How to finish a PhD while the world is falling apart – Notes and tips from the studio

Some notes by Brigitta Stone-Johnson.

I have recently submitted my PhD in creative practice for the examination. My  PhD work focused on interdisciplinary practice-led research between fine art and architecture, which I undertook while developing my teaching practice. Undertaking a PhD while working a part-time lecturing post is a challenging yet increasingly common situation where many early career academics find themselves. So I thought I would share some notes and tips from the studio, as it were, to inspire and assist others in their journeys.

Let me begin by stating what every post I have ever read on writing a PhD suggests. This will be hard. Yes, it will be hard; it will be personally gruelling, physically and mentally exhausting, isolating, and often overwhelming and frustrating, doubly so if you are lecturing while you do it. Nevertheless, it will also be a rewarding period of exploration and immense growth for you as an academic and a person. If you do it right, you will come out at the end of the journey with new perspectives on your field and discipline. So hold on to that thought when things are tough. During your journey, life will happen. Children may be born, dear friends and family may pass away, there may be another global pandemic, and you may become ill. Or all of the above. Have a good and well-organised plan, but be flexible; the plan will change. Starting with that in mind is key to building the resilience you will need to finish the work. Do the research for yourself and no other external reasons. Write those reasons down if you need to, and place them in every space you work; you may need hourly reminders at some points to keep going.

Find a topic you are deeply passionate about

Choose a subject you are deeply and passionately interested in, preferably something with the potential to carry your work into a new space. You will be investigating this small pin-prick of your field for a long time; you want to be still interested and passionate about this thing six years from now and well beyond that. My research field is ‘post humanities in creative practice’. It combines three things I am passionate about, materiality, environmental humanities and creative practice. Those exist outside the research topic itself, ‘Stone, on the Witwatersrand watershed line’. This brings me to my next point, be specific. Your PhD is an essential piece of work, but there are other higher-level research works you will do; throw out everything in your proposal which is secondary to that one thing. Note it; you may wish to include it in your ‘further research section’ when you have finished writing your PhD. Or keep it aside for ideas to mine, on papers to write, and research to do once this work is done.

Learn to read and write well

Any PhD will require a vast amount of reading and writing, whether conventional or practice-based. I am dyslexic, so I acknowledge that this may be an arduous task for some, as it has been for me. However, learning to derive meaning from and communicate well in words is a critical skill you will need to finish your dissertation. Developing good reading and writing practice will stand you in good stead, taking time to hone your skill, especially if you have, like me, been in practice for a while, will be invaluable to your processes. You should develop a few areas as a creative research academic: critical reading skills, formal writing skills, informal writing journaling and sketchbook crafts.

Reading: Slow down your reading, read slowly and read it twice, highlighting liberally on the first go; once you have a broad sense of the text, paraphrase in notes in your own words only the core ideas or thing you may want to reference. Add tags, both for ideas and content, so that you can find and expand your thought on the topic later. Use a reference manager to keep and sort ideas as you read; I recommend Zotero; wits has excellent courses on learning to use these. However, it does not matter which one you use, pick one, and start today.

Writing: Write at least five hundred words daily; they do not have to be good, but you do have to write them. It would help if you got the words on paper to work with them; you cannot write in your head. Have no sacred cows; writing is a process; learn to write and rewrite; no sentence, word or paragraph is sacred; become a ruthless editor of your work. Use the read-back function in Microsoft Word; it’s genuinely helpful to hear your words. Purchase Grammarly; yes, it’s expensive, but it is the best writing editor, and you can use it for everything. Even your text messages, if you need to, and believe me, I need to. Take a grammar course; loads of online ones are affordable. You don’t have to be an expert, but since most creatives in design have not taken English since high school, which may have been twenty or more years ago, at least you will be able not to have to look up everything your editor flags in your writing. On that note, work with someone who is an expert in writing; I highly recommend the Wits writing centre; they are good and working with creatives and have a refreshing approach to writing, focusing on process rather than grammar. They will not edit your work but help you structure your argument. Finally, keep some money aside to pay a professional editor; you do not have to be an English expert to finish a PhD; there are professionals for that, so use them.

Practice, practice, practice

Alongside your reading and writing, many of you will be doing practice as research. If so, work consistently, and have no sacred cows. Take your practice seriously and lightly. Give yourself room to explore your practice as research, and try new methods if the ones you proposed do not work. Be explorative and open-minded in your thinking; much like conventional research, sometimes the first hundred tries may fail, but keep working and iterating. It is okay to throw out methods, ideas, artworks, and designs that do not fit or work. Again set them aside, make a note for future research trajectories or paper ideas, and move on with your project. In taking your practice seriously as a research field, keep a journal, make sketches, scribble, and write what you did daily. Reflect on the process and outcomes. Your journal is an invaluable tool for generating ideas and thinking about your work in the best way for you. No one will ever see this; work in whatever you feel today. I recommend working with pen on paper, but Keep a digital backup, update it frequently, put it in your reference manager, and tag it. Your sketchbook is your most valuable research asset as a creative practice researcher.

Build Boundaries

Now for how to finish a PhD while lecturing, and the world is possibly falling apart. I have worked throughout my PhD, which has ultimately required me to build compassionate boundaries around my work and time. When juggling, lecturing and researching, we all want to give our students the wings they need to succeed. However, that does not mean they get your attention 24 hours a day. To finish, you must give your best mind to your PhD work. I work better in long stretches, which means I need dedicated days to write and work. Others work best in short bursts. Figure out your writing and working style, and either front your day or week with your PhD work. Add it to your calendar so that you take your priorities first when meetings are scheduled. Tell your students when and how you will respond to their needs; for example, please contact me via email, and I will respond to your request within 24 hours, and only during office hours. Be consistent, and respond compassionately and timeously to your student’s needs. They will quickly learn that you are present when you are on campus; when you are not, they should not disturb you without an emergency. Answer your emails twice a day, at 8 am and 1 pm, and respond to anything that will take less than 5min. Schedule time to work on everything else; there will always be something urgent and pressing, and a schedule will keep you focused and help reassure others that the work will be done. Automate or batch as much administration work as possible; if there is an app for that, use it; if you need to do this task every week for the whole year, block a few days off and do all the work in one go. Keep as much stuff that is not your PhD out of your head; I use a combination of google calendar + Tasks and bullet journal. It does not matter what you use, as long as you write stuff down where you do not have to use your already stretched PhD mind to keep track of things you need to do every day for work and home life.

Be human

Finally, be kind to yourself; this is your Odyssey. It is not a sprint. You are not your PhD, do not sweat the small stuff. You are hopefully developing a sustainable research practice and working process you will use for years in your academic career. Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night; if you need 9 hours this week, take them. Eat properly and get exercise; you need to nourish your brain correctly; otherwise, you will burn out. Take time out regularly for rest, take the weekend off as often as possible, and spend time with your friends, family and loved ones. Plan holidays and don’t pack your computer. Your PhD and research work are important, but they are only part of your life, make friends and build a cohort of others with similar goals. If, for whatever reason, you need to take time out to care for your loved ones or take care of your mental health, put your PhD into abeyance. It will still be there when you return, and the university won’t penalise you for taking extra time. Be bold and ask for extensions; this is a big investment, and it is worth doing well, even if that means it takes a bit longer. Take the time to learn to do something new that has nothing to do with your work or PhD, especially at the end; it will give you the boost you need to keep going.

It is going to be a long journey, so enjoy it and have fun; you will do your best work when you do.