Week 172, Day 1199.
I spent the whole day yesterday working out how to get to a point of having a complete submittable thesis draft by July (at the latest) as that will give me 3 months of funded time left to have a break while examiners read my work, and a buffer period if I need more time. The PhD process can go on for up to 9 months after submission, 6 of which for me would be unfunded. So the earlier you submit, the better, which from my standpoint is no earlier than July because of the sheer workload involved (gotta write a book, init). I worked out, that the only way for me to be able to achieve this deadline is by working 6 day weeks for 6 months, and basically disappearing off the face of the earth for a bit. Even then, there's no guarantee that I will be done, but this plan gives me my best shot.
Since coming to this sobering realisation, I contacted my closest friends and family to kindly ask them not to hate me for becoming a complete social recluse for the next 6 months. Obviously, they were all super supportive. I’m going to need a strict routine and plenty of self care to try and get through this last stretch, so have to put myself and my wellbeing first. A PhD is the most exhausting and draining thing I’ve ever experienced, and as it’s about to get even more intense. I understand that this plan of action may sound awful and unreasonable to some, but before I receive kind messages of concern, it’s not that unusual for final year PhD students to take such drastic measures. Most PhD graduates that I know of had gone into isolation for the writing up phase. My supervisor bought enough resources (food, drink, etc.) to last them until their deadline and locked themselves away in their apartment until they were finished. Another colleague went fully nocturnal for their write up. And, a recently graduated PhD student, upon being asked how he hit his deadline, said “I said goodbye to my social life; slept, worked, ate, worked, exercised, and worked until I was done”.
Now it’s my turn.
✨ A somewhat relevant side note - I regularly speak about minimalism and how this lifestyle has helped me in so many ways over the years. The Minimalists have a new documentary out on Netflix, called ‘Less is Now’ and I urge you to check it out. <3
Picture: An accurate illustration of how the thesis is written. Source: @rubyetc