some resources that have been useful to me when developing my planning and journaling system:

https://bulletjournal.com/ – the bullet journal website is a great place to learn about the system and get inspired.
https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Bullet-Journal-Method-by-Ryder-Carroll-author/9780008261375 – Ryder Carroll’s book ‘The Bullet Journal Method’ is a fantastic overview of bullet journaling as a system and personal philosophy.
https://dailystoic.com/journaling/ – A great (and extensive) article on journaling from Ryan Holiday of the Daily Stoic. Particularly useful if you’re new to journaling and interested in the philosophical side of it.
https://medium.com/thrive-global/start-journaling-54ea2edb104 – ‘The Life-Changing Habit of Journaling (Why Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, and Many More Great Minds Recommend it)’ is a nice medium article and is shorter than the piece on the Daily Stoic if you want a quicker overview of the benefits of journaling.

If you like my work, I’d love your support!

6 thoughts on “How I stay organized as a PhD student”

Hi Daysi, I've been working on this recently! I organized my schedules on trello, but I want to buy a journal.I read about Stoicism and it help me so much. I'm doing my PhD too (work with biogeography).Thaks for sharing! 😊

Hi Patricia! I like to use a combination of physical and digital tools which works well. Trello is great, especially for collaboration. Hope your PhD is going well!

Thanks so so much for sharing your organization system in such a thorough, detailed manner. The photos help a lot.I have to say, I'm intrigued by the concept of "Research Pipeline" and would love for you to expand on it in another blog post. In fact, it's the first time I've encountered this phrase. So thanks for introducing me to the concept.I love it when I discover the vocabulary for concepts and ideas in my head that I have not yet fully managed to connect and integrate.Great work!

The research pipeline is a concept I came across a while ago and I find it to be really useful. Here's a blog post I found on it if you want to know more: https://www.nicole-brown.co.uk/research-pipeline

Hi Daisy! Just came accross your blog and this article. After spending most of my life trying to find the best way to plan I ended up planning more than actually doing the work! I will give your method a go for my PhD work!Julien (from the applied optics group in Kent)

Hi Julien! I can totally relate to that. Good luck finding a method that works for you.

Maintaining PhD Productivity: Tips for Mindset and Organisation

By Britt Berning

A PhD is a big, daunting challenge to undertake. The list of things to tick off is seemingly never ending: reading in your field (and out of your field), experimenting, writing and communicating your research, and much more. As I work my way through my PhD in neurobiology, I keep a lookout for strategies to get my work done properly and in a timely manner. The following are a few key tactics for productivity that I have picked up along the way.

See the big picture

PhD students wear a lot of different hats: scientist, writer, programmer, graphic designer. The list goes on. One of the most important aspects of a PhD is the ability to think like a project manager. Having an overview of the major milestones that comprise your project, and the smaller steps required to fulfill those milestones, will act as a compass to keep you moving along on the right track. It’s important to revisit this big picture regularly as your project grows and changes over time – sometimes the data closes certain avenues, and new and interesting leads open up. There are a range of great project management apps available (I love Asana) but you could equally plan things out in a word document or brainstorm on your whiteboard.

Set realistic goals and take it easy on yourself

It’s better to overestimate the amount of time necessary to complete an experiment than push yourself towards an unattainable goal. Repeatedly falling short of your goals will only dampen your momentum and enthusiasm. Being reasonable with your expectations of yourself gives you some positive feedback and gets you ticking things off faster. It can be helpful to set two deadlines for a task: a hopeful deadline to strive for, and a more realistic deadline that factors in time for optimisation, potential delays in the lab, or periods in your personal life where you may feel the need to slow down at work. That way, if you happen to go over time in reaching your goal, you won’t feel too bad about it and your motivation won’t take a hit.

Spreadsheet everything

Excel and Google Sheets are your best friend. Beyond data analysis and storing important logins such as your ORCID ID, spreadsheets can be used for keeping track of micrographs for publication, or making notes on the literature. A spreadsheet enables you to see everything at a glance and makes it easy to pick up on emerging patterns.

Carry a small notebook in your bag and make use of note taking apps on your phone. Use them to record ideas for experiments or papers as they pop into your head, or plan out the structure of a paper, or design of a conference poster when small pockets of time present themselves to you (perhaps during an incubation period or while waiting for a particularly fickle piece of lab equipment to decide to function).

If in doubt, Pomodoro

For smaller, pesky tasks that I’m prone to putting off, or a paragraph where I’m struggling to clarify my point, I’ll use the Pomodoro technique . Set a timer to 25 minutes and focus solely on that task for the whole time. Break for 5 minutes, and then move onto the next task.

Find an accountability partner

Particularly one who will stare you down when you start checking Twitter in the middle of a writing session. Share your goals for the week, keep each other in the loop regarding upcoming opportunities, bounce ideas off each other and schedule writing sessions together in your calendar.

Do not underestimate the serenity of flight mode

As a researcher, your ability to focus becomes your currency. Guard it with your life. Jumping from task to task and being bombarded by distractions will leave you drained and frazzled. I already keep email notifications switched off at all times and generally check once in the morning and again in the afternoon. When I really need to focus and think, I’ll switch my phone to flight mode and remove all but the essentials from the immediate space around me on my desk so that it’s just me and The Task That Needs Completing.

Done is better than perfect

After a while you have to take a step back, be proud of what you’ve done, and release it so that you can move onto the next exciting thing. The author Liz Gilbert once described perfectionism as “fear in fancy shoes and a mink coat, pretending to be elegant when it’s actually just terrified.” I couldn’t agree more. Perfectionism can be crippling and it really shouldn’t be the badge of honour it’s made out to be. A clear and meaningful result generally means that it’s time to move forward to the next interesting experiment, not time to plug away at the same assay only to make tiny incremental improvements that don’t actually add any value to your paper.

I hope that these tips help you reclaim some of your time so that you can focus on the more complex aspects of your work, think deeply, and take care of yourself.

_________________________________________

Britt Berning is a PhD student in the Neurodegeneration Pathobiology Laboratory at the Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, where she investigates amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Her research is focused on changes that occur to the protein trafficking system in the motor neurons of the cortex, brainstem and spinal cord. She believes a picture is worth a thousand words; when she's not playing with a microscope, she is fiddling with her camera. You can follow her on Twitter to learn more about ALS and cool new findings in neuroscience research or visit her Instagram for insights into PhD life (@NeuroBritt).

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Adventures of a PhD candidate

Reflections on the thesis journey

How I plan in my PhD/Organise my desk

In this post I thought I would share how I plan my days/weeks in my PhD. This process evolved over time for me, and is the culmination of workshops/googling/other blogs.

Gantt chart

Personally, I actually hate Gantt charts! Yes, I do think they are good for long term planning. Yet, a lot of people have them and don’t actually do anything with them! Usually every candidate tends to have a gantt chart, but doesn’t actually use it to make smaller, achievable chunks. So I use mine to plan my weeks.

Long term weekly planning

I use the ‘focus’ to determine my weekly tasks.

Weekly Planning

Every Friday afternoon I have time allocated to plan my week and to clean my desk. On this Friday afternoon I plan the next week. I usually put in my commitments first (I use outlook to track meetings and appointments), schedule time for reading and then look at my focus for the week and add tasks to achieve that. Here is what it looks like (note: all names are pseudonyms) :

So my weekly planning is also daily planning, as I have allocated segments for each day. I have a set lunch break, and try to follow the 15 minute breaks in the middle segments. I’ve found that a large part of having success with this method is being strict with yourself. You have allocated these times for you to work, so work! Don’t pick up your phone unless it is in your allocated break. The same goes for Youtube, Twitter, Facebook etc. I treat my PhD like a full time job so I try to only work 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday. This doesn’t always happen, but I have found that it has given me less stress, and I value my time at my desk more. If you don’t set yourself hours it is easy to be unproductive as you can see the whole morning, day, then night stretch before you. If you know you only have until 5pm, you want to use all your time as productively as you can!

You also need to know what works for you, and when. For example, don’t schedule reading time in the morning if you know you hate reading in the morning! Try and be realistic about the tasks you can achieve, so you are setting yourself realistic goals. I have also found I am much better now at assessing how long a task will take, as I have practise at scheduling my time.

For those interested as to why I have ‘code article’ on my planning, this is because I use Nvivo for my literature review . Unfortunately when I had a computer malfunction, I lost some of my Nvivo file, so when I say ‘code article’ it really just means quickly grab the key quotes and fix them up in my Nvivo file.

