Before You Know It

It’s almost twenty years since I started my PhD.

I remember the first week very clearly, sitting at my desk, skim-reading through papers I couldn’t grasp, making notes and chatting with my office-mates.

I very distinctly remember thinking, “I don’t know what I’m doing, but at least I have a long time to figure it out.”

And I did have a long time, and I did – more or less – figure it out.

But that time went by so fast. Before I realised I was looking at my final months of writing up, those weeks of prep, those hours of my viva and an eye-blink afterwards when I did my corrections.

Plan the end of your PhD before you get too close. When will you do your prep and how will you get it done? What might your corrections period look like? And what are the key dates or weeks when you will have to hit targets?

Before you know it, you’ll be done.