When do you do your best thinking? How do you relax? How do you organise your thoughts?
I think with a bit of reflection everyone can better their process. If you reflect on the above questions, you can start to think about how you improve. For example, for me:
- I do my best thinking when I’m walking along the seafront – so maybe I should do more of this…
- I relax well at the moment playing video games – and that’s nice but a bit lonely, so maybe I need to play more board games…
- I use a couple of notebooks, but they run out too quick – so maybe I need to re-examine my system…
You don’t have to get better at something just for the sake of it, but if you want to improve you have to start from somewhere. After all, there’s a lot of thought needed in the production of a thesis, in the preparation for the viva and on the day itself. And for PhDs that question about relaxing is most important. Time off is never time wasted. Remember to take a day off, even if you’re preparing for the viva.