Random things that pop up

One thing I found when I first started my PhD was that I had an ever growing to do list, and I had many suggestions from my supervisors of who to read, things to search for etc. I found the easiest solution for this was a visual to do list. I use post-it notes (cheap ones do not work – they fall off the wall) and have three columns, ‘to do’ ‘in progress’ and ‘done’.

Sorry for the dreadful picture – my iPhone was trying to be arty by ‘focusing’ on one side and blurring the other. This list is different to my ‘monthly’ planning list. It is usually things that aren’t urgent, but I want to be able to remember for the future. I only have 1-3 items in the ‘in progress’ section at a time. This allows me to truly focus on the task at hand.

My desk as a whole

This is my desk overall. As you can see it isn’t super tidy, but I do like to keep some sort of order to it. To the right, I have my Gantt chart and my weekly tasks on the divider between my desk and the person next to me. The trays are for my printed articles, spare paper for notes, my de-identified transcripts, and papers that need to be filed on Friday. On the left, I have all of my printed articles sorted by subject. I keep most of my stationery in the drawers.

Below the magazine holders, I have folders. These are mainly filled with readings for courses I have taught and notes from workshops I have attended.

My calendar

I use my electronic calendar in Outlook as a way of managing my meetings and appointments. I do not schedule my tasks in the electronic calendar. It is only a tool to manage appointments/meetings. I have found this to be the most effective method for me, as I always generally have my phone with me. Paper planners (for me), always get left behind and I have a dreadful memory, so need something that I can quickly refer to.

Electronic organisation

People often ask me how I organise my files. For me this is simple.

I have a folder for each potential chapter in my thesis, and organise drafts in here by date. Within each folder is a folder for feedback from my supervisors. Every time I open a document to write/edit, I ‘save as’ with a new date, to help track versions and eliminate any problems with file corruption (as I can always open the last saved file if a file corrupts)
I have a folder for meeting notes. You should be planning your meeting with your supervisors, and I usually print an agenda prior to the meeting. I keep these here.
I have a folder for ‘planning’. This includes my Gantt chart and my weekly lists.
My PDFs are all organised in Nvivo, and I have a copy in Endnote. I simply save PDFs to my downloads – I do not need to organise them in another way on my computer.
All my files are saved to my OneDrive. Except my Nvivo and Endnote files. The Nvivo file is constantly editing as you work in it, and cloud storage doesn’t like this. I save a back up to my cloud storage every time I close Nvivo. Endnote files will corrupt if they are saved on cloud/or USB storage. I use the ‘endnote’ online service to backup my Endnote.
My notes and annotated bibliography are all in Scrivener ( see this post: The way I take notes for my PhD) .

For more tips, check out this tweet:

Going to be organising a workshop for PhD students about organisation skills/tricks/tips and goal setting. I know @raulpacheco has fantastic stuff. Does anyone have any tips/ organisational tools I can share beyond my own tips and things I do? #phd #phdchat — Dr Kate Smithers (@thekatsmithers) May 2, 2019

I hope this has helped you in some way! What are your tools for planning/organising?

The Forgotten Skill: Organising your PhD Brain

The PhD journey can be complicated, hectic, and sometimes, feel like hell. A whirring, excited brain is great for research, but can be difficult to manage. Ellie King speaks about the often neglected skill of a PhD: organising your brain, and offers some tips on how to get things a bit neater.

Have you ever tried to remember every single thought you had during the last 3 years? Have you ever written an essay and thought ‘yes, that’s a great point I should make! Now, who was it who said it, and where the hell is it?!’ Have you ever thought the key to research success is being super smart? Welcome to the forgotten skill of your PhD: organising your thoughts.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is book-address-book-learning-learn-159751.jpeg

This is something that isn’t much talked about within the research community. Yes, we look at time management and organisation skills, but have we ever stopped and thought about how we organise our minds? I’ve found that the background of a PhD is the constant whir of thinking: about where to go with an idea, about how to analyse data, about what to bring up in your next supervision. This whir needs to be turned into something manageable, because it’s no good when you’re writing your thesis to suddenly remember that idea you had two years ago and then wonder where it went. I always have thought of my PhD success not being driven by my intellect, but by being able to file and organise my constant stream of thoughts and manage to pick them out again eighteen months later.

Now, I’m quite an old-fashioned analogue person, so my method of organising my mind might seem weird. But you can definitely translate it into the 21 st century if that’s more your gig.

Firstly , the master notebook. It sounds pretty obvious but every time you have one of those thoughts, write it down. Put the date on it. If you think it’s really important, draw a box round it. If these ideas are in between your to-do lists and supervision notes, then that master notebook becomes a record of how your brain has ticked through research. My supervisor makes fun of me for being ‘the only person left in the world to still write things in notebooks’ but it has seriously helped.

Second , handling readings. You’ll probably all have your own methods for doing this, but with the amount of papers you take notes on, getting a system in early is a godsend. For me, yes you guessed it, I do all my notetaking on paper, but once a month I spend the time to log all of this into a bibliography excel spreadsheet. This includes all the publication information about the paper, but also space for a summary of what the paper said, any key quotes or words, and some notes on what I thought of the paper. Super useful for when you need to get to a paper or an idea but you can’t quite remember who said it or where it came from. Ctrl+F, and bingo.

Thirdly , general computer organisation. Those emails? Get them filed. Those file names: get them more specific than ‘research draft’. Use file folders effectively, splitting work into planning, publications, drafts, reading lists, whatever else you need. The more broken down the better in my opinion, otherwise you’re stuck trying to find ‘research draft’ within a file of fifty of the things.

I really believe that if you’ve got your office in order, whether that’s physical, digital, or metaphorical, you’ll have a much easier time on this difficult PhD train. Instead of research being a daunting mass of hell (and we all know it sometimes feels like this) it can become a little bit more manageable if that hell is neatly organised into boxes that you can easily get to when you need them. If you’re tracking every thought, every to-do list, every meeting, every paper you’ve read, then the train may run a little smoother.

How do you manage your hectic PhD brain? Tweet us at @ResearchEx , email us at [email protected], or leave a comment below.

Ellie King is a Second Year PhD student in Warwick Manufacturing Group. She has been at Warwick since 2014 in the History department, and has recently moved faculties to research applying user experience to the museum sector. Ellie is partnered with the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. You can connect with her on LinkedIn here , or follow her on Twitter @ellietheking

Ecologist and environmental social scientist

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Five tips for starting (and continuing) a PhD

On 4th September 2020

In Advice for other students

Lots of the specific stuff you learn as a PhD student, as well as general approaches to your work, begins with informal advice rather than formal training. I’ve received lots of advice from others during my PhD, since the very early stages of my project. This has helped me both build a PhD project that I’m happy with, and actually enjoy my life while I do my PhD (the two, of course, being closely but not entirely linked!). As it’s the start of the academic year I want to share a few of my own tips along those lines, to help get your PhD off to a good start, and keep it on a trajectory you’re happy with:

1. Keep notes on everything you read

My PhD, like many, kicked off with lots of reading of textbooks and academic papers. My reading has ebbed and flowed, but not really stopped, since then. Reading is a big thing during your PhD. It’s useful to keep track of what you’ve been reading because you won’t remember all of it, but you will want to come back to a lot of it.

My system for keeping notes on my reading is highly unsophisticated, but it works: I have (currently) three Word Documents, called Reading_[insert year here] stored on Dropbox so I can access them anywhere. I’ve got a separate one for each year of my PhD because 1) each document is a bit more manageable than one scary enormous one, and 2) I find it surprisingly easy to remember when-ish I was reading different stuff because my reading has gone through some quite distinct phases (e.g. more stuff relevant to study design early on, more stuff about analysis later) so it seemed like a reasonable and simple way to organise my notes.

The notes I make on what I read vary a lot: at my laziest, I just copy and paste the paper title, first author and abstract into the doc, and I’m done. If I’m feeling enthusiastic, I make more extensive notes on the paper and my thoughts on it, or copy specific sections that are especially interesting or relevant to my work. I make sure that each paper title or reference is formatted as a heading so that I can scan through the document easily, and create a contents page for each document. Now, if I want to find a specific paper or read publications on a particular theme, I can Ctrl+F to find key words in my Reading documents.

