From what I've heard after speaking to PhD students and looking at research proposals that include a timetable of where you’re meant to be at particular points during your PhD that looks like what happens at the start! It's a good way to familiarise yourself with the topic especially on up to date developments in your field and to plan your later stages, e.g. fieldwork, lab work if you are doing a science PhD.
It depends on your background...for example, when I started my PhD I had already spent 3 years working in the field so I was up to speed with the techniques involved and was in the lab from day one. A fellow student who started at the same time as me was new to the field so he spent a few months doing a literature review and shadowing people in the lab before he started on his practical work.
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