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How I got my PhD back on track

When I returned to my PhD after maternity leave, I had mid-research apathy. I shook up my working style, and now I have progress, results, and a much more positive attitude.

Here’s how I did it:

1. I took a comprehensive audit of everything I have completed, what is in my overall plan and what I still have to do. This took about two days.
2. I figured out what I want to achieve, and when. I want to submit my finished thesis on time, without extensions. This is important to me.
3. I formally planned the project, including breakdown of work, sequence dependencies, and time estimates. I used Omniplan, but there are a number of other online or offline solutions available.
4. I set up my to-do list to keep track of my daily tasks:

   - I have a method of capturing all my tasks, anything I think of
   - I can add things to my to-do list in boring meetings
   - I have a folder within the list to “capture” extra ideas and “extensions to scope”, so that they are not lost, and not distracting.
   (I use GTD, and Omnifocus, synced with my iPhone. I have contexts for different equipment within the department, so I can easily batch tasks)

5. I give myself time limits for tasks that are ongoing, and a potential procrastination-sink, like downloading relevant journal articles. I then have the option of doing 15 mins every couple of days.
6. I use the List of Three to keep myself from procrastinating, and actually keep cranking the wheel.
7. I realized my project is important, and I applied some project management principles to it.
8. I formalized my Weekly Review. This ensures tasks are ticked off, and I can’t ignore those long standing action items. I know that I have a weekly review on Mondays, and it doesn’t drag into the rest of the week. If a project needs to be updated, I can safely ignore it, knowing I will sort it out next Monday.
9. In my weekly review, I review and update my project plan and GANNT chart. I make a report to myself including my current tasks, and what is planned for the three months, including projected completion dates. I convert that to a PDF so it can’t be edited, and drop it into Evernote, so it remains as a formal record.
10. I am not in control of how often I meet with my supervisor, but I can control what he knows about what I am doing. I send him a PDF of my progress every week. He then has the opportunity to comment, if he wishes.

This system is not the ultimate, but it has solved a lot of issues. I have been doing things this way for four weeks now, and things are better.

I am getting stuff done. I am getting to tick things off in my plan, and, although I often add tasks to my plan, I am still on track to finish on time. My relationship with my supervisor has not improved, but my stress about it has disappeared, because I have regained control. I have a much better horizon view of my project.

I no longer feel swamped. I am starting to feel like I actually might manage this, stress free.

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