La distance n’y fait rien; il n’y a que le premier pas qui coute.
The distance is nothing; it is only the first step that counts.
Marquis Du Deffand (1810 – 1857)
1st Year Milestones
One of the first things that shook my perception of the PhD journey occurred in the first week. There was no guidance. The only advice I received was to read and write. I did not know what this material was that I was meant to read and therefore what do I write?
This was the difference between my master’s degree and the PhD. There is no guidance, no hand holding and no-one to tell you what to do. I received a Post Graduate Researcher (PGR) handbook. This outlines the PGR responsibilities. There is no detail, just brief high-level statements of expectations.
So, I decided to read everything until someone told me not to. I read past theses, articles, journals, newspaper columns, books and so on. I knew what my subject my PhD was on but what was relevant was unclear. The reading and writing made it clear. Supervisor meetings aided in this but I will discuss them later.
Organisation
My PhD centres around the regulatory environment concerning institutional private debt. Peer reviewed papers, articles and newspaper columns contribute to this area in waves. When there seems to be a requirement to instil a bit of fear in the markets, private debt levels are discussed in a public forum and after a week or so, it disappears for a couple of months.
Staying on top of this requires a bit of organisation. Most of these articles are written by academics, journalists or professionals who do not have in depth knowledge of the sector and can increase fears. They do this by conflating similar financial instruments from the sector to apply to all financial instruments and can include financial instruments from previous financial crashes.
Filtering this noise is essential in your first year as not doing so can lead you down rabbit holes that you should not go near. I use two pieces of software to enable me to (1) manage my research and (2) put my notes into an order that I can recall them easily two years from now when I am undertaking the final edit of my thesis.
First, I use Zotero to manage my research, you could use Mendeley or another similar software, but I used Zotero during my master’s degree and am comfortable using it. Secondly, I use Obsidian for my note taking and to recall them easily when producing my written material. This took me a while to understand and use but persevering with it has proved to be the best thing that I did.
Getting organised early on was a slow process for me, but now 8 months in, I am glad that I spent the time I did to master Zotero and become comfortable with Obsidian. I feel relaxed about referencing on the go and managing all the material I read along with the ability to recall notes months and years after initially reading the paper.
Routine
I have written before regarding having a schedule and routine. I cannot re-iterate this enough. In my opinion, you must treat your PhD as a full-time job. I usually at am my desk by 08:30hrs and do not leave until I between 17:30hrs and 18:00hrs. The morning session of my day involves ‘deep working’ for one hour at a time twice before I break for lunch. In between each session, I take a break for 10 or 15 minutes, just to refresh my focus, get a drink and reset my mind.
After lunch, my afternoon session is split into early and late afternoon sessions. Initially, the morning session is repeated, 2 one-hour deep work sessions. My late afternoon session is a 1.5 hr deep work session that focuses my writing because I am aware that this is the last chance of the day to add to my comprehension of the material and the amount of writing that I can complete for the day.
I do this Monday to Friday, so that my evening and weekends can be spent on activities away from my PhD. I walk my dogs every day, I am cricket umpire and I sail. I do not want to give up these activities because I have to catch up on my PhD. My routine is important and the next section explains why.
Obligations
During the first year of my PhD, there are things I have to do, things I am expected to do and things I want to do because it will be important for me to do this for my academic career.
Things I have to do: During the first year, I have to submit and pass my ‘Program Approval’ and my ‘Confirmation of Registration’.
The Program Approval was at the 3-month mark of my PhD. The PGR handbook lays out what this consists of and what is required. During my program approval, I was asked 5 questions of which there was a word restriction of 500 words per answer. These questions related to my research and the answers were significantly different from the information I provided during my application to study. It showed how my reading had already changed my research.
There were other requirements concerning ethics and making and updating a training plan. These are all straightforward requirements and there is nothing to worry about. My program approval was then assessed by a board who investigated the viability of my research, my supervisory team and ensuring the university has the resources to support my research.
The second obligation I have in my first year is my Confirmation of Registration. This is when the PhD researcher becomes a PhD candidate and their research transfers from the MPhil track to that of a PhD.
Again, the handbook lays out the requirements of the submission. A draft of my work, which will become part of my final submission, usually (5-6500 words but no more than 8000) and includes (1) an abstract of the work undertaken and described in the report; (2) a succinct review of the relevant literature and theoretical framework for the research; (3) a brief review of the work already undertaken; (4) a statement of intent of the further work, including the original contribution to knowledge which is likely to emerge.
A summary report is to be included reflecting my progress and plans from now to completion. Lastly, I am required to submit a training report which reflects the training I have undertaken so far and training I will undertake from now until completion. Again, a panel will interview me and then make their decision.
Things I want to do
As I would like a career in academia, I have to fulfil the requirements to get hired as a member of the faculty. A regular requirement is that I should have publications. One of my supervisors would like me to write an article for publication and will assist me in getting this published in a respected journal.
My supervisor has identified the time for this submission and would like me to submit my paper before the end of the year. I also have to submit my confirmation of registration before the year end. On top of this I have to keep my regular writing production and complete the documents required to be reviewed by the ethics committee for the interviews I will be carrying out in the New Year. I hope that it is now becoming clear why the need of a routine is necessary.
Things I am expected to do
During the regular term time, there are a plethora of distractions that will use up your time. For example, my time has been used up by teaching courses, training days, the 3-minute thesis, being a part of welcoming new students to the university, law conferences, international exchange days and so on. The list is never ending.
I had to learn to say no. It is a balancing act that I had to get right first time. If your supervisors ask for anything, you feel obligated to say yes. But as I have listed above, I have obligations that take precedence over these requests. At first it does not feel right, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes.
During my first year, my supervisors have trusted me when I said I am writing but only in note form. As the end of my first year is approaching, I am acutely aware that a seed is being laid. They want to see my writing. Hints have been dropped regarding a literature review and a methodology being produced. There has been no formal request but words such as ‘these are easy pieces of writing’ have been floated around in our meetings.
Supervision meetings
During my first year the supervisor meetings have changed quite a bit. Initially I talked a lot about the reading I had done and had to explain how that fitted into my thesis. Now it is much more of a conversation due to the change in the knowledge dynamic.
My supervisors are experts in their relevant fields, and I am very grateful for their guidance. But they are not experts in my field. So now they are relying on me for the information, but they have the ability to drill down on a point and test my comprehension of the subject material that forces me to know it as they know their subject matter.
As they realise that I am doing the work that I am supposed to be doing, building the knowledge and expertise that is required, so the tasks increase, the timeframes become tighter to produce, and more is expected. I am grateful for this, as it shows they believe in me and trust me. Most of all it shows they think I can cope with the task of the completing the PhD.
Summary
To get through your first year, you have to plan and continually adapt it and you have to work hard every day on your thesis. I have obligations that I am required to fulfil and I have to learn how to cope with continuous distractions.
If you can do all this, along with separating yourself from the PhD for the benefit of your mental well-being, you can easily cope with your first year. PhD students further along have echoed what my supervisors have said, the first year is great, you are excited, wait until the second year and the depression and frustration kicks in.
At least I am enjoying the first year, we will see what year 2 brings.