Fulfilling the Potential of Your Doctoral Experience. Pam Denicolo
when deadlines loom or working on data analysis, or data are difficult to obtain – however it is essential that you maintain a healthy work–life balance, which means having at least one day off a week. If you must work at weekends, limit it to a few hours. One of us began her weekdays with a walk with a friend, 8am to 8.30; then read the newspaper whilst having breakfast until 9.30 (because she counted keeping up with world events as useful background work); she stopped for lunch every day from 1pm to 1.30; worked until supper at 6pm and never worked in the evenings because of family commitments. Similarly, she only worked on Sunday mornings for a few hours, whilst the dinner was cooking. Part-time researchers will need to block out chunks of time for research and it is a good idea to put these into your work diary (which you will have set up in your first week, we hope). Part-time researchers more than any other researcher will know that you do not have to work all the time on your thesis, because for them that is not possible anyway, so that is a lesson full-time researchers should learn. Indeed, James Patterson kept a timesheet of his research and showed how important non-core PhD work was not only for his thesis but also to his wellbeing and career prospects – reminding us that doing a doctorate is not just about the research (see https://thesiswhisperer.com/2016/05/11/how-long-does-it-take-to-do-a-phd/).
Making the most of your first 100 days
To reiterate, the first 100 days should involve getting established in your new researcher role. Even if you have been at the institution for some time, you should still approach this as a new job in a new department and enthusiastically look at everything you may already be familiar with from a fresh perspective. You should think of yourself as a professional researcher and not a passive student.
By the end of 100 days (or three months), you should know who your supervisors are and how you will work with them; you should know the people who can help you with your work; have become familiar with the people in your department and be thinking about who you might like or need to know outside of your department or institution, too. You should be conversant with the university environment and what resources are available to you within it, and you should be beginning to take advantage of available opportunities, that is, accessing the training and development that you may need to help you conduct your research. None of the three key aspects (people, environment, role) are discrete or provide you with finite tasks: you will always be adding to your people contacts, which will eventually become your ‘professional network’; you will always be expanding your resources and refining your plans and understanding of what being a researcher is about. However, by the end of the first three months, you should have the basic foundations in place. Although the checklist in Activity 2.2 might seem to indicate that you could work on these three areas sequentially, that is one per month, instead you will need to work on all three concurrently.
Finally, you need to come up with an overall plan of what you intend to do. Essentially you are on a ‘fixed term contract’ and have a limited amount of time to work on a project with a specific deliverable (a thesis) at the end. So, it is best to plan this out and draw up phases, stages or work packages that ensure you can deliver the thesis on time. By your second or third supervision, you should be discussing your overall plan with your supervisors. This plan will evolve over time – but the important thing is that you have a sense of direction that you can build on, manage and control. With this, you will have made an excellent start.
Activity 2.2 Your first 100 days – personal checklist
Voice of Experience 2.2 Advice for first-year doctoral researchers from those in their final year
‘Try to read a wide range of literature, even the articles you think might not be that relevant to your research, because your ideas change along the way. Trust me, you need to know more than you think to make sure your project stays on track and to be confident answering questions.’
‘Write things down! New ideas pop up all the time, so you should note them. They might be useful, they might not be, but at least you know you have them noted down in case you need them. Reading loads without writing means you must read everything again once you need to draft your chapters.’
‘I think it is important to remember that everything you do in the first year is at draft stage, both in terms of words written on the page and ideas exchanged with supervisors.’
‘Try to attend training courses, public lectures, or seminars, as this helps you learn how other people conduct and present their research. This is also a great way to make new friends from outside of your research group. Having friends on campus makes the PhD experience so much easier, and you also don’t know who will prove that invaluable contact when you’re trying to learn a new technique or skill.’
References and further reading
Bloch, M. and Willmott, P. (2012) ‘The first 100 days of a new CIO: Nine steps for wiring in success’, Digital McKinsey, December. www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our-insights/the-first-100-days-of-a-new-cio-nine-steps-for-wiring-in-success.
Denicolo, P. and Reeves, J. (2014) Success in Research: Developing Transferable Skills. London: Sage.
Doyle, S., Loveridge, J. and Faamanatu-Eteuati, N. (2015) ‘Counting family: Making the family of international students visible in higher education policy and practice’, Higher Education Policy, 1–15.
Greenberg, D. (2009) ‘The folly of the First Hundred Days’, Wall Street Journal, 21 March.
O’Keeffe, N. (2011) Your First 100 Days: How to Make Maximum Impact in Your New Leadership Role. London: Financial Times/Prentice Hall.
Robinson, W. (2004) Your First 90 Days in a New Job (How to Make an Impact). Raleigh: LULU.
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