How I’m (Sort of) Managing Work-Life Balance as a First-Year PhD Student

#3 48 hours: The magic number

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve got came from my supervisor, Professor Amy Milton. She always says: never work more than 48 hours a week. That’s the cap under the European Working Time Directive, and honestly, it’s there for a reason. Even if some weeks are busier (thank you deadlines that always seem to line up), I try to make sure that my average week stays under that 48-hour mark.

#4 Take. your. holidays.

This one feels obvious until you realise you’ve just worked 20 weeks in a row and haven’t taken a single day off (oops!). Again, Amy’s advice: take a proper break every 10–12 weeks. Research actually shows this helps maintain your productivity. You could just grind for six months straight, but eventually you’ll crash and burn. So, take that holiday, go home, go to the beach, disappear into the wilderness, sleep for 14 hours, whatever works for you.

#5 Ask for help before you're drowning

Life happens. People get sick, families need you, mental health wobbles and experiments fail. Whatever it is, don’t do what I did at the beginning and wait until you’re in full meltdown mode to ask for help. Whether it’s your supervisor, tutor, lab mates or admin staff, people are way more supportive than you might think. Asking someone to cover your experiment for a day or getting an extension on a draft is really not the end of the world! People will have your back — but only if they know you need help.

#6 Get a life (outside the lab)

Look, I love my lab mates (shoutout to the Cambridge MiND Lab). But if I only hung out with people from my group, I’d just end up talking about neuroscience 24/7. And while I do find brains fascinating, I also like having at least some part of my life where I’m not constantly thinking about rats or stress circuits. That’s why I’ve made it a priority to do non-PhD things. Even simple stuff like running, going to the gym or dragging a friend around all the coffee shops in the city makes a huge difference. It gives your brain a break and reminds you that you are more than your research.

#7 Brunch is a top-notch coping mechanism

Experiments not working? Deadlines looming? Brunch. I swear by it. Sitting with friends, drinking coffee, demolishing pancakes and just talking can reset your whole brain. Sometimes what you need isn’t a productivity hack – it’s avocado toast and emotional support.

#8 Be realistic

You’re not going to be 100% productive all the time. Some days, you’ll be on fire. Some days, just making it to the lab and sending two emails will be a win. That’s normal. A PhD is a long game, and if you treat it like a sprint, you’ll burn out fast. Set goals but make them realistic. If you're constantly aiming for perfection, you’ll just end up exhausted.

#9 Learn to say no (even to your supervisor)

This one is hard, but vital. If you say yes to everything, you’ll run out of hours and energy. That includes saying no to extra projects, random side tasks and, sometimes, even to your supervisor (respectfully, of course). Boundaries don’t make you difficult, they make you sustainable.

Now close your laptop, text your friends, and go find some pancakes — Amy says so.