5 Tips for Starting Your PhD (That Aren’t About the Research)
Starting a PhD is exciting, but it can also feel daunting and disorienting. Beginning doctoral research involves far more than simply starting a research project; it means adapting to a new way of working, thinking and managing yourself over a long-term and often uncertain process.
Many new doctoral researchers become frustrated in the early weeks because it feels as though little progress is being made. In reality, progress is happening - just in a different form. Settling into a new environment, navigating institutional processes, handling practicalities and establishing effective ways of working are all important foundations for the research that follows.
Rather than worrying too much about the substantive research, that will come, focus on preparing yourself. A PhD is often described as a marathon rather than a sprint. These early weeks are your chance to establish the habits, systems and support that will sustain you over the longer journey – your opportunity to warm up for the race!
There is already plenty of advice available about beginning a PhD from the academic perspective. Instead, here are my top five practical tips for starting your PhD that aren’t directly about the research itself.
Tip 1: Settle Yourself Before Focusing on the Research
The early stages of a PhD can feel frustrating because progress is often invisible. While it may seem as though you are not yet “doing research”, you are actually laying the foundations that will allow the research to happen more smoothly later.
Every doctoral researcher starts their PhD in different circumstances, with different personal, professional and academic pressures. Those could be different career and life stages, coming from different cities or countries, doing full-time or part-time study, not to mention very different projects. As such, you may well have lots of personal administration that need dealing with, for example:
Arranging accommodation
Organizing your visa
Touring the campus
Registering with a doctor/dentist
Accessing your Uni email and wifi
Joining a gym
And there will also be practical tasks directly related to the PhD:
Induction
First supervisory meetings
PhD terms and conditions
Fee and stipend payments
Dealing with practical matters early reduces the number of small distractions competing for your attention later. Create a checklist and tick things off as you complete them – it will help show that you really are moving forwards, it’s just a different type of progress!
Tip 2: Clarify What You Want From The PhD
A PhD is about far more than producing a thesis. Over the next few years, you will also develop professionally, personally and academically. The early stages are a valuable opportunity to think about what you want from that experience beyond simply becoming “Dr”.
Alongside developing your research skills, you may want to explore teaching, improve your presentation skills or think about what life after the PhD might look like—whether that’s academia, industry or something completely different. You may also have important personal goals outside the PhD itself.
All of these considerations affect your priorities during your PhD and allow you to consciously make the most of the opportunities available to you.
Write down, then stick somewhere visible above your desk, short personal goals linked to:
Research (eg topic, impact, methods)
Career (eg future role)
Personal development (eg presentation skills)
Personal life (eg family, leisure, wellbeing)
Beside each goal, write one or two practical actions you could take towards achieving it. For example, if you want to improve your presentation skills, you might attend a communication course or volunteer to present at a Graduate School event. Revisit your goals regularly throughout the PhD and tick actions off as you complete them.
Clarifying your priorities early helps you make intentional decisions about where to invest your time and energy during the PhD. Your goals will evolve, but having a sense of direction makes it easier to recognise and make the most of opportunities as they arise.
Tip 3: Build Sustainable Habits Early
A PhD involves a huge amount of independent working, which means your daily routines and habits matter immensely. Establishing sustainable ways of working early can reduce stress, improve focus and make it easier to maintain momentum over the long term.
In our book, Rosie and I describe a habit as “something we do routinely, without consciously choosing to do it”. Creating good habits early saves brain energy that can be expended on important things (the research!) rather than the mundane. The early stages of a PhD are the perfect time to build healthy, manageable habits. For example:
Establish a working routine that suits both your responsibilities and your own rhythms
Create systems for organising your research and start writing from day one
Make time for rest, exercise and activities that help manage stress
Write down the habits you want to build and keep them somewhere visible as a daily reminder. Over time, these routines become automatic, allowing you to focus your attention and energy on what really matters: the research itself.
Tip 4: Don’t Try to Do the PhD Alone
A PhD involves a great deal of independent work, but that does not mean you are expected to do it alone. One of the most valuable things you can do early in the PhD is build a network of people who can support you academically, professionally and personally.
Of course, building new connections comes more naturally to some people than others. We all have different social comfort zones and different ways of recharging. The important thing is finding a level of interaction that feels right for you.
Begin to think about the professional support you’ll need during your PhD and find out who can provide that. For example:
Academic: supervisors, other staff, other PhDs
Personal development: researcher developers
Technical skills: lab technicians, IT
Admin: doctoral/grad school, uni departments (eg finance, procurement, international office)
A PhD requires stamina and resilience, so it’s equally important to build the right support around you. Family and friends can play a huge role, but many researchers are also settling into a new city, institution or community. Inductions, training events, societies and online communities are not just sources of information—they’re opportunities to connect with people who understand the realities of doctoral study. Those conversations can be invaluable in supporting PhD wellbeing, helping researchers feel reassured, connected and less isolated during the doctoral journey.
Spend time in the early stages seeking out who can help you professionally and socially, and take action to nurture those relationships.
Tip 5: Make the PhD Feel Real
Feeling uncertain at the start of a PhD is entirely normal; part of the challenge is learning what the process itself looks like. I tell attendees on my courses that it’s almost impossible to plan an entire PhD in any detail. However, skim-reading completed theses can help make the project feel more concrete, structured and achievable.
Remember, although the output of a PhD is unique, the process to get to that output is not. Almost all PhDs, regardless of topic or subject area, follow similar, predictable phases. For example, everyone has to:
Write a literature review
Design the research
Collect and analyse data
Write and submit a thesis
Although the detail varies between disciplines, reviewing the contents pages of recently completed theses from your research group or other students of your supervisory team can help make the PhD feel less abstract and overwhelming. The chapter structure and major headings often reflect the progression of the research journey and the types of work involved. The aim is not to compare yourself to polished final outputs, but to understand the shape and process of doctoral research.
In the early stages, when the PhD can feel vague and overwhelming, seeing how other researchers have navigated the journey can provide reassurance that there is a process underpinning the uncertainty.
In Summary
The early stages of a PhD are rarely about making dramatic research breakthroughs! More often, they involve building the foundations that will support you throughout the journey ahead. Developing good habits, clarifying priorities and building support networks early can make the PhD experience more manageable, sustainable and rewarding in the long term.
- Fraser, Director & Lead Trainer