Hey guys,

As a new phd student in the reading phase i am constantly worrying that im not getting much work done in a day, so i was wondering how much everyone else gets done in a typical day, for example, how many articles/books read etc? thanks.

I find it very variable. Some days I can blitz (and even undersatnd!) multiple articles a day, get loads written and still find time to do an experiment or two. Other days I'll be lucky to read one paper and the experiment just drags.
It's all about peaks and troughs in this job 8-)

Hi Svm - difficult question! Yesterday I did a lot of work, sorted out a lot of primary sources I need to access, read about 5 articles and made notes, and generally put a lot of stuff in order. Today so far, ermmm nothing - although I'm planning on doing another few articles later. I'm finding that I vary so much - sometimes it just isn't happening at all - other days I'm on fire lol!

I agree, its very variable. I'm also new, been here about a month and half and still very much in the reading phase. I tend to set myself little tasks every day that I have to get done, like reading and making notes on one paper, downloading a couple more, a bit of data coding, a bit of teaching stuff. I keep the tasks small so I don't feel overwhelmed, but over the course of a week it adds up to quite a lot. I'd also say you can't really compare yourself to other students as everyone has different topics and work at different paces. So just relax and go at your own pace :-)

1st year was fits and starts for me - lots intially, then it slowed down after Christmas, and went crazy over the summer with my first year report. Second year is pretty solid, then things go crazy in your third year (and beyond!). The more you find out, the more work it leads to.