A Checklist for Your First Month of a PhD

A month into a PhD you’ll (hopefully) start to feel a little more settled and have a better idea of what the next year is going to look like. We have an easy checklist of things to get ticked off around this time to set yourself up for a smooth postgraduate journey.

#1 Settle into a routine

After a few weeks, you should have got a sense of how your research is going to progress and how much time you’ll be spending in the lab if needed. This is your opportunity to get into a routine, decide how you’re going to divide your time between reading, lab hours and writing, and whether you like to study at home or the university library or even a coffee shop. Remember to add some downtime into your routine as well, you might feel like you’re working a full-time job with your PhD, but you still need a break!

#2 Start thinking about your literature review

A PhD is often a stepped approach and even though you’re working on one goal; your final thesis, you’ll not start writing it immediately. At this stage you’ll most likely be working on your literature review. The literature review is a survey of existing work in your field. The literature review can be evaluated as part of your MPhil upgrade (usually at the end of the first year) and will also form a major part of your final thesis. You'll be reading a lot during this time, and taking a lot of notes, so figure out what your note-taking style is and set up a reference manager if you need one.

#3 Identify if you need extra help

By now you’ll have spent some time with your supervisor and started to look at existing research in your field. If you’ve come across research areas and methods you need help with or general areas that you’re struggling with, this is the time to address them. If you have concerns related to your research, raise them with your supervisor. There is also a lot of help available at university if you’re struggling with your PhD in general.

#4 Apply to on-campus jobs

A lot of on-campus jobs will have vacancies around this time. So, if you’re looking to work part-time and want to apply for a job on campus, go for it! You could be working as a teaching assistant, in your department or even at cafés or bars on campus. However, your PhD will take up most of your time so make sure you only take on what you can realistically manage.

#5 Explore the city

We’ve talked about what you need to have sorted for your project, but what about outside the classroom? This is also your time to discover a new city, make friends and find hobbies that make you happy. So go out for walks, try the different café’s and restaurants and take a short trip on a day off! It’s easy to get caught up in the PhD, especially if you’re focusing on lab work, or getting lost in texts in the library so don’t miss out on your life outside the academic world.

Make sure you have some down-time with friends and family and don’t neglect your other interests!

Also take some time to get to know the people in your department, whether they are new PhD students, those further along in their studies, lab technicians or professors. They're going to be a massive part of your PhD support system and community going forward!

It is ok if you're still finding your feet. Remember, a PhD is a marathon not a sprint and it can take time to settle into the lifestyle so be kind to yourself!