2. Read a couple of theses

I’m going to disagree with tip #2 in Five Tips for Starting Your PhD Out Right and say you don’t need to read them cover to cover – I don’t think this is necessary in the early stages in your project, unless you really want to do so, or if you feel that every chapter is highly relevant to your own PhD. But I do think it’s helpful to flick through and see different thesis structures (trends in how to structure a thesis evolve over time, and also vary by subject area, so look at recent graduates in your field for ideas of what’s likely to be appropriate for you).

Theses might also contain some specific content that you didn’t realise you’ll need to add to your own thesis (such as more detailed methodology than you usually see in a published paper) or useful references if the PhD is closely related to your own work. I think it works well to look through the theses of recent graduates in your research group, your supervisor, or others working on similar stuff to you. But you can also search for theses online, for example by using EThOS .

3. Start a Word document called “Thesis”

You can use other people’s theses (see previous tip) as a guide to add appropriate headings and subheadings to this document which will act as your own thesis structure / outline. Okay, I did this in third year, not first year, but I reckon it would have been helpful to start this earlier. Since I started this document, I’ve made good progress on actually organising my thoughts and even writing a few things down. And if you’ve got this document ready from early on in your project, you can populate it with notes and ideas whenever they occur to you at any point during your PhD.

Recently, I’ve been going through my Reading documents (remember tip #1) page by page and copying across notes from papers that I have read (and often forgotten about) into the appropriate sections of my Thesis document. It’s surprising how quickly my rough structure has been populated with ideas and material for literature review and synthesis, and how this has helped me link different ideas together i.e. stuff I read in first year and forgot about, with stuff I’ve been reading recently, with stuff that’s coming out of my own analysis. Actually, now that it’s getting quite full, I’ve split my Thesis doc up so that I’m just working with one document per empirical chapter. In first year, a simple thesis structure in a single document is a good place to start.

4. Think about how to make the flexibility of your PhD (and your control over it) work best for you

This one’s quite big-picture, and I’m kind of cheating the list-of-five by squeezing several tips into one. But I think that the general principle of this tip is important, and can be interpreted in different ways to suit different people: PhDs are often inherently flexible, in how you set your daily, weekly and monthly schedule, and I think that you should make the most of that.

The nature of your PhD flexibility and your control over it depend on the details of your project, how you’re going to be working with your supervisors and institution. But there are usually opportunities for flexibility, even if you have to be in the lab most days. PhD-life-flexibility can be exploited for your professional or personal development, to maximise your productivity, to create opportunities that are fun or useful now, or allow you to flex creative muscles you haven’t had the opportunity to flex before.

Below I list the kinds of things you can think about to best use the flexibility of your PhD. These are all things that can work alongside the core research / write / defend thesis requirements of your PhD, and while you definitely don’t have to make any firm plans on day one, I think that it’s really valuable to think about ideas like this (and any more you have) early in your project. It’s all about what you want to get out of your time whilst doing your PhD , including but not limited to the PhD itself, and how you want to structure that time:

How do you want to set your daily schedule, where do you want to work? What’s going to be most pleasant and productive for you, and fit in with your home life?
What things do you want to do outside of your PhD (sports, reading non-PhD-related books, joining local clubs and groups, always protecting weekends off) to actively maintain a healthy work-life balance (which is better for both your wellbeing, and the state of your thesis)?
Are there times when you’re going to be working extra hard (like fieldwork)? How do you want to balance that with rest and recuperation afterwards (an extended post-fieldwork holiday…?)?
Do you want to take an interruption from your PhD for an internship or job?
Do you want to practise writing by starting a blog or try a bit of science journalism ?
Do you want to get involved with science outreach?
Do you want to build a professional profile and network by making a website or getting on social media?
Do you want to teach undergraduates or Masters students?
What training courses would you like to do (and where do you find out about them)?
Do you want to try turning one or more of your chapters into academic papers?

5. Talk to people, lots, in both general and specific ways

Starting a PhD can be overwhelming, and knowing where to start, or where to go next, can be really tough. Having conversations with other PhD students about what they are working on, how they are finding their PhD, what kind of training they have received, might point you to interesting new research topics, training opportunities, or just give you a bit of a general feel for what it’s going to be like doing a PhD in your new department. These general conversations are important because they can provide you with nuggets of wisdom you didn’t know you needed and, crucially, help you feel connected to and supported by your colleagues and peers.

Asking your supervisor or others specific questions like are there any academics whose work you recommend I look into? / do you recommend any textbooks on [planning a research project], [planning fieldwork], [fundamentals of landscape ecology], [fundamentals of development research] [insert another topic you’re not sure about yet but want to learn about]? / are there any conferences I should look out for? can give you some useful starting points for directing your own learning in the early stages of your project. So, think specifically about what you need at the start of your PhD, and ask for help with it.

…And one bonus tip: read advice from other (ex-) PhD students

There are similar posts to this one with advice on starting your PhD here , and I particularly like the twenty top tips from Lucy Taylor here . There are actual full guides to PhD life like The A-Z of the PhD Trajectory and The Unwritten Rules of Ph.D. Research which can be very helpful to read through at any stage of your PhD (though I guess you maximise your use of them if you read them early!) and to use as reference books as and when you need them. There are lots of people blogging about their past and present PhD experiences, which can offer great advice and comfort at every stage in your PhD. Personally, I love the Thesis Whisperer and like to check in with it semi-regularly. Reading TW feels a bit like my tip #5: it’s about seeking out help and advice, sometimes when you didn’t even know you needed it.

Practical tips on how to be an interdisciplinary individual

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Doing an internship during your PhD – Ellie Wood

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Edge for Scholars

How to PhD: 10 Tips from Hindsight

I received my PhD in Computational Biophysics in 2012 from the University of Western Australia. I am currently a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia (the equivalent of junior PI). During my postdoctoral years, I have been actively involved in supporting PhD students and Early Career Researchers (ECRs). Last year, I was invited to be on the panel of a workshop called “Tips from Hindsight” where four ECRs shared their “survival tips” with students that just started their PhD journey.

Before I share my tips, I would like to emphasize a few things. First, the tips are based on my own experience, both as a PhD student and more recently as a supervisor to postgraduate students. Second, the PhD experience is a deeply personal one and is affected by a lot of different factors. As a result, there is no one size fits all approach to a successful PhD. Third, my tips are inevitably biased towards a PhD in (Biomedical) Sciences in Australia. While some tips are universal, others might not apply to students from Engineering, or Social Sciences and Humanities, or students doing their PhD in countries other than Australia. Finally, I had the privilege to focus on my studies while being supported by my long-term partner and having a stipend that covered my living costs. Students that do their PhD part-time while doing other paid work or having caring responsibilities, will face additional challenges unique to their situation.

