Hi.
I am new. Very new. I start my PhD tomorrow and it would be fair to say I am totally bricking it! :p
I would have started in September '10 but a few weeks after accepting my phd offer i found out I was pregnant and the uni let me defer until January. I cannot afford (and nor do I want) F/T Childcare for my baby and so will have 3 days a week to work on my PhD to begin with, then increase gradually so that by my last year I intend to have that up to 5 days a week. And I will also have ad hoc c/care for when i am needed on campus - I would really like to get some demonstrating practice and also get involved in possible research opportunities.

I should add that I am now mid 30s having worked in industry for 11 years in the same field I am now doing research in, i did an MSc vis distance learning while working FT which was awarded an RGS prize and got a Distinction so I am pretty determined but having spent 8 months in a land of nappies and sleep deprivation I'm a bit concerned I've bitten off too much.

So. Am I mad? Is this unrealistic?

I also want to hit the ground running, have ordered my copy of 'how to get a phd', but would be very grateful for any tips to get myself working efficiantly right from the beginning. It is a sciencebased PhD but not lab based so I can work from home in the evenings as well.

Many thanks :-)

I'd recommend using to-do lists from the start of your PhD to make best use of limited time. I was a part-time PhD student, and towards the end managing on just 1 hour chunks spread throughout the week, adding to no more than 5 hours total. So I had to be totally efficient. I'd never waste time drifting or taking longer than neeed be. I would just knuckle down and pick what was next on my list. I also made good use of my first year, writing my literature review in just 3 months, and getting on with research. It's easy to drift within your first year. And keep track of your references and reading from the start. Use EndNote or a similar package to keep a record. Otherwise you won't remember what you've read when you come to draw up your bibliography years later.

Good luck!

======= Date Modified 05 Jan 2011 09:16:38 =======
agree with the keeping the references bit -imperative. Also def keep to-do lists but make sure they are realistic - no point having 'write up literature review chapter' on your list, bettter to break everything down into tiny 'doable' chunks. I'm on target to submit (I hope, my gosh do I hope) to submit in the summer and I did it with four children, a dog and a husband so it can be done! You say you are willing to work at home and for anybody with a family you will have to do just that, otherwise your PhD will go on, and on, and on, and on...

Good Luck(up)

Hi Hiccup
Sorry no great words of advice, as a bit of a newbie (started in October last year)... just wan ted to say I'm in the same boat with having little ones and trying to squeeze in full time study, freelancing on the side and parenthood. A colleague of mine (who did hers in 2 yrs with v small kids!!) said break into chunks as if you think about the big picture it's too scary! She also worked in the evenings alot and made sure her OH did alot of the childcare, kids meals etc
Good luck!
Daisy

Hi Hiccup, this is not unrealistic but you will need to be very organised. As Bilbo has said make the most of your study time with focused work and 'to do' lists to help you acheive this. I was starting year 4 (PT) when I had my daughter and in year 5 (PT) when I had the twins (oops lol). I am now just coming up to the end of my 6 years with submission date looming for May 2011. Fortunately most of my lab work was completed by the time my eldest was born and I went back while pregnant with the twins for a few days of intensive lab work for completion of the data. For both of the births I had 3 or 4 months off due to sleep deprivation etc. I was given a intermission period for the twins which puts my completion date to Oct 2011 but I plan to keep to the original date of May 2011.

So I think for you three days a week will be a great start and if you are organised you will acheive lots. I put my three into childcare for one afternoon a week for a peaceful house and it is amazing how productive I can be. Otherwise I use evenings once they are all in bed (after 7pm) and can get a couple of hours in before my bedtime, this is with a very understanding hubby who sits alone on the sofa lol.

