My Sunday plate of PhD experiences

In the South African township where I grew up, we have a special meal on Sundays. It’s called “Seven Colours,” or the Sunday plate. You will have rice, butternut, beetroot salad, a coleslaw, chakalaka, chicken or meat, French beans, spinach or cabbage… a mishmash of foods and beautiful colors on your plate. Something you don’t see for the rest of the week, where meals are simple and consist mainly of pap (maize meal) with a side of vegetables or meat. I thought today I would give you the seven colors of my PhD experience… it is a mishmash of experiences/revelations I have had in this journey of PhD so far. Next year I will be in my fourth year, and I thought this is an opportune time to take stock of the last three years.

1. On a scale of one to ten…
I was speaking recently with my sister-in-law regarding her interest in doing a PhD. And it brought me back to my inaugural blog, What brings you here? I am always interested in people’s motivations for doing a PhD so I asked her about that. Turns out she is very well invested in her area of knowledge, and seems like the type of person who would actually enjoy exploring more ideas. She asked the basic question – do you think it is a good idea if I did a PhD? It was almost like, on a scale of one to ten, would you recommend a PhD? And my first instinct was, “Absolutely!” This surprised me because it wasn’t a particularly positive day in PhD land – I still had the perspective of how this process made me grow and made me happy. It is the nature of a beast to have good and bad days because such is PhD life.

2. 15 drafts, one paper…should I give up?
Even if you have published before, your next paper can be a nightmare. I’ve changed my mind on this paper I am currently writing a number of times. It didn’t help that a conference opportunity came along and I, again, shifted my angle on it. So, a few months later (don’t worry, I have been doing other things), I think I finally have a solid draft – on the 15^th try. Well I guess it doesn’t matter, because I have something I am happy with at the end of the day, no? We will see what Reviewer 2 says about this. The point is… don’t give up! Just constantly improve.

3. Technology is nice… but use your common sense
As a PhD student, you come across a plethora of tools for project management, writing, data analysis, etc. I remember one time in particular, discussing an analysis tool with one of the mentors in our department. There are all these neat data analysis tools out there! But these tools don’t do the thinking for you. And on top of that, the machines sometimes just don’t have enough information to give you valuable output. It is like the GPS that sent me in circles for eight minutes, to a building that was right across the street. But it was my first time in that country; I was there for a conference, and I trusted the machine more than my common sense — to the point of not believing my eyes. So sometimes, trust your instincts, and always use your brain to interpret the outcomes, no matter what the sophisticated programs say.

4. Writing retreats are the best thing money can buy
To every supervisor out there, if you can afford it, or have the necessary connections, take your students on writing retreats. Two words for how writing retreats work: Mental space. Even if your student comes into the office every day, a writing retreat affords mental space in a way that they haven’t experienced before. I pray that they are the norm at every university in South Africa. A writing retreat is a space where you don’t worry about anything other than your writing. Someone else makes you tea, and food, and there are no errands. A week of writing can accomplish more than a month of trying to write. It’s made more enjoyable by the presence of your peers, who you meet over meals and tea, and informally discuss your experiences, have a laugh, and go back to your books. A lot of down, quiet time – in a collegial atmosphere. I have a sneaky suspicion that scholarship was always meant to be this way.

5. When your proposal is your best work
As it currently stands, my proposal is my best work in this entire three-year PhD process (it will be topped by the thesis soon, hopefully). But it is clear to me now why I took almost a year developing it. I read widely; I haven’t done that much reading since. My ideas were consolidated and my plan was solid. When I flail, I always go back to the proposal to ground me. In my mind, my ideas were supposed to get better with time. The proposal was supposed to be something I did just to get into the program and just to get started. But it has become my whole blueprint and my foundation. This week I am attending a writing retreat (high-five emoji) and the one thing that has unlocked all of my creativity was going back to read a section of my proposal. Taking stock of what I have managed to implement and most importantly, the rationale for my entire thesis. I am reading old papers that I haven’t read in three years. All this to say, yes to writing retreats.

6. Surround yourself with inspiring people… people who think their PhD time was the best time
Talk often to other people who have gone through a PhD, for perspective. I realize how important it is to talk to people who see their whole PhD journey as a positive experience –because they have faced challenges as well, and can tell you about them. But they seem to focus on the good stuff. Because even when we talk about heavy issues such as mental health in academia, they have a way of showing you that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Those people tend to be solution-oriented, and they motivate you to fight hard to design a positive experience for yourself. And sometimes that means shutting out contrary voices.

7. Friendships and the PhD
This has been an interesting one. I have successfully retained my old friendships — but only those that don’t need a lot of time and constant engagement to be sustained. I have formed new friendships within the PhD environment and shared with these people some very personal things, at least as far as they affect work. And yet, these friendships somehow don’t work outside of the PhD environment. I guess it is the same idea as “work friends.” These friendships have a very useful and important place in our lives. They are in the arsenal of the little things that help you go through the PhD.

Well, there you have it! My seven colors of delicious PhD-esque experiences and reflections. Hope you enjoyed, and it inspired you to reflect on your own experiences, especially if you have been on this journey for a while.

Mamothena Mothupi (@mamothena) is in her third year of studies at the University of the Western Cape School of Public Health.This story was published on November 19, 2018, on SAYAS Blog (available here), and has been republished here with permission.