Take charge! It’s your PhD. Be proactive, have a plan, and then be prepared to revise that plan (many times). Listen to others and be guided, but in the end, it’s your PhD, and that means it’s your responsibility.
Look after your PhD mentor/supervisor. The relationship with your supervisor will have a significant impact on your time as a PhD student. And like any other relationship, it is a give and take from both people. There are different types of PhD supervisor relationships and different approaches to managing this relationship . In my experience, it is important to know your own expectations as well as that of your supervisor. I suggest you sit down together at the start of your PhD and talk about your expectations and potential differences . You might like to have a look at some of the questionnaires that universities use. See, for example, this questionnaire from the University of Western Australia.
Monitor your progress. Three or four years might sound like a long time, but time flies when you’re having a good time and working hard. When you set goals, be ambitious but also be realistic. There are plenty of tools and guides out there to help you come up with milestones and to track your progress (e.g. the PhD toolkit from ThinkWell).
Prepare for things to go wrong, then learn from your mistakes and get back up! Learning how to live with uncertainty is part of a PhD. In fact, uncertainty and the sense of ‘I have no idea what is going on’ is part of research. A PhD is much more about resilience than most people appreciate.
Get out there and get involved! The days where researchers can just sit in their offices and follow their own work are mostly over. Many research projects include collaborations, often with people from fields outside your area of expertise. That makes research fascinating, but it also means networking and science communication skills are essential. Attend conferences and workshops, gain skills outside your field, or visit another lab for a few weeks. To fund these endeavours, apply for travel scholarships and conference awards. Social media is another excellent tool to connect with researchers and PhD students. Twitter has a large community of PhD students, and in my experience, people are very supportive. Some twitter accounts to follow include @WriteThatPhD , @ThesisWhisperer, @PhDVoice and @AcademicChatter .
Work-life balance. Treat it like a job. That means when you are at work, you are at work (not on social media every 15 min, or daily 2h lunch breaks). But it also means you get to have a weekend and holidays. Nobody denies that a PhD takes a lot of hard work and commitment, but it is a marathon, not a sprint . Look after your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing . Find a hobby that has nothing to do with your PhD and where you can recharge your batteries. Several surveys and studies show that PhD students are at a higher risk of depression and anxiety compared to the general population. If you’re struggling, don’t be ashamed to ask for help. Most universities offer counseling services, and many online communities provide resources related to mental health issues in academia (e.g., the 100 voices project or Voices of Academia )
Write early; write regularly. It’s not the fun part of your PhD, but no thesis = no PhD. Experiment with different writing routines and find one that works for you. Think about joining a writing group or find a writing buddy. Some universities offer writing retreats. Many universities offer academic writing courses. Also, talk to your supervisor about a PhD by publication.
Invest in your career development and expand your horizon. While your PhD project has priority, I suggest you also look at gaining skills and experiences that might not be directly related to your project. Many universities offer workshops or short courses on science communication, media training, entrepreneurship or intellectual property. Another way to develop organizational and leadership skills is to get involved in professional associations or your local student guild.
PhD does not mean academia. The reality is that most of the people around you with PhDs, will not work in academia. A PhD will equip you with a lot of transferable skills that you can use in a wide range of jobs . I know many people with STEM PhDs that have rewarding careers in industry or areas such as science communication, intellectual property, medical writing, clinical trials management or government policy. Learn how to describe your transferable skills to people outside academia and have a non-academic CV. Once you start looking for jobs, think about joining LinkedIn and look at profiles of other people with PhDs.
Never forget; you are not your PhD, and your PhD is not you . Work hard, follow your passion for research, but don’t let it define you. Make sure you nurture a sense of self-worth and identity that is not attached to your research achievements. Combined with a healthy work-life balance, this will help protect you from burnout.

Finally, I would like to say that you are not alone. If you experience problems with your supervisor or you find your PhD overwhelming, there is a lot of support out there. Contact the graduate research school or the counselling service at your university. For some helpful resources, see the ThinkWell website .

As the title of this article says, ‘It’s a journey …enjoy the ride’. There will be ups and downs, but your PhD years will form you, both as a professional and as a person.

About me: While you can never summarise the complexity of a person’s experience in a few words, the following ‘verbal snapshots’ from my social media profiles are a pretty good summary of my current academic life: Research Fellow – Biophysical Chemist – Fascinated by the molecular world – Problem Solver and Analytical Thinker – Higher Education Enthusiast – Diversity in STEM and Academic Mental Health Advocate – Yogini on and off the mat – Kindness and Gratitude in Science.

You can find me online on Twitter (@ DeplazesEvelyne ) or on LinkedIn

In the interview linked below, you can find out more about me and my passion for science, my journey to becoming a Research Fellow, including dropping out of high schools, and how my yoga practise helps me deal with the stress of my job.

https://www.steampoweredshow.com/shows/evelyne-deplazes/

Additional Resources

My Biggest Job Mistake as a PhD

Finding Your Science Flow: Yoga Lessons to Increase Productivity

Resilience as a Common Trait in Researchers

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[…] Deplazes’ article “How to PhD: 10 Tips from Hindsight” shares her insights from earning a PhD in Computational Biophysics from the University of […]

Hello, Warm Greeting and Namaste from Nepal, I am about to join a research student in korea in deep learning and have a dull mindset. What should i have to do for this and what are the procedure to get over it. Hoping for the positive response from you!! Thank you Best Regards, Er. Sadik Bhattarai

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Phd preparation top tips, tip #1 practice your organisational skills and time management.

To be a PhD student means to be your own boss, at least in terms of planning your own working hours and managing your research project. To be your own boss sounds great, but it can also be overwhelming unless you are prepared for the challenges it takes. You need to make sure you’re ready before your course starts by finding out what type of work schedule makes you most productive and able to stay inspired. In short you need to learn how to be your own boss and ensure you stay motivated!

TIP #2 Get your academic skills in shape

Top sportsmen need strong muscles to perform their chosen sport at the highest level, and PhD students need a strong brain for their studies. You can’t start a PhD without sending your brain to the gym first and getting it into shape! Reading books about your academic subject is like lifting weights, and the more you read the more prepared you will be!

If you have recently finished your graduate studies, it is highly likely that your academic skills are in good shape because you spent the previous year devouring numerous books and articles about your subject. In this case you are probably ready to begin your PhD – but don’t forget to do some reading during the summer break!

If you opted to take a gap year or have been working for a few years before starting your PhD, your academic fitness may be at a low level. If this instance we advise you to get back into shape while waiting for the beginning of your studies by taking a few hours each day to read academic texts relevant to your potential PhD topic. Staying mentally active is the secret to a long and happy academic life!

TIP #3 Create a Plan B

When it comes to PhD, Plan A doesn’t always work. Sometimes your research won’t go as planned, sometimes you will feel completely uninspired, and various other issues that you’ve never even thought of may arise for you to deal with. This means it is always a good idea to create a Plan B! Think about the possible issues that might arise during your PhD and work out how you could solve them.

TIP #4 Don’t forget to have fun

TIP #5 Learn how to work in a group and how to take criticism

As a PhD student, you will be a part of a small research group usually consisting of your supervisor and a few other students, which means you’ll need to learn how to work as a team. You will also be expected to give constructive criticisms as well as receive constructive criticism. If you’ve never experienced someone criticising your work before, you almost certainly will during your first PhD year. Thus you need to “desensitise” your ego and you can do this by undertaking short-term projects that will make you think from multiple perspectives and put you in the firing line for some criticism.

TIP #6 Read personal experiences of other PhD students

The best way to learn what it takes to be a successful PhD student and to prepare for the start of your course is to read personal experiences of other PhD students or to talk to your friends who have already experienced what it takes to do a PhD. This is especially important if you did your undergrad or masters degree in a different country and you don’t know what to expect when coming to the UK.

TIP #7 Follow what is happening inside your field

It wouldn’t make any sense to enter deep into a specialised field of study before finding out who’s who in your chosen area. Make sure you get to know who the most prominent researchers in your field are, what specific topics they are interested in, and which universities they work at. You may also wish to establish some contacts with these celebrated academics to give you a career boost should you ever decide to become an academic.

TIP #8 Practice self-motivation

If you were a graduate student or you had a “real job” for several years before starting the PhD, it is highly likely that you were constantly bombarded with specific projects to finish and that the feedback from your professors or your boss helped you remain inspired and set new challenges for yourself. However, during your PhD studies the external sources of inspiration will vanish, and you will need to master the art of inspiring yourself. You don’t need to be a genius to learn how to motivate yourself – it’s actually fairly simple. Before starting your PhD, try to constantly give yourself some short-term projects that require persistence and self-determination to get you into the swing of things. This will make you ready to aim even higher when your PhD course starts.

TIP #9 Focus on long term goals instead of short-term pleasures

TIP #10: Work on your language skills.

Last but not least, if you are a foreign student it is important that your English is on a high enough level before you begin your studies. Of course, in order to get accepted to your program you have probably passed the TOEFL or IELTS language tests. But don’t fool yourself! Passing these exams doesn’t necessarily mean that your academic English is at a high enough level to guarantee your success in your PhD . Most universities offer language courses for the upcoming PhD students before the start of the academic year, and that is one of the best ways to improve your English. Another useful thing to do is to surf the internet for various writing tips, and you can also contact university writing centres for more information or advice.

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Organizing Papers and References without Losing your Mind

In January, Ulrike Träger wrote a great PLOS ECR post describing how to stay on top of reading during graduate school. If you haven’t read it yet, go take a look, as it’s relevant for people at all career stages. As a follow up, here are a few tips on how to keep track of the papers you want to read without losing your mind.

Choose a reference manager. Sure, you can get by creating a poster or two without a reference manager, but it’s incredibly risky to cite references by hand for manuscripts and grant proposals. Choosing and using a reference manager is also a great way to track papers as you collect them, particularly because reference managers often have powerful search functions. There are many to choose from. Some are free, like Zotero and some versions of Mendeley . Others, like Papers and EndNote , are not, though some paid programs may be free through your institution. Spend some time researching which manager fits your needs, but don’t get bogged down, you can always switch later. Personally, I have transferred references from RefWorks to Zotero to Mendeley to EndNote over the past several years without much trouble.

