This week’s episode is both inspirational and a cautionary tale.  Catherine Pope was awarded her PhD by the University of Sussex in 2014. She talks about her own PhD experience both in terms of how she utilised her professional project-management skills within her doctoral journey but also how her own health was compromised as she undertook studying alongside full-time work.

 

Catherine went straight into a Master’s programme having not been to university before.  She then went on to complete her PhD working weekends.  We talk about the challenges of that way of working and how to look after yourself along that journey.

 

We talk about setting up useful routines and what to do when you are having a bad day.

 

Catherine discusses her use of Focusmate to structure her routine:  https://www.focusmate.com/

 

We also talk about doing things your future self will thank you for and Catherine proposes the idea of the ‘Minimum Viable Thesis’.

 

You can find out more about Catherine’s work - including her books How to Finish Your PhD and How to Publish Your PhD here: www.phdprogress.com. Sign up to 'Notes from the Life Raft' and receive a weekly email with useful info to support you on the PhD journey: https://mailchi.mp/f2dce91955c6/notes-from-the-life-raft