The first two years of graduate school go by in a blur. From intense homework loads to hours of teaching, researching, and studying—and if we’re being honest all of the above—it is easy to fall into the idea that this “will last forever.” And yet, like all difficult things, it passes, and what are we left with? Well, in this case, you’re left in the phase commonly known in the academic world as “post-coursework.” Many scholars will rejoice at this phase in their graduate school journey. After years of taking courses, you’re finally LEFT ALONE!📚 You can do your research in peace, without the worry of a class to attend or a homework assignment you forgot to finish. Despite all this…you begin to realize all the moments of coursework that were useful to your research life. The organic classroom interactions with peers, the office space bonding, and the books you would never have read if not assigned but ended up completely changing your perspective. More than anything though, being home alone and working remotely can be difficult. From gaining motivation in the early morning to keeping consistent with deadlines, work doesn’t seem to flow the same way when you’re on your own schedule 24/7. Here are some tips from someone struggling with this as well, in hopes we can all find some motivation, commitment, and time management, in the chaos that is post-coursework.  

Do Not Disturb this Doctor 

Phones can be our biggest enemies when with productivity. Trending TikToks and catchy memes make it a little too easy to stay hooked. While we can say we will just put the phone down, it’s not that easy. Research shows that ⅔ of adults in a 320 mobile phone usage study reported hearing “phantom” ringing, or when your phone rings when it actually did not. This is a troubling phenomenon and one that may shed light on the reliance we place on cell phones during the day and in general. Placing your phone on Do Not Disturb can allow for the peace of mind that your phone most certainly is not ringing during the day…or is it?!?! 👻

Your Schedule, Your Hours 

Take advantage of your newfound freedom and enjoy the leisure of creating your own schedule! Are you a night owl? An early bird? Don’t feel the pressure of working at the same “hours” as others if you have arbitrary deadlines. Feel free to design a schedule around how you best work, just remember to stay consistent. If you decide nighttime is best, then do that every day. Inconsistency in a day-to-day schedule can lead to overall inconsistency in working. 

When to Write?  

While some scholars urge students to Write Every Day, other scholars such as Helen Sword point to a more “chaotic” reality of writing. However, chaos seems to be fitting for the PhD lifestyle, and many students live this day-to-day.  In a study of 1223 “exemplary” academic staff, post-doctoral researchers, PhD students, and university-based professional writers, “roughly seven out of eight academics surveyed do not write every day.” Sword remarks, “writing is the work that gets done in the interstices between teaching, office hours, faculty meetings, administration, email, family events, and all the other messy, sprawling demands of academic life” and points to her text Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write for more insight into this writing style. Whether you write every day or choose to have a more chaotic schedule, find what works best for you and how you identify as a scholar and a writer. 

Group Projects

Did you say…group?! 🤢While group work is given the trope of being horrible (usually this idea develops in high school or undergrad), this way of working may actually be the key to your success. Here’s why: 

• Other people’s timelines: when you work with others, you’re forced to take others’ timelines into account. This can be helpful if you’re a procrastinator or have a difficult time meeting deadlines. There’s a special kind of guilt that haunts you from procrastinating in a group. 
• The work is divided: Let’s say you want to publish an article—which you should if you’re in grad school. The work becomes exponentially easier once you pair up with even one or two other scholars. From writing groups to shared interview times, dividing the work between three people can allow for the accomplishment of an article without feeling overwhelmed by the work. 
• Community, community, community: While you may welcome your isolated post-coursework lifestyle, there’s something to be said for a community centered around the scholarship. It’s one of the reasons I believe many people enter into graduate school and something we are likely to lose once we enter into post-coursework. Continuing group projects, even if they’re just writing groups, can allow you to continuously build, enjoy, and appreciate the community you’ve developed during your time in grad school.  

Concluding Thoughts 

Post-coursework, from qualifying exams to the dissertation, can be overwhelmingly lonely, non-motivating, and worrisome.  Hopefully, these ideas can provide the basis for some inspiration in your post-coursework journey. As always, links are provided on all sources to give you more resources to look into, and please comment on this post to help provide a dialogue with our wonderful graduate community!