Choose a place to keep unread papers. Whether it’s a physical folder on your desk or a virtual folder on your desktop, it’s important to have a designated place for unread papers. This folder is more than just a storage space, it should also be a reminder for you to review unread papers. It’s tempting to download papers and forget about them, falling prey to PDF alibi syndrome , wherein you fool yourself into thinking that by downloading a paper you’ve somehow read it. So, set aside some time every few weeks (on your calendar if you need to) to review papers. You won’t necessarily read each paper in detail, but you should complete a quick skim and take a few notes. Try to resist the urge to leave notes like “finish reading later.” However, if needed, consider using notes like “need to read again before citing” for papers that were skimmed particularly quickly.

Choose how to keep track of your notes. It’s a great idea to create a summary of each paper as you read it, but where do you keep this information? Some people write separate documents for each paper (e.g., using the Rhetorical Précis Format ), others write nothing at all, but tag papers (virtually or physically) with key words. The exact components of your system matter less than having a system. Right now, I keep a running document with a few sentences about each paper I read. I also note whether I read it on paper or as a PDF so that I can find notes taken on the paper itself later. If I’m doing a deep read on a specific topic, I might also start another document that has in-depth summaries. I usually keep notes in Word documents, but it’s also possible to store these notes in many reference managers.

Choose how to file read papers. Again, having a system probably matters more than which system you choose. Given the interdisciplinary nature of science, it can be complex to file by topic. Therefore, I find it easiest to file papers by last name of the first author and the publication year. It’s also useful to include a few words in the file name that summarize its content. This will help you differentiate between articles written by authors with similar last names. So, for example, using this method, you might label this blog post as Breland_2017_tracking refs. I keep articles I’ve read in a folder labeled “Articles” that includes a folder for each letter of the alphabet. Therefore, I’d file this blog post in the “B” folder for Breland.

TL;DR. The goal of creating a system to organize papers and references is to be able to easily access them later. If you follow the steps above, it’s relatively easy to keep track of and use what you’ve read – if you want to find a paper, you can search for a key word in your reference manager and/or in your running document of article summaries and then find a copy of the paper in the appropriate alphabetized folder. That said, there is no right way to organize references and I’m curious about how others manage their files. Chime in through the comments and we’ll update the post with any interesting answers!

Pat Thomson (2015) PDF alibi syndrome , Patter blog. Accessed 2/27/17.

Ulrike Träger (2017) Ten tips to stay on top of your reading during grad school , PLoS ECR Community Blog.

Sample Rhetorical Précis: http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl201/modules/rhetorical-precis/sample/peirce_sample_precis_click.html

Featured image available through CC0 license.

[…] Organizing Papers And References Without Losing Your Mind – Jessica Breland […]

You have a great organizing skills! I appreciate your tips!

Fantastic tips! Thank you for sharing.

Great tips! It helps me a lot while I’m doing my final diploma project. Thank you.

This is great, very helpful. Nicely written and clearly organized [like your ref lib 😉 ] C

im at the start of my phd and already feeling that i have a lot of literature. i am taking your notes onboard and going to spend some time to organise my files asap. thanks

15 Tips on Surviving Your PhD Program

15 tips and advice on making it through a phd.

It can be extremely challenging to complete a PhD program while maintaining physical and emotional health. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that 50 percent of all doctoral students drop out of graduate school without completing their degree. Some schools report a 90 percent attrition rate. Common reasons for dropping out include academic shortcomings, students who change their career path, or those who lose interest in their pursuit. Some students have the ability to complete their degree but opt not to. One cause is the discovery of a poor job market for professors or private organizations in their fields. The Chronicle reports that math and science students leave in their third year. Some 25 percent of dropouts in Arts and Humanities occur after three years, potentially leaving candidates with high student debt and despair. This guide offers examples of concrete, accessible, and practical actions that can alleviate many problems that overwhelm doctoral students.

15 Tips on Surviving Your PhD

There is a legion of experts that offer advice on making it through the years of your PhD program. Many agree on the necessities of maintaining a balance of academic pursuits against routine personal outside activities that foster physical and emotional health. Here are 15 suggestions:

1. Establish a routine you can follow.

It’s crucial to stay on track. Your best option to do so and keep peace of mind is to create a schedule that you can follow – and commit to following it. Get up and do your work on schedule, just as you’d report for a job. Devote segments of your routine for research and reading pertinent literature in your field. Add time in your schedule to include sound sleep, good nutrition, exercise, socializing and recreation. Remember you’ll have other obligations such as attending lectures, symposia, commuting, parking, cleaning your living space, shopping for supplies, meeting with study groups and peer collaborators. At the same time, build a realistic schedule so you won’t work yourself into fear frenzy.

2. Start writing from day one.

Your writing practice and research methodology can put you ahead of schedule on your dissertation. That’s because learning to write comfortably in a scholarly fashion should become a second nature. To eliminate last-minute furies, organize your research times, round up and cite sources properly, and create a number of drafts. Writing at least 30 minutes daily can allow you to consolidate your notes and findings, and note discovery of areas that require additional research. Plus, much of what you write goes directly toward your understanding of your subject matter. Because of your other commitments to teaching, collaboration, and outside activities, keep a writing routine and stick to it. At the same time, read smarter, understanding how the literature fits to your purposes. In reading and writing, look for key points, not bulk.

3. Create a positive community.

Decide from the begging that you can’t afford to collaborate or socialize with friends or peers that exude negativity. Braggards or chronic complainers can sap your energy or even cause you to adopt negative thinking or comparisons with the progress of other PhD candidates. Lead your own research, but seek advisement from people that you can trust, who have your best interests at heart. Join groups involved in your major field of study with which you can share academic as well as social issues. A positive community can bring you out of isolation, and isolation can foster fear or despair.

4. Build effective networks.

Along with creating a positive community, get on with networking from the very beginning of your program. You’re going to spend four or five years at the university, giving you ample time to forge and grow partnerships with working professionals, educators, junior faculty, and peers that contribute to your evolving knowledge base. They can offer suggestions to explorer literature, research trends, and potential opportunities for publications, conferences, and workshops. Remember to investigate online tools and communities as part of your networking as a way to make yourself known as a colleague. Create your professional/research profile at places like LinkedIn or join a LinkedIn Discussion Group. Speak with presenters at seminars. Connect with authors you discover in your literature research and participate in career groups outside your usual sphere at the university. Finally, consider taking informational interviews as a means of understanding the workplace, getting your name out there, and connecting with potential employers.

5. Put money woes to rest.

Having ample money to get you through your program can be difficult, even excruciating. But just knowing solid funding resources can give you some comfort and save precious time. Have a financial plan and do the legwork vital to your economic survival. Don’t let finances overwhelm your primary purpose of discovering your interests, focusing on your expertise, and making progress. Financial aid options for doctoral students are available at the U.S. Department of Education . You may need to combine several opportunities to cover your total expenses, including grants, scholarships, loans, fellowships, housing costs, and securing teaching and research assistantships. Some grad students make money tutoring but you’ll have to consider the time against your routine and academic schedule. GoGrad provides detailed PhD cost estimates broken down by professional field, along with scholarship/grant/fellowship search tools.

6. Make sound nutrition your ally.

Rutgers University advises students to find other ways to palliate stress than by overeating – even healthy foods. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables and all your meals at the right portion sizes. Cut out junk food and sugary treats that create the craving to keep eating them. That goes for alcohol, too, which can contribute to a decline in your health and create another source of worry. Student and faculty events often include drinking, so proceed wisely, even if peers call you a wimp. Vary your meals and include a free day for eating what you want without guilt. WebMd suggests that students include berries, oats, milk or yogurt, salmon, dark green veggies, walnuts, beans, and dark chocolate. Coffee is okay in small doses (8 oz) and without lots of sugar. Latte and mocha drinks are satisfying but often contain large amounts of sugar. Green tea can wake you up, if you don’t want to overdo coffee, but eschew energy drinks or other stimulants that make you jittery.