It has not been easy though. When the twins came along I did have concerns whether I could write a huge thesis with three babies under 13 months. I was overwhelmed by the enormity of the write-up and needed to step back and review the situation. I had come too far to give up so I decided to continue. I had to break things down to very small chunks so that things were acheivable which in turn increased my motivation. During the day with the babies my mind would be going over the thesis and new questions would pop into my head while changing nappies etc! Have a pad and pen handy to write these thoughts down so that you can act on them later. Equally I have drawn up diagrams, chapter headings during the day in rough to perfect later. It is emotional warfare trying to keep the two areas seperate but if you try and concentrate on the PhD with babies around you will be disturbed, so best wait til bedtime! Now I have a thesis written and am now editing, formatting and adding figures etc. So I have not passed my PhD yet and that hopefully will be realised in a few months.

Good luck and if you need some moral support in this lonely PhD world you can always pm me

I too have twins, maybe it's a PhD thing?!?!? only serves to make us double efficient and productive!

Haha Ady, that is a great way of putting it! Nice to know I am not the only nutty PhDer with multiples. Looks like we will be completing about the same time too. I am looking forward to being able to say that my greatest achievement is accomplishing my PhD with three babies under 13 months, arghh! Just got to pass my viva then :-)

======= Date Modified 11 Jan 2011 18:07:08 =======
Okay Dunni73, you trump me there -three babies under 13 months, even I might baulk at that! Seriously though, after being able to co-ordinate all means that although at times academically I struggle with the PhD (am I good enough, do I know what I am doing, the never ending self doubt...) project management wise I find it a doddle!!

Hiccup, I am willing to bet that you will be far more efficient and productive with your time that many of your colleagues. I love that mental image of Dunni changing nappies whilst holding a pen in case anything productive might occur to her!

Hi - first of all I'm really impressed with how motivated you sound - I wish I could get my arse into gear like you! It sounds to me like you have what it takes, and although I no nothing of what it's like to look after a child, it sounds like you've got it organised already.

Secondly I was wondering what sort of subject is your science-based non-lab PhD? Because I've just started doing the same, and finding it a bit difficult to see the whole vision of the 3 years, how I'm going to get data if I'm not generating it myself but still need data to feed my project, and how to be the 'driver' of my project when I don't have a clue how to proceed right at this moment..!

Anyway hope the 1st day went well and best wishes for the following days/weeks/years!

Wow - thank you everyone for taking the time to reply. I am about halfway through the 'How to get a phd' book and finding it very interesting reading - have been reading chunks to my baby to get her to sleep at night (it works - don't knock it!). As far as my motivation goes then it rolls around in a babygro and burps from time to time - I hope that she will sustain me through some of the darker stages, of which I am sure that there will be many.

Re Endnote - is that a package to buy or is it a Uni package - i.e. a site licence? I went into Uni on wed to register and felt like a very rubbish 18yo undergrad again not knowing where anything is or how anything works.

Thanks again everyone, Adi & Dunni, I take my hat off to you, I have no idea how people cope with two at the same age. Does as you say however make project management a doddle. I have managed to draw up a calander for the year showing where my DH and I have to cover the nursery closures, have arranged our holidays to also take into account uni & nursery closures and i've started writing a list of questions for my supervisor. I;ve also started some light reading online using google scholar to bring up articles I can investigate further once i have my Uni account.

I think my husband will also be spending long evenings alone with the sofa, but he too studies so I suspect it will be ok. I have stated I want us to have Sunday as a sacrosanct family day to enjoy together - fingers crossed!

;-)

Your uni may provide EndNote on-site to postgrads, but if you want to use a copy at home you will need to buy it. I bought it early in my part-time (6-year) PhD, and it was well worth it. But there are other similar packages, including some that are free.

Hi Hiccup.

I used Endnote but I know a few people who used Zotero which I believe is a free referencing system. Have a google. I stayed with Endnote because I'm not very IT-ed up and wanted the assurance of having someone I'd paid money to that I could shout at if i messed up ... each to their own ;-)

In response to your 'am I mad?'.. on here you sound totally sane.

All the best and stick with the forum, whatever you encounter someone will have been there or know a (wo)man that has.

Chuff