The best way to be a successful academic
Want to know what the best way is to finish your thesis successfully and on time?
You know you are intelligent, otherwise you wouldn’t have been accepted as a PhD-student. But why is life as a PhD student so difficult every once in a while? How come you are sometimes overwhelmed, discouraged, unhappy? You started out so inspired and motivated, wanting to be the best in your field. How come other feelings creep in? How come it is so difficult to find the time to be busy with your PhD next to your job?
Your PhD is probably the biggest project that you have ever undertaken, and it has its own challenges. Doing your PhD is great, but it asks for skills you only acquire on the way. There are many obstacles, and if you want to be a successful PhD student, you need to learn to overcome these obstacles. You need to know what the best way is to be successful PhD student.
Do you:
- experience stress?
- doubt how to work with the enormous amount of literature?
- have difficulty making a planning or difficulty sticking to it?
- have problems with deadlines and don’t know how to solve them?
- have physical complaints, like rsi, headaches, not sleeping so well?
- feel that the meetings you have with your supervisor could be more effective?
- think your colleagues are your competitors?
- feel like ‘it is never finished’?
- can’t carve out time for relaxation?
- have the idea that you are just thrown into the ocean without knowing how to swim?
- feel overwhelmed by everything that is expected from you?
- have difficulty saying ‘no’, because everything seems important?
- procrastinate?
- have problems with your writing?
- don’t know how to handle the reviews of your article?
You are not the only one!
Being a PhD student is a learning process in itself and it often is a struggle. But a lot of PhD students struggle whilst it is not necessary. They don’t realise that the whole process of finishing this big project asks for specific skills.
It is important to see that a PhD is about much more than your subject. You need a lot of different skills to make sure the whole process goes as smooth as possible. If you learn those skills, you can focus on the subject and make sure you finish your PhD successfully and on time. And sometimes small changes may produce big effects over time.
What kind of skills am I talking about?
The skills I am talking about, are skills you need to get round the 6 major obstacles that – known from research – PhD students experience:
- planning
- creating the right circumstances
- reading literature
- writing
- dealing with your supervisor, colleagues
- staying motivated and inspired
Is it important for you to
- have self-confidence and believe that you can do it?
- know how to read and work with huge amounts of literature?
- be able to plan in such a way that it really works?
- also have relaxation time?
- know how to write effectively and efficiently?
- learn how to avoid or solve conflicts with f.i. your supervisor?
- be inspired and motivated?
- know how to handle stress?
- make sure you get the feedback you need?
- stay creative?
- know how to struggle in a productive way so that it actually brings you further?
- work in a cooperative way with your colleagues and supervisor?
Then join this course!
Learn in this training everything you need to become a successful PhD student. Make sure that you know what the best way to your PhD degree. After the training you know how to make the process work and combine process and content well.
What do the figures say?
In previous trainings, I did a baseline assessment and an assessment after the training. I asked the participants to score their skills on a scale from 1 -10 (where 1 is worst and 10 is best). This was the outcome:
The average value went from 5,4 to 8,1.
What do participants say?
This course especially gave me new and many powerful tools in reading, writing, and planning.
What a useful course! To be honest it exceeded my expectations. The course dealt with the topics that were stated in the description, and we had many assignments to get familiar with the theory. Also feedback on assignments was fast and good. In Q&A sessions and in the modules there was enough room to deal with personal situations/problems.
Planning skills- knowledge on how to prevent procrastination, and recognize the causes of procrastination – many useful tools to make work easier – it changed my mindset – I know how to get more out of meetings with my supervisor (and colleagues) – time management: you only have limited time to spend so make choices depending on how important things are – it also brought back my motivation, I know again why I am doing a PhD and now that I know how to overcome hurdles, I gained confidence. Before the course, I sometimes got stuck on certain things, and I wasted a lot of time because I did not know how to overcome them. This course gave me insight in how to solve problems in general, and these techniques can be used in many situations. Also, I am happy that we learned how important it is to keep your hobbies and time for yourself.
And there is more…
After the course, you continue to have access to all the materials. So you can find new inspiration in the materials at the times you want and need it.
And another extra…
A personal 30 minutes online coaching session from me
But there is a catch… This personal coaching is not available for everyone. It is for those participants that actually work through all the materials, work with the input and finish the assignments within 50 days. Because if that is your attitude, you have what it takes to actually finish your thesis successfully and on time.
This coaching session will take place within 6 weeks after you have finished the program.
Answers to all your questions
When is the course?
The training is available from October 1st onwards. You’ll receive access to the modules immediately. So better start now. Why wait?
Why is the training online?
A simple answer: these days ask for an online course. But then again, it must be a course that helps you to work in a structured way and that gives you the exact tools you need. Input of your fellow PhD students and my input during the monthly Q&A call is at your fingertips.
The course is online, so it is accessible for everyone at any moment, wherever you are, as long as you have Internet and a computer at hand. Work whenever you have the time for it, no set hours, so the course will always fit your schedule. If you follow the proposed schedule for working though the modules, you will stay on track.
How much time do you need to spend?
On average: you will need to spent about 1 day a week to get the most out of this program.
How come?
- Processing the information from the modules will take you on average 3 hours a week.
- Applying the tools you get will take you about 2 hours a week.
- Answering questions, doing exercises will take you about 2 hours week.
That may seem a lot, but what you will notice is that by making this investment, you actually will need less time for your PhD so you will have more time. You learn who to do more in less time, so there is time for you to relax and take good care of yourself.
What are the costs?
This program will cost you € 495,-. There will be no additional costs. Everything you need is your computer and internet.
A lot of money? Yes. But not if you consider what you will get out of this program: it will help you to finish your PhD successfully and on time. You know the pitfalls in the process of getting a PhD and you can obtain the skills you need.
And applying what you learn in the course makes sure you worry less, are more productive, efficient and motivated. Your chances of finishing your PhD successfully and on time increase enormously!
The credits for this course are 3 ECTS.
Questions I did not answer?
Not sure if this course is for you? Don’t hesitate to contact me.