7. Add exercise to your routine.

Exercise, even moderate, can do wonders for both your physical and emotional wellbeing. Among its benefits, regular exercise fights stress, improves memory retention, and boosts your mood (particularly in winter). Researchers at Colorado Tech report that exercise increases “the number of brain cells in the hippocampus, which controls the formation, retention and recall of memories – all essential for student success. In most adults, the hippocampus starts to shrink in the late twenties, leading to memory loss over time.” Exercise can also add to your social bandwidth if you have regular workout partners or participate in intramural team activities. Remember to stretch. Consider taking a yoga class or Pilates workout. Do some running, weight lifting, swimming, or join a rowing group. Hike with friends or colleagues. Get out the mountain bike. For best results, get in a 30-minute workout at least three times a week. Time Magazine reports that cardiovascular exercise can positively affect depression, anxiety and mood disorders. And you’ll sleep better, too.

8. Learn how to deal with rejection.

Rejection in an PhD program is a routine, unwanted emotional downer. But how you react to it is crucial. Unsolicited advice can feel abusive. Competition for internships, fellowships and publications can stress you out to the point of collapse. Coping tools include not taking rejection or undue criticism personally and chalking it up to experience. It can soften the blows as they come. Comparing yourself to other candidates can be toxic. As with athletics, there will always be someone better than you. But you’re not pursuing your colleagues’ goals, dissertations, or even the identical degree – you’re pursuing personalized knowledge and skills for your life after the doctorate. Barbara Robson, an Associate Editor for two academic journals, writes in Quora that most papers (80 percent or more) are rejected and that there’s an element of luck in getting published. If your paper is rejected by a journal, find another suitable place to submit it. If you’re passed over for a conference, don’t sent a hate letter or academic rebuttal. Move on.

9. Choose a qualified graduate advisor and mentor.

Finding the right mentor and dissertation advisor is pivotal to your academic success and survival. The Gradhacker Blog at Inside Higher Ed suggests that you choose an advisor that shares your research interests and career path. Ask about their success rate in graduating students that they mentor. Check out whether they walk the walk by viewing their list of publications, conference presentations, and other research accomplishments. Find out if they’re available for ongoing advising. Explore their aptitude as a mentor and the personal chemistry toward working together. Are they hard to communicate with, abusive or condescending? Are they unable to otherwise maintain a productive and respectful relationship during the time you’ll be in the program? Not all accomplished professors make for good advisors. Some may be too wrapped up in publishing or attending conferences to meet with you. You should leave advising sessions feeling more focused, energetic about your research and dissertation, and armed with strategies for accomplishment.

10. Build in time for family and friends.

There’s an old joke where a friend asks if you can hang out and you say, “I’m in a PhD program so ask me again in five years.” It’s vital to maintain relationships with family and friends. They can sustain you and keep you from deadly isolation. At the same time, they can be distracting. It’s useful to maintain balance by scheduling time with family and friends while sticking to the need to bear down on research and writing. The PhDStudent Forum says when possible to combine family or friend events around studying. For example, take study time for yourself during a longer visit to family to keep your academic momentum. Visit a coffeehouse where you can study along with family and friends that also like reading in public. Be sure to communicate clearly about your schedule and find ways to book in indispensable phone calls and visits. Join friends for exercise or recreation.

11. Set aside time to pursue non-academic interests.

Yeah right, when is that supposed to happen? It happens when you make it happen. To maintain a sane equilibrium, devote some time to routinely indulge in things you like doing. For example, work in the garden, take a massage class, learn photography, play live music, go kayaking, join a cooking class, volunteer in civic or advocacy activities or learn a foreign language. Build something with your hands. Play scrabble. Paint to indulge your playful or creative side. Take a dance class. Learn meditation or improve your ping pong game. Because it can be near impossible to turn off your PhD brain, relegate it to background noise. That way you might have breakthroughs or discoveries that emerge when you return to work.

12. Arrange and maintain a peaceful learning environment.

Living alone may create a peaceful learning atmosphere, but not if you have noisy neighbors above, next door, or below you. Yet you can develop a horrible sense of cabin fever if you isolate at home. Wherever you reside should be comfortable and workable. Clutter can be a source of stress. According to Inside Higher Ed , living with roommates can save on expenses, but comes along with its own set of challenges. Roommates can have other routines and schedules that introduce unwanted noise, emotional drama, unwanted guests, or social habits that can send you off the edge. Research potential housemates carefully, allowing a back-up plan for dealing with inevitable problems. Developing a friendly but direct communication strategy can help. Or, you can create a work zone in your bedroom that lends for privacy. If necessary, you can find a quiet study environment in a library carrel or small café. The same suggestions apply if you’re living with family.

13. Address your emotional health.

According to Inside Higher Ed , there is a mental health crisis in graduate education. Grad students are six times more susceptible to anxiety and depression than in the general population. The study found that “transgender and gender-nonconforming graduate students, along with women, were significantly more likely to experience anxiety and depression” than their straight or male counterparts. A poor work-life balance can be a powerful contributor to burnout and depression. The worst thing you can do when you experience mental health issues is to keep them to yourself or feel like a failure for having them. Seek out the campus counseling center (student health center) or a trusted outside mental health organization for personal counselling. Join their emotional support groups. The National Grad Crisis Line (877 472-3457) provides free intervention services, confidential telephone counseling, suicide prevention assistance, and referral services. Look into NAMI on Campus Clubs which are student-run mental health support organizations.

14. Deal with expectations

Who you are, ultimately, is not a PhD student. Your grad program is what you’re currently pursuing. The Indiana University guide to thriving in graduate school suggests that you shrink overwhelming expectations into bite-size challenges. It’s normal for doctoral students to think that they’re an imposter among experts. Johns Hopkins University found that striving to meet your expectations can cause low self-esteem, procrastination, guilt and depression. You may find yourself unable to meet your expectations for perfectionism, so modify your plans to hit deadlines with your best effort. The guide further advises to straighten out the expectations that others may have for you. This can be especially true with families and people who provide financial or emotional support.

15. Make conferences a part of life.

Opportunities to attend conferences and presentations are richly rewarding. First, you become part of the greater community in your research niche and you can build a lifetime network of colleagues. You can also gain a greater understanding of the professional options available to you. Even attending conferences out of your niche area can stimulate ideas and send you home refreshed. Participating in panels is a great way to network and demonstrate your expertise. Attending job fairs is another way to network while exploring the professional environment. By networking at conferences, you can set up additional meetings with experts by phone, virtually, or before the next conference. It doesn’t hurt to cite conferences and your own presentations on your CV.

From the Expert

What are PhD students afraid to talk about?

The number one thing that PhD students are afraid to talk about is the lack of progress that they are making on their PhD dissertation. This was certainly true in my case and also in the case of many of my classmates whom I spoke with. The dissertation is such a big project with different stages in it and requires such self-discipline over a sustained period of time. When I got past my embarrassment about it and started speaking to others about it helped a lot and I found a way forward.

Another thing that PhD students are afraid to discuss is their ambivalence about being in a doctoral program and whether they've done the right thing and whether they should continue. These are all important questions that such students need to be aware of and speak to others (counsellor, friends, etc.) about.

What was your greatest challenge and how did you succeed?

As mentioned, my greatest challenge in relation to completing my PhD was getting through the dissertation process. Two things really helped me get over the line (and came from speaking to friends and classmates). (1) Since my dissertation was quantitative, I hired a statistics advisor that I met with on a regular (weekly or fortnightly) basis and this helped me make good progress in that it served to provide much needed structure (and assistance with statistical analysis). (2) I fired my dissertation chair and found a new one that I had a much better working relationship with. My new chair was more knowledgeable about my dissertation subject area and also he was much more supportive. I made significant progress with him and thereafter completed my dissertation in a relatively short time frame.

What are good ways to alleviate stress and anxiety?

There are a number of ways that I think will help with stress while working on one's phd. The usual suspects are approaches such as regular exercise, good diet, fun activities (e.g. movies), counselling and/or talking to friends and/or family.

However, I think the best approach that one can take is to get steadily work through each aspect one-by-one of the PhD program towards completing it. A useful way to think about it (with both the dissertation and the PhD program itself), is to not get overwhelmed by the size of this enormous project but instead cut it up into separate pieces and focus on each piece at a time, complete it, and then move on to the next piece.

How did you handle the challenges of extreme competition?

My tip for students who are experiencing high levels of competition is to try put it all into perspective: Do your best to get the finest resources (internships, grades, etc) that you can but know that once you're out in the profession, some of those things might really matter that much in the bigger picture. So, one can be just a 'pass' in your doctoral program but then get out into their profession and make a big splash.

