Phd stress: why should you not ignore the signs
It is a known fact that PhD causes stress and is a common symptom to find amongst the scholars. Stress brings with it some physiological side effects and if they are ignored they would not just disturb your output in your PhD but your life beyond it would also suffer. Stress, primarily is related to anything in life is a warning sign that things are not the way they should be and if neglected and suppressed under pressure, by force, things would just become worse and not let you cope up with life and its challenges. As a PhD scholar, there are certain signs you shouldn’t ignore so that you are able to gauge and handle stress if it is disturbing your life in any way: A perpetual feeling that you are incapable of working to your potential An overwhelming feeling with the demands of the work and deadlines A feeling that you haven’t performed to the best of your ability and you are incapable to focus and concentrate A feeling of not having control over yourself Finding easy things also difficult and challenging in comparison to your capacity A feeling of fear and hopelessness Utmost physical and mental exhaustion If you have any of the above mentioned symptoms and feel that by getting more systematic and working out things you will be able to deal with the problem then you haven’t addressed the problem at the fundamental level. As a PhD scholar and the pressure from your supervisor, you would have a lot of pressure on you head and a lot of work to do, and with that the most difficult thing to do is to slow down but remember, it is also the most important thing to do. You must begin with giving time to yourself and trying to simplify what you are trying to do. At the onset, reduce the number of things that you are working upon simultaneously. This can be done by prioritising and breaking down your different tasks into simpler steps and go on at a pace that you can manage and handle. This isn’t all , when things go wrong you must be able to manage your reaction so that you don’t take a professional failure as a personal failure. On the contrary, engage with the problem and try to find a creative solution to the problem as “things going wrong” is inevitable in research and your success and failure is determined by your reaction to the success or failure. So next time, you have such feelings of distress and anxiety which seems uncontrollable, go to the root level and handle the stress problem, rather than living with...
read moreManage your Double PhD… Smoothly
There are a number of things one can do effectively to manage the intellectual, emotional and physical challenges that come with doing a double Ph.D. the first essential thing to do is to complete ll program requirements as early as possible. Make a list of requirements that you need to complete in your graduate, tick off the requirement that you have already completed. This helps you to get effectively closer to your graduation. In the Ph.D. program when you are taking classes or making notes use Evernote. It works equally well for dissertation research, and can be synced on different devices such as your laptop, tablet or phone. Choosing your thesis advisor is critical. It is best advised to work with mentors who have a reputation for being really helpful. It is important that your advisor is competent and has your best interests at heart. Also you can gather information about past graduate students and find out how long did it take for them to graduate. The past experience of the other graduate students will help you manage your expectation. As you are carrying out your thesis work, record your accomplishments. Give yourself due credit whenever necessary. This will help you to keep yourself motivated in the long run. During a Ph.D. it is much easy to feel that you are not making any progress that is why it is key to have a list of victories. Every weekend you can write down the things that you have accomplished in the week. This will help you to get motivated and will drive you to accomplish something relevant. If you notice not having done something significant in the middle of the week to be recorded at the end of the week, then you can always motivate yourself to get on track and be super focused about your Ph.D. this is a very effective way to keep track of your progress. Failures are an essential part of your Ph.D., so never be intimated by them or shun them away. Rather embrace them and deal with them in a logical manner, whilst being kind to yourself in this process. We must always remember that being overtly self-critical does not help in the long run. Making a strategy and taking the problems in your stride will be critical in helping you avoid frustration and keep you focused. Find creative ways to keep yourself energized during the grueling process of thriving a double...
read morePhD and Going Strong
You already experienced a PhD course and still want to continue with a double PhD. You belong to the few who know how to truly keep challenging life and to emerge a winner from it. Going for a double PhD is a big decision and one that is difficult to cope up with. For all you know a few months down the life you may see your passion burning out under the pressure, but when you have made up your mind make sure you stand by your decision. There are some obvious hints that will make you realize you are losing your grip, but don’t worry because there is a solution to every problem. You may start to miss a normal life, you will get tempted to go for a movie marathon with your friends or go on a guzzle spree at the local bar. You will just want to do something regular. Though there is no harm in indulging at times, but when you know it’s happening more often than the acceptable limit, try and bring your focus back to the path you have chosen, remind yourself of all the benefits you will get after you finish your double degree. The dreaded writer’s block may hit you and you may have trouble finding the right things to write for your dissertation or thesis. The simplest thing to do is get in touch with those who know how to do your job. They will help you drift through the dissertation and thesis and you won’t even know! You may feel start finding fault with the systems or the guide. It is natural to rant and complain, but when it gets out of hand, talk it out. There is no better solution than to discuss when things don’t seem to be in control. A few small measures and you will complete your challenge before you can spell double...
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