“No way, I am giving up!” In all honesty, it was a thought that crossed my mind more than once during my doctorate. Each time I faced difficulties, I felt completely overwhelmed by the workload or by life outside my PhD. Staying consistent and motivated was incredibly hard.
I dealt with unpredictable draft changes, long reading lists, pressure to publish and present in conferences, and fieldwork. It was easy to lose momentum. Eventually, I realised that consistency wasn’t about working long hours but about building sustainable habits, maintaining balance, holding on to my goal, and reaching out for support.
Finding your rhythm and motivation in a PhD
The following points cover some of the ups, downs, and everything in between in PhD life. I hope they inspire and motivate you to develop your own strategies for managing your research. For further reading on maintaining wellbeing and advancing your learning during postgraduate study, you might also like to explore The Wellbeing Thesis, an open‑access resource for research students.
Keep your goal in mind:
- First things first, it is very important to keep your goal in mind. When your motivation slides, remind yourself why you began your PhD, for example, because you are passionate about the topic or because you want to grow personally and professionally. Keeping your goal in sight can renew your energy and perspective. On difficult days, return to your “why” and the purpose of your work, and it will help you keep going.
Focus on smaller, achievable milestones:
- Of course, your main goal is to successfully complete your PhD. However, it is also important to focus on smaller, achievable milestones that will take you there. For example, I once celebrated finishing a couple of paragraphs with a cup of tea and a biscuit (imagine an emoji grinning with relief here). At this rate, I would have a PhD and be a pastry connoisseur by the end! Jokes aside, break your work into stages such as chapters or experiments, and reward yourself as you complete each milestone. Writing these down, for instance, in a planning tool (like a Gantt chart) where you can tick off completed tasks, adds clarity, gives direction, and provides a motivating sense of progress. You can also set monthly targets for your research to track your progress more easily.
Self-reflection:
- While you self-reflect on how you manage your research, another question to ask yourself is how focused you are when working on your PhD. Are you truly engaging in deep work? Do you dedicate your full attention to your research, or do you allow yourself to be distracted by other matters, your environment, family, or colleagues? Try, for example, silencing notifications, setting a timer, and choosing a quiet environment. Block time in your calendar for focused work, or consider working in a place such as the library, where everyone else seems equally absorbed in their tasks. To wear my expert hat in Education here, allow me to make the connection between deep work and the educational theory of deep learning. Focused attention promotes understanding. Long story short, deep work is not just about being productive. It helps you dig deeper into your research, really understand it, and grow your thinking during your PhD.
Establishing boundaries:
- Initially, I struggled to work through a routine, and it took me about a year to get there. By then, I had gone through several wake-up calls, such as delays in completing tasks, and realised that PhDs thrive on structure, so I established boundaries. Treat your PhD as a full-time job, or part-time if that applies. Decide your work hours and stick to them. Boundaries prevent academic work from taking over your life, help you avoid burnout, and make it possible to maintain some personal time.
Look after your health:
- Another piece of advice is to look after your health. Your mind cannot focus if your body is exhausted, so maintain a regular sleep routine and do light exercise. I started going for short walks to clear my head, mainly from my desk to the nearest vending machine on campus, but hey, steps count. Even these small walks can reduce stress, and having exercise buddies who are also doing PhD research can help keep you motivated. Also, remember to look after your emotional health by balancing your academic and personal life. Your family, friends, hobbies and personal time are not distractions; they are essential for your well-being and long-term motivation. So, if you need to go see a friend, try not to feel guilty. It will help re-energise you for better work the next day. Your life is not on hold because you are doing a PhD!
Facing setbacks:
- Who likes admitting they are a failure? Well, I do. I failed several times during my PhD. I failed to get papers published, I missed draft deadlines, and I received many pages of corrections. But I did not give up. Instead of seeing these as failures, I treated them as opportunities to refine my thinking. Every researcher faces setbacks, and it is how you respond that builds resilience. One tip I found especially helpful during the most challenging parts of my PhD, particularly when things had gone wrong, was to write letters to future-me. In them, I congratulated myself on what I had achieved and saved the letters somewhere safe, promising to open them only after submitting the final draft of my thesis. Knowing these letters were waiting for me gave me something to look forward to and helped me through difficult times.
Support network:
- I cannot underestimate the support I received from peers, mentors, and online communities who understood what I was going through. Talking about my challenges helped to normalise them and kept me accountable. I personally found that one of the most helpful ways to stay focused and motivated was to reach out to my university’s support services and make the most of them, knowing there was always someone there to listen. Of course, everyone is different, so it is important to surround yourself with the right people who suit you and can offer support and encouragement. Whether that is a friend, a mentor, or another type of support network.
Maintain steady energy:
- Lastly, remember that consistency in your research is not about working all the time. You need to maintain steady energy throughout your PhD, so allow yourself rest days, short breaks, and even holidays. Overworking may seem productive, but it only drains your focus for the following day. The traditional “push-through” approach, with long hours, multitasking, and constant busyness, often wastes time, harms your health, and reduces happiness. It prioritises effort over efficiency and leaves little room for balance.
To sum up, I went through a lot of ups-and-downs and trial-and-error during my doctoral journey, but I eventually realised that consistency in my PhD was not about perfection. It was about establishing a steady routine, managing my energy and time effectively, and maintaining balance and self-awareness. By keeping my goals clearly in sight and approaching each phase with persistence, I was able to overcome even the toughest challenges with focus and motivation.
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