What can you recommend to keep interest or inertia up so you’ll finish the PhD/Dissertation?

‘Cut up the sausage' and focus on/work on it a piece at a time; Locate assistance or supportive individuals and meet with them regularly and ongoing throughout; Create 'deadlines' and milestones for yourself to work towards and have these other (helpful) individuals assist in keeping you accountable.

Find ways that work for you that help to bring structure into this enormous unstructured (or scantily structured) project called a PhD -- and especially its dissertation. At the end of the day, it's really about just getting through it and into the next (and bigger) stage of your profession. Just do your best while you're in it and don't get too caught up in the moment.

Additional Resources & Help for PhD Students

You should realize that you can’t do everything on your own. To do so is a recipe for financial despair, insurmountable academic challenges and poor overall wellbeing. At the same time, you may need to sift through the wealth of outside resources to find the one that addresses your concerns. The following links will connect you with financial options, bulletin boards in your field, and academic resources. Find tips for time management, exam preparation, and help with emotional issues that can and will arise:

GoGrad Guide to Paying for Your PhD : Students are currently paying upwards of $80,00 in tuition to complete their PhD. Use our guide to research your financial aid options.
PhinisheD : This free, comprehensive bulletin board is devoted to PhD students struggling with completing their degree. Find links for reference guides, financial aid, health and well-being tips, and writing guides.
National Grad Crisis Line : It’s for when the going gets rough. The National Grad Crisis Line at (877) 472-3457 was founded in 1988 to provide free mentoring, confidential counseling, and referral services.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention : The CDC offers a pithy, wide-ranging college resource for maintaining wellness through sound nutrition and exercise. It offers diet plans, activity guidelines, and stress-prevention tips.
U.S. Department of Education : Learn about financial aid for graduate or professional students including grants, loans and scholarships. The page links to government sites for applications and additional financial resources.
ThoughtCo : This site is packed with articles on graduate school written by experts. Topics include prepping for comprehensive exams, time-management skills, and dealing with procrastination.
Meetup : Student Meetups provide free, online listings for students to connect PhD candidates seeking peer support. Join an existing group or start one at your university.
GoGrad : Discover tips for PhD students who want to complete their degrees online. Featured affordable online doctoral fields include business, computer science, criminal justice, education, nursing and psychology.
The Grad Café : As host of graduate-school forums, the Grad Café operates a peer-run group that discusses the advantages and negative aspects of living alone or sharing housing.
PhDJobs : Register for free and post your VC. Search among 1,600 current listings for PhDs and sign up for job alerts or information about post-doc programs.

101 Health and Wellness Tips for College Students Rutgers University

12 Tips for Surviving and Thriving in Grad School PsychCentral

CAPS Grad School Survival Guide Indiana University

Mental Health Crisis for Grad Students Inside Higher Ed

Modest Advice for New Graduate Students Medium.com

Surviving PhD and Postdoctoral Programs: Tips to Guarantee Success! Enago Academy

The Crucial Issue of Doctoral Non-completion The Chronical of Higher Education

Top 10 Smart Foods for College Students WebMD

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A Growth Strategy that Creates and Protects Value

David A. Hofmann
John J. Sumanth

Four steps to build a continuous value creation cycle.

For organizations to truly innovate and grow, leaders in every role and at every organizational level must be attuned to how they are creating new value while simultaneously protecting existing value. Just as a soccer coach must simultaneously pursue both scoring and defending, leaders must constantly focus their attention on opportunities to create value — through innovation, risk-taking, and experimentation — and to protect value — by preserving and defending key aspects of their responsibilities. Because both approaches are essential to success, organizational leaders must proactively and continually encourage their teams to adopt both a creating value and protecting value mindset when tackling their day-to-day responsibilities. But how can leaders do this? More specifically: Where and how do leaders deploy these two approaches, and how do these approaches change over time? In this article, the authors offer four steps leaders can take to ensure that they’re on the right path for growth.

Ask any leader what comes to mind when they hear the word “innovation” and you’ll quickly hear examples of a new, user-centric product design, or an R&D team pursuing a new mission, or their company’s exploration of a new market opportunity to drive additional revenue. But what if this relatively narrow view captures only a slice of the potential innovation that resides within your organization? What if your organization could unlock non-traditional avenues and areas for innovation, experimentation, and value creation?

David A. Hofmann is the Hugh L. McColl, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior and Senior Associate Dean of UNC Executive Development at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
John J. Sumanth is the James Farr Fellow & Associate Professor of Management at the Wake Forest University School of Business.

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CAREER COLUMN
08 April 2024

How we landed job interviews for professorships straight out of our PhD programmes

Violeta Rodriguez 0 &
Qimin Liu 1

Violeta Rodriguez is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Qimin Liu is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University in Massachusetts.

A person organizing ideas and thoughts with sticky notes on a glass wall.

By staying organized in their job hunt, both authors received several job offers. Credit: Getty

We met during the last year of our PhD training, after securing placements at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Department of Psychiatry for our predoctoral internships — the final step of our clinical doctoral programmes. V. R. came from the University of Georgia in Athens and was pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology, and Q. L. came from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and was working towards a PhD in clinical science and quantitative methods. It was amid the academic rigour and personal stress of the last year of our programmes that we became friends. We bonded over being immigrants and not speaking English as our first language while navigating the complexities of academia. We both wanted to forgo postdoctoral training and instead immediately become junior professors. Now, we’re assistant professors: V. R. is at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Q. L. is at Boston University in Massachusetts.

The odds we faced in the academic job market had seemed insurmountable, particularly to immigrants, and we had been cautioned by mentors and even junior faculty members about the challenge ahead. But we succeeded: we received a combined total of 27 in-person interviews, leading to 15 tenure-track assistant-professor offers across departments of psychology, paediatrics or psychiatry, schools of education and academic medical centres. (You can check out our hints for nailing job interviews in our other article .)

How to move labs

Despite the positive outcome, the process was stressful, fast and unpredictable. Our friendship became a sanctuary: amid the daunting job market and our own self-doubt, we understood and encouraged each other. We want to offer what our friendship provided us — understanding, support and encouragement — to researchers hoping to stay in academia after earning a PhD, so we are sharing our reflections and insights.

We must first make clear: no amount of job-search tips and tricks can substitute for good science and a strong publication record. To gauge our readiness, we looked up the CV of the most recent hire in each department that we applied to. We also made sure we had backup offers of postdoctoral positions. While navigating this process, we learnt that institutions were interested in candidates who planned to pursue external funding.

Portrait of Qimin Liu in front of a graffitied wall.

Qimin Liu is now an assistant professor. Credit: Qimin Liu

We had both obtained federal and private funding before — making us more competitive. We urge aspiring professors to prioritize their research contributions, external fellowship and grant applications and academic achievements above all.

To readers who’ve successfully navigated this process, many of our reflections and insights could seem obvious. However, this kind of advice can be the hardest to follow during a fast-moving job hunt, with several moving pieces involved and new considerations and job offers or advertisements emerging unexpectedly. Treat this as a checklist before beginning to fill out job applications.

Tips and tricks

Start your search early. Allow ample time to prepare for the job hunt; research potential options, such as jobs in academic medical centres, standard department positions or tenure-track jobs in related fields; and submit applications. Plan to reply to job ads long before the first deadline. Starting early gives you time to collect and incorporate feedback from mentors and colleagues.

Training: Free course on peer review

Prepare your networks. The academic job market can be unpredictable, with opportunities emerging unexpectedly. It is important to think about who can write letters for you — sometimes at short notice. Most of our applications required three letters of recommendation from all applicants. Others requested letters from only shortlisted candidates.

Plan ahead. The final drafts of materials took, on average, one to two months in total to prepare and polish. The initial drafts took about 8 hours, and the research statement required a total of 16 hours. (The research statement summarizes your research programme, the work you’ve done so far and what you plan to pursue in future. It can also highlight why a particular institution is well-suited to support your work.) Preparing drafted statements in advance made it easier to adapt them to different positions later — tweaking materials for specific positions took 30–60 minutes per application.

Research potential job opportunities. Don’t just rely on word-of-mouth or googling specific positions to find things you’re interested in applying to. Use online job boards (such as HigherEdJobs or Nature Careers ), and tap into your professional network by sending e-mails or LinkedIn messages to your mentors and colleagues, letting them know you’re on the job market. Scour social media and department websites to find available positions. We both posted on X (formerly Twitter) that we were job hunting, and several people reached out with opportunities.

