The PhD Life Coach

Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! So many of my Twitter followers told me that they hate the annoying questions they get at Christmas, so I thought I would share some coping strategies! In this episode I give you the A, B, C, D, and E that you need to remember when someone asks you "so, when will you finish your PhD?"  **** I'm Dr Vikki Wright, ex-Profess...

Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! So many people feel isolated in academic and like they "should" have more of a community than they do. In this episode, I talk about the benefits of having a community inside and outside of academia and the barriers there might be to building a community. I then go through some really simple tips to help you build an academic...

Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! Has the pre-Christmas panic hit you yet? That feeling of having four thousand things that you simply have to do before you break up for the winter holiday? In this episode, I channel my inner Charles Dickens and help you figure out how to be kind to your past self, to your present self, and to your future self during this busy month. Le...

Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! It's so easy to believe that you don't have time for a life outside of academia. The pressure and the never-ending to-do lists mean that even having fun feels like one more thing you need to fit in. In this episode I talk about the benefits of having hobbies outside of academia, including how I found myself hanging by my ankle...

Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! So many PhD students and academics struggle with perfectionism and imposter syndrome. By having such unrealistic standards, we make it much more painful and, ironically, much less likely that we'll actually meet our goals. In this episode we talk about how self-acceptance can help you be a lot kinder to yourself and find a gentle a...

Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! We all have times where we need to get on with writing our thesis/paper/promotion materials/grant, but we're not. We procrastinate, we tell ourselves we don't have time, we worry that we're not good enough, when really we want to write it! In this episode, I'll help you uncover the 7 thoughts that are stopping you ge...

Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! There is no voice you hear more often than the voice inside your head, yet we often spend very little time thinking about HOW we speak to ourselves and the effect it has. When did you last call yourself useless? Lazy? Stupid? In this episode we think about how we can notice our negative self-talk and start to be our own best supervisor....

Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! Do you find yourself searching for the perfect planner that will just help you get it together? In this episode, I discuss why we all want the perfect planner, why it won't solve our problems, and what we can do instead! **Also, here is the " I'm Busy Being Awesome" podcast with Paula Engebretson that I recommend in...

Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show! If you feel like your inbox is an endless swamp of thankless tasks, this is the episode for you! Today I talk about the problem with how we think about our emails and how we can make them much less painful. This is not your usual productivity hacks! **Also, here is the " Part-time wellness" podcast with Chelsea Uithoven that I...