You have some really good tips here and it’s definitely not boring to have routine! I have established a sort-of routine for my PhD, effectively working in smaller sprints that can be 5am -7am, 9-12, 1-3, 4-7. I don’t do all of those in one single day (well, I did in the last few weeks, and more, but it was an exception). It’s not my ideal way to work, but it’s the only way it works for me with a family to care for. I sometimes include weekends but only 5am to 9am as by then my family are awake. I try to read fiction every night, philosophy every morning and have an active lunch hour if possible. Quite often, it doesn’t go to plan, but after my first year I am considered as ahead of milestones, so this weird existence seems to work so far.
Angela, I admire your routine—waking up at 5 AM is challenging, but I fully support this approach. It allows you to carve out your own space, your own moment, fostering a deep sense of self-fulfillment!
I spent many years living on a farm which permanently changed me because I am awake by 5am whether I like it or not. 😜 No alarm. I hear birds, I wake up. The discipline is not reading or writing until the small hours because I think and write better late at night. I have to fight my natural inclinations. Writing my PhD during daylight hours has been the hardest adjustment. Do you get to write in “solitude”? I think finding
that quiet writing time seems rarer and harder to grasp these days. Interruption and fragmented writing time is the challenge.
You have some really good tips here and it’s definitely not boring to have routine! I have established a sort-of routine for my PhD, effectively working in smaller sprints that can be 5am -7am, 9-12, 1-3, 4-7. I don’t do all of those in one single day (well, I did in the last few weeks, and more, but it was an exception). It’s not my ideal way to work, but it’s the only way it works for me with a family to care for. I sometimes include weekends but only 5am to 9am as by then my family are awake. I try to read fiction every night, philosophy every morning and have an active lunch hour if possible. Quite often, it doesn’t go to plan, but after my first year I am considered as ahead of milestones, so this weird existence seems to work so far.
Angela, I admire your routine—waking up at 5 AM is challenging, but I fully support this approach. It allows you to carve out your own space, your own moment, fostering a deep sense of self-fulfillment!
I spent many years living on a farm which permanently changed me because I am awake by 5am whether I like it or not. 😜 No alarm. I hear birds, I wake up. The discipline is not reading or writing until the small hours because I think and write better late at night. I have to fight my natural inclinations. Writing my PhD during daylight hours has been the hardest adjustment. Do you get to write in “solitude”? I think finding
that quiet writing time seems rarer and harder to grasp these days. Interruption and fragmented writing time is the challenge.
I completely get this! Solitude for writing feels like a luxury these days, with interruptions and fragmented focus being constant challenges.