Develop job application ‘templates’. Create a set of well-crafted templates for your application materials, such as cover letters and statements, on which you can easily fill in your name, relevant details and where you’ve previously worked. Having adaptable documents allowed us to respond quickly to new postings.

Tailor your application materials. Templates can take you only so far. Take the time to customize your application materials, including your CV, cover letter (each of ours was one page long) and research statement, to highlight your relevant skills, experiences and research contributions. Tailoring your materials to each position demonstrates genuine interest and increases your chances of standing out to hiring committees. Generic applications are easy for hiring managers to reject. Mentioning centres or institutes that align with your research; available resources, such as early-career programmes, that you want to take advantage of; and the names of people whom you are interested in working with can help to personalize your application materials.

Stay organized. Maintain a well-organized system to track application deadlines, requirements and submission statuses. Be ready to remind your letter writers to submit their recommendations. Keep a calendar or spreadsheet to ensure that all required materials are submitted on time and to track when to follow up. An example spreadsheet is provided below.

Practise for interviews and job talks. Run mock interviews with your peers or mentors. Practise answering common interview questions and develop concise, compelling responses that highlight your expertise, teaching abilities and fit. Treat these seriously — you’re likely to be nervous in the real interview, so try to recreate that while rehearsing, perhaps by inviting a relatively unknown colleague or professor to join the practice runs. V. R. recorded her job talk on Zoom and sent it to others for feedback.

Practising your job talk — a presentation of your academic research that is often a spoken version of your research statement — until you know it backwards and forwards will prepare you for the unexpected. In addition, rehearsing how you plan to respond to different questions, and practising saying that you want people to hold their questions until the end, can be helpful.

Prepare a start-up budget to get your lab running. Many academic positions include a start-up fund for incoming faculty members. It is typically used for summer salary and staffing or research costs. You might be asked for an estimated budget before, during or after the interview stage — so you should have one ready in advance. When preparing your budget, keep in mind the spending norms at the institution and for your discipline. Ask for more than you think you need, because this amount will often be reduced during negotiations.

As we look back on our job-hunting experiences, we are reminded of how much we grew in this process, in ways that are not related to just our jobs — and this growth continued in our interviews .

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01044-1

This is an article from the Nature Careers Community, a place for Nature readers to share their professional experiences and advice. Guest posts are encouraged .

Supplementary Information

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Research management

Ready or not, AI is coming to science education — and students have opinions

Career Feature 08 APR 24

Three ways ChatGPT helps me in my academic writing

Career Column 08 APR 24

How two PhD students overcame the odds to snag tenure-track jobs

How can we make PhD training fit for the modern world? Broaden its philosophical foundations

Correspondence 02 APR 24

Allow researchers with caring responsibilities ‘promotion pauses’ to make research more equitable

Adopt universal standards for study adaptation to boost health, education and social-science research

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Strong financial management is crucial to the success of any organization. Leaders looking to launch their own corporation or nonprofit, therefore, need to prepare themselves with a solid understanding of financial planning and processes.

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Financial plans should be dynamic, knowing that startup organizations experience twists and turns as they grow and scale. Financial modeling and budgeting should include various scenarios to facilitate modifying and fine-tuning financial plans as the business expands and matures. - Greg Bassuk , AXS Investments

11. Set Up An SEP IRA Early

I encourage entrepreneurs to set up a SEP IRA soon after getting their EIN from the IRS and establishing their company’s checking account, so they can begin to pay themselves the first 15% to 20% the business generates in real income. Too many business owners work too long to cover payroll without paying themselves first. - Ford Stokes , Active Wealth Management, Inc.

12. Plan Around Your Funding Structure

Leaders who start a corporation should be mindful of where the capital to start the corporation has come from and address that appropriately at the start of the process through appropriate allocation of share ownership, loans and so on. Business owners are enthusiastic to get started. However, failing to plan around the funding structure upfront can create added cost and frustration in the future. - Brian Niksa , Capstone Financial Advisors, Inc.

13. Ensure The Legal Structure Aligns With Your Long-Term Plan

Make sure that the day-one legal structure syncs up with your long-term business plan. It can be costly to reorganize the legal corporate structure down the road. - Paul Davis , Bank Slate

14. Consider Partnering With A Venture Capital Firm

Founders can partner with venture capital firms as an alternative to traditional financing options. Venture capital firms take stakes in companies in exchange for providing the capital needed for steady cash flow, which is particularly important for early-stage companies. They also bring sector-specific knowledge along with experience helping other companies expand and build investor networks. - Anthony Georgiades , Innovating Capital

15. Build A Robust Financial Infrastructure

One financial tip for leaders founding a corporation or nonprofit is to prioritize building a robust financial infrastructure from the start. This includes implementing effective accounting systems, budgeting meticulously and establishing clear financial policies. Developing a solid foundation early on can contribute to long-term financial stability and success. - Richard Polgar , CFG Merchant Solutions

16. Plan For Various Scenarios

Have a Plan A, B and C. Unforeseen challenges will arise. By preparing for various scenarios, including economic downturns or unexpected expenses, leaders can ensure the organization's stability and longevity. This approach can mitigate risks and position the entity to capitalize on opportunities during turbulent times. - Chris Seveney , 7e investments

17. Set Aside Funds For Innovation

Have an innovation contingency fund. Growth through innovation requires budget-busting funds. By investing in innovation, leaders may seize opportunities, respond to trends and solve challenges without compromising core operations. This fund promotes experimentation, research and innovation. It fosters creativity and resilience, preparing the organization for long-term success in shifting conditions. - Neil Anders , Trusted Rate, Inc.

18. Prioritize Capital Efficiency

Leaders founding a corporation or nonprofit should prioritize capital efficiency from the start, ensuring every dollar works hard. Focus on investing in high-return areas and cutting unnecessary costs. Emphasizing lean operations early on extends your runway, enhancing survival chances. This strategic resource allocation highlights the significance of operational efficiency for long-term success. - Jeffrey Bartel , Hamptons Group, LLC

19. Select Your Board Of Directors Wisely

Form a financially adept board. Put together a board of directors with a solid grounding in finance, accounting and fundraising to furnish valuable oversight and counsel. A competent board can contribute significantly to the establishment of sturdy financial controls, the determination of practical budget aims and the shaping of knowledgeable choices concerning the organization's finances. - JD Morris , RHC 21 LLC (a SPE Fund) with family of Special Purpose Entities (SPE or SPV)

20. Review Your Statements Regularly

Set clear financial goals and develop a solid plan for budgeting. Focus on establishing strong financial governance from the beginning. But most importantly, review financial statements regularly to ensure accountability. Invest in great accounting but also keep careful tabs on your accounting yourself as a business owner. - Julio Gonzalez , Engineered Tax Services Inc.

The information provided here is not investment, tax, or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation.

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Five tips for starting (and continuing) a PhD

1. Keep notes on everything you read

2. Read a couple of theses

3. Start a Word document called “Thesis”

4. Think about how to make the flexibility of your PhD (and your control over it) work best for you

5. Talk to people, lots, in both general and specific ways

…And one bonus tip: read advice from other (ex-) PhD students

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TIP #2 Get your academic skills in shape

TIP #3 Create a Plan B

TIP #4 Don’t forget to have fun

TIP #5 Learn how to work in a group and how to take criticism

TIP #6 Read personal experiences of other PhD students

TIP #7 Follow what is happening inside your field

TIP #8 Practice self-motivation

TIP #9 Focus on long term goals instead of short-term pleasures

TIP #10: Work on your language skills.

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Organizing Papers and References without Losing your Mind

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15 Tips on Surviving Your PhD Program

15 Tips on Surviving Your PhD

1. Establish a routine you can follow.

2. Start writing from day one.

3. Create a positive community.

4. Build effective networks.

5. Put money woes to rest.

6. Make sound nutrition your ally.

7. Add exercise to your routine.

8. Learn how to deal with rejection.

9. Choose a qualified graduate advisor and mentor.

10. Build in time for family and friends.

11. Set aside time to pursue non-academic interests.

12. Arrange and maintain a peaceful learning environment.

13. Address your emotional health.

14. Deal with expectations

15. Make conferences a part of life.

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What can you recommend to keep interest or inertia up so you’ll finish the PhD/Dissertation?

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