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The PhD Life Coach
Whether you're a PhD student or an experienced academic, life in a university can be tough. If you're feeling overwhelmed, undervalued, or out of your depth, the PhD Life Coach can help. We talk about issues that affect all academics and how we can feel better now, without having to be perfect productivity machines. We usually do this career because we love it, so let's remember what that feels like! I'm your host, Dr Vikki Wright. Join my newsletter at www.thephdlifecoach.com.
Episodes
175 episodes
4.36 How do I know if my work is good enough
“Is my work good enough” is the million dollar question running through most PhD students’ (and many academics’) mind! In a sector famous for high, yet very poorly defined, standards, it’s no wonder many of us spend a lot of time worrying about...
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4.35 What to do when you don’t stick to your systems
So many people set up new to-do list systems, or decide to time block, or come to one of my workshops about how to review your week, and then don’t stick to the system. We then often beat ourselves up, declare it a fail, and never go back to it...
4.34 How to understand your own procrastination (a special coaching episode)
If you think you are the only person in academia struggling with procrastination, then you need today’s episode! Hear from Susie and Zareen, two students in my PhD Life Coach membership, as we discuss hiding from the big scary thing, never feel...
4.33 How to cope in academia with menstrual dysfunction (a double coaching episode!)
In the second of my April coaching series, we hear from Til and Alex who both experience pre-menstrual dysfunction that impacts their ability to work on their PhDs. We discuss how they’re affected (including how it exacerbates their ADHD) and c...
4.32 How to do tasks you’ve been putting off (a special double coaching episode!)
This is the first in a series of live coaching episodes, where I work with students currently in The PhD Life Coach membership on issues that affect their academic lives. This week we’re starting with an old favourite - procrastination! Thoko a...
4.31 How to get going on work without external accountability
One of the hardest things in academia is the lack of accountability for the most “important” work. We know we must write, but there’s rarely external deadlines and so many other things feel more urgent. One of the PhD Life Coach membership stud...
4.30 How to write when you’re confused
Writing can feel like you’re banging your head against a wall sometimes. Trying to craft sentences, when you’re not entirely sure where you’re going, and then spending hours working and ending up with nothing to show for it. In this episode I u...
4.29 Why you shouldn’t wait for a polished draft
One of the most annoying phrases I hear is “my supervisor only gives feedback on polished drafts”. This is usually accompanied by stories of wasting weeks stressing about whether the work is polished enough, only for the supervisor to later dec...
4.28 How to manage when your work is interrupted all the time
Lots of people struggle to get work done because they feel like they’re always interrupted, whether that’s by colleagues, friends or family. In this episode I discuss how we can explore this with curiosity, and give some tangible tips about how...
4.27 How to stop thinking about your academic work
It’s easy to feel like our academic work has taken up permanent residence in our brains! Recently a member told me they woke up thinking about their PhD, went to bed thinking about it, and were fed up of not thinking about anything else. In the...
4.26 What to do when you don’t have enough time
Lots of PhD students and academics feel unable to make decisions about their time management because of a series of beliefs that feel very true. They simultaneously tell themselves “I can’t fit in writing during the day because I have other com...
4.25 How to do difficult tasks
If you are stuck on a difficult task, then this is the episode for you! So often we get caught up on a task that we’re finding difficult, and then we struggle to see a way forward. Unfortunately we often then start making it mean something abou...
4.24 How to identify options when making a decision (a coaching episode with Claire!)
In this coaching episode, podcast listener Claire is exploring career options, but worries she lacks the lateral thinking skills to come up with possible ideas. I am not a career coach, but we use this example as an opportunity to explore how l...
4.23 How to manage tasks that are not on your To Do list
If you end the week somehow having been busy but not having done the things you intended, then this episode is for you. I’m going to help you make more intentional decisions about how to deal with tasks that land in your lap during the week, so...
4.22 What to do when your task is taking longer than you thought
Do you have a piece of work that is taking way longer than intended? This episode will help you figure out why AND what to do about it. When things take longer than we thought they would, it throws off our schedule and other tasks, and can lead...
4.21 How much should I work per week in academia
Everyone I know in academia somehow simultaneously believes that they’re working far too much AND that they’re not working enough to get it all done. That leads to a horrible situation where we feel unsatisfied and exhausted, and we often don’t...
4.20 How to manage the critical voice when you’ve got too much to do (a special DOUBLE coaching episode)
A critical inner voice is one of the most common and difficult experience as a PhD student or academic. In this episode, you get to hear me coaching TWO of my current students in the PhD Life Coach membership, who are both part time PhD student...
4.19 How to pursue goals that you’re not sure are possible
It’s a time of year where lots of people are setting goals, worrying about which goals to set, and then beating themselves up if they don’t meet them. In this episode, I answer a question I was asked about how to set goals when you’re not sure ...
4.18 How and if you should use a Brick to reduce phone usage
I really wanted to cut down how much I use my phone and I bought a Brick! This episode is my honest review of the experience so far, and includes some evidence-based advice about what you can and can’t expect from a product like this. I take yo...
4.17 Why I left academia (it may not be what you think)
We hear so much about people leaving academia at the moment and it’s easy to make assumptions about people’s reasoning. I realised when talking with a one-to-one client that my story is not necessarily a typical one, but it could be one that it...
4.16 Why you should notice the paradox of imposter syndrome
Imposter syndrome often affects the most high achieving people yet it can still feel so true that you’re “not good enough” and “conning” other people into believing you’re better than you are. In this episode, I discuss a paradox that I see a l...
4.15 What to do when you don’t know what to do
One of the most paralysing thoughts in academia is “I don’t know what to do”. Whether it’s about your next career move or how to analyse your data or what argument you want to emphasise, we can get stuck in the “don’t knows” for weeks or months...
4.14 What to do when the **** hits the fan
Short one this week - I am using a current example from my own life to talk you through how to look after yourself when it all goes wrong. I talk through how I decided what work I am and am not going to do, and how I am looking after myself in ...
4.13 How to celebrate big wins without getting too big for your boots
We’ve talked before about celebrating tiny wins, so now we’re talking about big wins. If you feel uncomfortable celebrating papers being accepted, finishing your PhD or getting a job, or any of the other big objective successes, then you’...
4.12 What the Celebrity Traitors taught me about imposter syndrome
THIS EPISODE CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS!! Imposter syndrome is top of my mind at the moment because it’s the focus of my membership this quarter. I’m also utterly obsessed with The Traitors and have been loving the UK Celebrity Traitors which ju...