However long you've been studying for your PhD,
getting to know your best methods to maintain your own motivation will make
life so much easier.
We all lose focus or motivation at times. You can love
your project and your work but that doesn’t mean that some days it isn’t
tough to stay productive and enthusiastic. It isn’t realistic to stay
super-duper excited and positive about your work 24/7. It doesn’t make you a
bad student if some days you hate your project and doubt your PhD choices. It’s
totally normal and as far as I’m concerned I think it’s healthy to have those
doubts, because when you put into action techniques to improve your motivation,
the doubts fade and you regain your positivity and can feel all the better for
it.
So what should you do to maintain or boost your
motivation? Well, I have attended seminars about this and always found their
tips helpful (so I suggest you check out the Think Ahead webpages for more info
on sessions). However, they are obviously aimed at delivering generic tips and
tricks to help everyone, but finding your personal methods to bring a little
bit of happiness to your rubbish days can pull you out of your funk and boost
your mood and ultimately your productivity.
So what is this magic cure?? Well for me its two things
really…. stationary and coffee.
I am an overly organised person, so surrounding myself
with excessive stationary in bright colours is super useful for all my
note making, listing and filing needs and makes me feel very productive. Some will
think this is silly but hey-ho, it brightens up my day and makes me feel a bit
more organised and a little less in over my head, and on some days that is the
best I can hope for.
As for the coffee aspect, it is less about the caffeine-fuelled hot drink (which I could make at my desk at any time) and more about
taking half an hour to myself to get a treat and enjoy some precious time away
from my department. Working in the Medical School, I have very easy access to
Café 1828 and throughout my final year as a PhD student I am quite the regular.
Being able to get away, either taking my laptop to catch up on emails or just
to sit and people watch, I always leave the café feeling a little revived - and
yes the caffeine does help in this but it is much more about mentally removing
myself from my workload that day and letting my mind rest, even for half an
hour.
These are my ways to boost my mood and thus my
motivation. I’m not saying they will work for you but what I hope I have shown
is that it is worth taking time to figure out what small parts of your day bring
you some joy and consciously using them to your own advantage.
Chloe Marshall, PhD researcher (Medical School)
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