After fully educating yourself about the difficulties, hardships, and rewards of the PhD process, such as in Part 1 and Part 2 of The PhD Process Series, you have decided to take on the task. You are fully aware of the pitfalls and frustrations, but are equally sure that the academic life is the life for you. So you apply to a PhD program (the application process for PhDs will be the extra-bonus, “P.S. Part 5 of The PhD Process Series”) and you luckily get in. However, you can’t help but ask, “Will I be able to stay motivated? How can I maintain my sanity amongst the stressors of it all? Is there no hope in keeping balance in my life?”
The fact is, there is. If your heart is set on that PhD there are a multitude of ways that will help you keep your motivation and sanity while you undergo the journey. Here are a few tips and tricks that will help.
How to Stay Motivated While Getting Your PhD
- Make small goals. The final PhD degree is the big goal, pushing the limits of your practice the overall one. These are easy, and glamorous, goals to be inspired by and strive for. However, when what lies between you and that happy ending is several years and thousands of words and hours of research, you are likely to get de-motivated pretty quick. That is why one of the best bits of advice to follow is to make small goals. Make time line about what you want to accomplish by when, and stick to it. Getting a chapter done in a month is far less overwhelming than a dissertation in five years. Then, once you accomplish your goal, reward yourself somehow. It could be a trip to the beach, a small shopping spree, or your favorite food. Make yourself feel good about what you have done, and the overall goal will be done in no time.
- Organize, or participate in, study groups. Surround yourself with people who are as motivated as, or more so, than you are. Find people to work with, confer with, and edit your work with, and you won’t feel so alone. You are most likely going to be inspired by these people as well, and bouncing ideas off a second, or third, party is going to be essential to get a complete picture of your topic. Also, if you enjoy studying your topic with someone equally interested, it will to keep you excited about what you are working on.
- Forget about missing a deadline or two, or if something ends up less-than-perfect. Guilt is the killer of motivation – don’t get sucked in! If you feel like what you wrote is not any good because it is less than perfect, or you missed a goal deadline, don’t let the frustration overtake you. To keep yourself happy and motivated you must be able to not let the little bumps in the road steer you off the course towards your final goal.
Staying motivated is important, but so is keeping balance in your life by finding ways you can optimize your productiveness and rest times. For tips on how to keep balanced during the writing and researching process read How to Stay Balanced While Getting Your PhD; Part 4 (coming soon).