Hi everyone,

I started my full time humanities PhD about 8 months ago. So far I am finding it all OK, struggled at first but once my topic was defined it's been fine. I have just submitted a first draft of my literature review chapter (around 20,000 words) and beginning to work on an introduction chapter and have interviews lined up starting in september to start data collection. My supervisors seem happy with my work however I am really struggling with the constant guilt of feeling like i'm not doing enough! I don't work 9-5 by any stretch of the imagination, in fact it's probably much less, but when I do work I seem to be quite productive. I submitted my literature review a few days ago and thought I would take a few days off work but just feel too guilty! I hear stories of PhD students working 10 hours a day but sometimes I think I havent got enough work to fill that space of time! This has made me panic that my topic is just too easy and i'm not doing it properly! I feel like all I think about is my PhD sometimes but spend more time worrying about the amount of work I do rather than just doing it!

Anyone else feel like this in their first year? Do people aim for hours of work a day or just meeting the targets they have been set?

Thanks everyone!

I wouldn't worry about the amount of hours that you work.
Sometimes you can sit in front of the computer for a whole day and achieve nothing and some other days you may do a huge amount of work in just 3 hours....
I would say that if you meet your daily targets it's OK....but your targets have to be logical!!!!!!
Good luck!

Hey SarahLouise! I think everybody is different with respect to working patterns, some people do work for 10 hours a day and others just do a few hours a day but get a lot out of it. So it depends what works for you. I tend to treat my PhD like a full time job but I have definitely found that the further in your are, the more there is to do. During my first year I was sometimes in the situation where I wasn't quite sure what to do next or I needed to see my supervisor before I could proceed with something, but as I have got further into my project I have found that I am never short of things to do and have more than enough to fill up my time, so once you start collecting data you will probably find that you have plenty to do! I suppose the other thing that makes a difference is what people are aiming to get out of a PhD. Some people just want to get through it and others (especially those who want to stay on in research) want to publish, get teaching experience, go to conferences etc, and so have a lot more on their plate! At this stage I wouldn't worry- as long as you are getting your work done to a good standard and your supervisors are happy with your progress then don't stress too much! Best, KB

Sarah, I have felt that Punctuality wastes me time. I hate working 9-5 as well. There could be days when you did not have a nice sleep last night but have to stick in the office just to fill in the blanks. As my supervisor is a total waste of time I have to look at a paper for very long hours in the bed or whilst watching tv or thinking about it on a long walk etc.
As my discipline is very mathematical so a lot of thinking is involved which i cannot do in office for all sort of reasons.
PhD could be just a baby step further towards research as someone had written here not necesarily something which revolutionize the field...

I feel EXACTLY the same way. I freak out constantly that I'm not working as hard as I should be. Some people I know, come in from 9-5 but that's too difficult for me; I'm usually in around 11 am. I go to sleep thinking about my PhD and wake up thinking about it so I feel I think more than I actually do anything. I don't spend 10 hours on it although I freaked out when I first heard that some people do! I think everyone works differently, so we shouldn't base our production on the number of hours we did.

You're on the right track and your supervisor is happy so try to relax.

P.s. a good website for PhD students is this: http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/1218/Postgraduate-researchers.html

Hi SarahLouise. This is why I love this forum, you really do realise it's normal to feel guilty and inadaquate! I am exactly the same of months into my PhD as you, and I must say, getting into a routine and motiving myself are sometimes impossible, and sometimes I feel more time worrying what I should be doing rather than just getting on with it. But I am starting to think that the more you try to force yourself to work it just doesn't happen. It sounds as if yo're making fanastic progress, and remember that what one person does in 8 hours (in amongst getting cups of teas, walking the dog, etc) another can get done in 3 or 4! I would say just keep setting yourself realistic target. But it sounds as if you're doing great, just try not to compare yourself to others, it's your PhD :)

Hi SarahLouise

I'm about 9 months into my PhD fulltime also. My project still isn't properly defined, I can't get myself into a routine at all and am really struggling with things in general. I go through stages of trying to force myself to try to work for 12 hours a day and stages where I just watch daytime tv for weeks on end with my laptop open in front of me (I'm in one of those stages now). My supervisors have been happy with any written stuff I've shown them so far but I haven't been able to get any experiments off the ground which they haven't commented on really. I have no idea if I am on track for where I need to be but I feel desperately behind and spend alot of time worrying rather than doing anything. I have no idea what the outcome of my PhD will be - i.e the focus of it and some other students have commented that if they were in my position they would be worried. Anyhow, compared to me you seem to be doing great so well done and keep it up (up)

Thanks for the replies everyone, It's nice to know it's not just me with the constant guilt of not working!

I have got a meeting next week with both my supervisors so as long as they are happy with my progress I am going to try not to continue stressing like this for the next 3 years! I think it's just so difficult because you know you could be working at any time so theres not really any proper time off if that makes sense.