PhD Survival Guide: What I learnt during my second year of a PhD

If you haven’t read what I learnt during my first year of a PhD yet, go here.

1. “Middle of PhD” lull exists-  It is not a myth- when I hit the halfway mark I reallllllly started to lack motivation and I think others in my office felt the same.
2. You start to realise why getting a PhD is such a big deal- It still astonishes me that I was accepted into a PhD, so I often think that it must not be as big of a deal as people make it out to be. But during second year, you realise just how much hard work and resilience is required to finish.
3. Self-care is essential- I bang on about it all the time, but self-care is non-negotiable. You will feel angry, unmotivated, upset, tired, grumpy, and overwhelmed, and that’s only with PhD related things. Throw other life in the mix and you could burn into the ground so easily.
4. Don’t let your PhD consume your life- I learnt last year just how fragile life is. One thing this really reinforced to me was that my PhD can’t consume my life. I need to see the people I care about, watch TV I like, adventure far and wide, and spend a morning surfing here and there.
5. You are no where near finished- My current PhD deadline is set for 14 months time. This fact make me laugh hysterically (if I didn’t laugh I would cry!). I am two years down in time, but I definitely have more than half of my work left to do.